Late Night Snacks = Death?

[JKUD]

so my abs aren't what I want them to be and of course I know the basics: diet, cardio, training. i do all of this, probably the one thing i could do more of is diet. my problem is that i eat well all day and then by 11 pm I'm starving so I'll have a late night snack. I was wondering what you guys eat if you get hungry after 8 or 9, or if you even eat at all?

I took some pics of my stomach right now but couldn't figure out how to get them embedded in the post (noob ) so I'm going to add them to my profile. my goal is to be able to see abs by summer so let me know if you think thats a realistic goal!

[NightSprite]

Eating late is the devil to me. I always try and go to bed alittle hungry. I know that alot of people on here eat small late meals but that doesn't work for me.

[Amanda76]

If you don't go over your allotted cals/macros for the day, you're fine. In other words, plan a meal for late night...don't aimlessly munch down on anything you want.

I normally eat some kind of cottage cheese and nut combo, up to right before I go to bed.

Oh...and rearrange your priorities to diet, TRAINING, cardio.

[Emoore]

Late night snack= death

only if there's arsenic in the snack.

Have a snack, but it should be some slow-digesting protein or healthy fat and stay within your cals for the day.. A couple of almonds, an egg, casein shake, or (blech!) cottage cheese.

[JKUD]

Originally Posted by Emoore

Late night snack= death

only if there's arsenic in the snack.

hahaha. well ... maybe not that bad but i'll have chips and salsa at like midnight and then wake up in the morning and be like oh crap why did i do that

[Gracehbd]

Am sipping my bed tome protein shake right now : )

Even if you're trying to loose weight, your body still needs an ongoing supply of energy throughout the day to keep going (just a little less than you burn, so can shed weight), and that includes at night - you're about to go hours with nothing to eat, and are still using energy. Also if you have a particular amino acid before bed, found in dairy, you get a kick of serotonin in the morning, which will lift your mood and curb carb cravings.
Try to space out your food intake fairly evenly - definitely don't starve yourself all day and pig at night!

[heidismommy]

There isn't anything wrong with having a late-night snack, provided it fits into your meal plan and it doesn't cause you to go over your allotted calories for the day. It's good to space our your eating as much as you can rather than going long periods without food, then overeating. Things that are good to eat before bed (as have been mentioned already) are cottage cheese, almonds, and casein shakes. It's good to have something slower digesting to get you through your hours of sleep.

[bronxraider]

The best thing to have before you go to sleep is a protien, as everyone has said. Maybe you could try a casien shake, or isolate if you are lactose intolerant. Shakes are good not only because they are protien, but also the fluid in a shake is volumizing in that it takes up much room in the stomach. Use ice and it will crush your hunger pangs for sure. Let it sit in ur stomach, do your bed time rituals and pass out before you get hungry again!!!

Also, you do not need to use two scoops, one is fine...it is a snack!

[JKUD]

thanks so much! i tried the protein last night and it worked great....now maybe ill actually be able to cut as much as id like to

[ifbbprobetsy]

Late night snacking is horrible for me. I have a HUGE shake with water, ice and lots and lots of ice I mean..to make it really thick so it fills me up...

[sueljo]

Its seems no matter how much I eat during the day, I am hungry in the middle of the night. So I started drinking a Casein proten shake before bed and that has really helped. I don't have the 3 am hunger pains anymore.