Hungry Before Bed

operababe · Post by **operababe** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 2:49 pm

Last night (Sunday) and Friday night I felt sooooooooo hungry before going to bed, but I didn't "cave" and eat. On the Friday night I had a big glass of water, fell asleep OK but woke 2 times during the night. Last night I tried a cup of herbal tea. I had a hard time falling asleep and I woke quite a few times during the night which is unusual for me. I've heard that waking a lot during the night could be a sign of low blood sugar. What if I save something from my supper to eat before bed? Is that considered snacking and therefore I'd be off No S? Or should I just keep being strict and see if I adjust and stop feeling so hungry?

This is a new thing for me, in the past I used to snack my way from supper til bed. I think by the time I got to bed I was already comatose from all the snacking!

Hunter Gatherer · Post by **Hunter Gatherer** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:48 am

I say try and tough it out for a few days or maybe a week. If it continues, put a piece of fruit on your plate at dinner, but don't eat it until nearer to bedtime. Toughing it out is probably the best option, since you will have to wean yourself of the pre-bed fruit eventually, but if it's necessary it's necessary.

My two cents.

pangelsue · Post by **pangelsue** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 3:34 am

Lots of possibilities and I can't play expert here because I don't know anything really about low blood sugar but here are some random thoughts. What time do you eat supper? What are your suppers composed of? Carbs or protein or a mix? Maybe supper needs to be later or larger or fewer carbs and more protein and vegetable based. I also think a couple of folks here have a little glass of juice just before bed. I think you are the architect and need to design this to fit you and your situation. Occasionally I get to feeling shaky late in the afternoon if my lunch wasn't big enough. I usually try to fight it off for a while but if it gets too bad, I have some peanuts and don't beat myself up over it. Like Hunter said, if it is necessary, it is necessary.

Daisy · Post by **Daisy** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:48 am

Hi - what about if you had a glass of milk before going to bed. That should have to stop you feeling hungry and may help the low blood sugar.

Kind regards D

ThomsonsPier · Post by **ThomsonsPier** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:05 am

Hello, hello.

If you do have low blood sugar, drinking only water before bed is something to avoid - it will flush your system even more and aggravate the problem. Fruit juice would be an improvement.

operababe · Post by **operababe** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:26 am

Thanks everyone for the terrific suggestions. My meals, at least lunch and dinner, are pretty balanced. I make sure half of my plate is vegetables/salads/fruit, and the other half is a combination of protein and healthy carbs like whole grain bread/potatoes/brown rice. I usually eat dinner around 7:30 p.m., and try to be in bed by 11:30 p.m.

I'm going to try having 1/2 glass of juice before bed tonight, and I'm going to add a teaspoon of fish oil. A friend recommended it because she used to wake during the night and the fish oil did the trick. If that makes a difference, I'll stick to that weeknights, but I'll try doing without on nights where I could sleep in if I wake a lot during the night. I'd really like to get to the point where I don't need that little something before bed.

The weird thing is that during the day, I can go for hours without eating and it doesn't bother me other than feeling really hungry. I have never experienced symptoms of low blood sugar in my life. Well, actually, besides the feelings of strong hunger, I can get irritated rather quickly. (Mind you, I'd rather snap at someone than faint at their feet! I can always apologize, but the fainting would scare the living daylights out of me.)

Thanks again everyone, hope you all have a great No S week!

Post by **reinhard** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:12 am

Welcome, Operababe!

I think this is mostly habit, and in time it will get better and maybe even go away completely.

Till then, the caloric drink/oil sounds like a reasonable choice. It'll knock out the blood sugar thing without unduly diluting the clarity of your habit.

Reinhard

operababe · Post by **operababe** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:50 pm

Thanks for the welcome, Reinhard. I am mightily impressed with what you've done. All I have to do is focus on having 3 healthy meals per day. It's fantastic!

Just wanted to share with everyone that it seems the fish oil is helping me sleep right through. For 2 nights I took the fish oil, and I slept great. Then last night I forgot, woke at 3 am, realized that I'd forgotten to take the oil so I got up and took it, went back to bed and finally fell asleep around 4:30 am, woke up at 7:30 am (my usual time to get up).
I'm now a convert to fish oil before bed. I hear it's also great for circulation and skin. With a lot of weight to lose (100 lbs), I hope to avoid loose skin and wrinkles!