# Why am I starving at 2:30am???



## Bigtallfatbloke (17 Mar 2008)

I dont understand why I am getting major hunger pangs in the aerly hours recently. I mean they are so bad I wake up (on the rare occassion I actually got to sleep). I have this craving for cornflakes....do you remember the secret lemonade drinker ads...R whites....well I am a secret cornflake eater at the moment and it's driving me bananas.

I am eating a proper meal around 6-7pm so what is the problem???

...now...will it be plain or frosties tonight?


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## Elmer Fudd (17 Mar 2008)

Special K !!


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## mickle (17 Mar 2008)

Eat some bleedin supper! Obviously.


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## trio25 (17 Mar 2008)

I often have a bowl of cereal before bed if I have been out on a long ride that day, otherwise I wake up at silly o'clock so so hungry.

My guess is you are not eating enough for your activity levels.


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## Twenty Inch (17 Mar 2008)

Bowl of plain yoghurt with half a banana or an apple grated into it before you go to bed.

Will keep you going, without keeping you awake.

We have supper at about 7.30pm, then some yoghurt later, otherwise I wake up at 2am like you.


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## mr Mag00 (17 Mar 2008)

likewise, i try to eat 6 times a day small quantities anyway so before bed fits in well.


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## domtyler (17 Mar 2008)

I don't understand how a craving for cornflakes is driving you to bananas! 

Anyway, the answer is to have plenty of milk proteins before bed. These are very slow to digest and prevent you from feeling hungry during the night. You can buy special products, like Nocté but essentially it is just milk. The milk contains chemicals that aid sleep too so is a good idea all round.


How is the weight loss going anyway? Have you lost a little too much too fast lately? Give us some more information and it will make it easier to come up with suggestions, but your chronic feelings of hunger may actually be symptomatic of something else. I mean hypoglycaemia of course, which could mean a trip to the docs is in order.


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## sheddy (17 Mar 2008)

Just have a banana. And while you're having it, give the wife one as well


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## Absinthe Minded (17 Mar 2008)

Twenty Inch said:


> Bowl of plain yoghurt with half a banana or an apple grated into it before you go to bed.
> 
> Will keep you going, without keeping you awake.
> 
> We have supper at about 7.30pm, then some yoghurt later, otherwise I wake up at 2am like you.


Supper at 7:30? That's amazing, I never have dinner until about 9 or 10 O'Clock!


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## ASC1951 (17 Mar 2008)

Absinthe Minded said:


> Supper at 7:30? That's amazing, I never have dinner until about 9 or 10 O'Clock!


Yikes. Not recommended for most people. You're best not eating for at least three hours before sleeping.


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## Noodley (17 Mar 2008)

ASC1951 said:


> Yikes. Not recommended for most people. You're best not eating for at least three hours before sleeping.



That's not true. Nothing worng with eating at any time of the day/night - it depends on what one eats not when.


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## Fab Foodie (17 Mar 2008)

Noodley said:


> That's not true. Nothing worng with eating at any time of the day/night - it depends on what one eats not when.


Agreed.

BTFB
Supper seeems to be the answer here. I have to have something sweet to get me to sleep, depending on how hungry I am this may range from a cup of sweet tea, hot milk drink or monster bowl of cereal (not high fibre...Cornflakes is just peachy), Banana would be fine too.

OK, the science bit.
It's all about Tryptophan, an Amino Acid building block of proteins. Milk and Bananas contain high levels of Tryptophan which aid relaxation (or ...sleep), so milky drinks (Cocoa/Horlicks) cereal + Milk and Bananas all provide Tryptophan.
So, how does the sweet tea work? Well recent work suggest that the sudden sugar hit causes the body to release Tryptophan as part of the insulin response to the blood-sugar level...maybe its a natural calming response to the sugar rush hyperactivity! I know somebody who wakes in the middle of the night, has a biscuit and then falls back to sleep 'till morning.

I'm gonna have my sweet tea and then go to bed. G'Night.


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## Bigtallfatbloke (18 Mar 2008)

...well I just ate a whole easter egg and I am still awake and hungry...I suspect this may be psycolylojikal....I am still on these dam pills see...i need to ride more.


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## Bigtallfatbloke (18 Mar 2008)

now i feel truely ill.....wot a plonker


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## trio25 (18 Mar 2008)

I can't have chocolate in the house as I would just eat it all, nothing wrong with some every so now and again.


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## walker (18 Mar 2008)

Bigtallfatbloke said:


> ...well I just ate a whole easter egg and I am still awake and hungry...I suspect this may be psycolylojikal....I am still on these dam pills see...i need to ride more.




ha ha you big kid, do you still have easter eggs?


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## postman (18 Mar 2008)

BTFB-you have just had me crying with laughter thanks mate.Superb was it a big egg.At 1-30 in the morning your a monster.All the best BTFB.


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## Twenty Inch (19 Mar 2008)

Chocolate contains caffeine, which you shouldn't be eating late at night. Being on t'internet at 1.30am isn't going to help you sleep either.


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## Tynan (19 Mar 2008)

I often have a snack before bed, yoghurts or cheese and crackers, gots to listen to your body


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## Bigtallfatbloke (19 Mar 2008)

,twas a huge egg from Thorntons wot my M&D brought over...couldnt wait until Easter though it's bloody ages away...but my stomache just rebelled big time...a good sign I tell myself as there was a time not so long ago when I could have done two in a day like that.


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## walker (19 Mar 2008)

I always have a rule, if I've burnt off on a single ride what I'm about to eat, its ok. so go for it BTFB, as long as you have burnt it off


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## BentMikey (19 Mar 2008)

I quite often get this too, particularly in the summer when I'm hitting a full load of cycling and teaching 5 days a week. I just make myself a dagwood sandwich and a hot cup of soup or tea, and go back to sleep.


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## Noodley (20 Mar 2008)

BTFB, sounds to me as if you may have reached the stage I reached a few years ago when I lost a lot of weight then decided to find reasons to eat and stop exercising...WALK AWAY FROM THE FRIDGE, WALK TOWARDS THE BIKE


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## stevenb (21 Mar 2008)

I would agree with people on here that you should eat something before bed to avoid hunger pains. Its not good for you going to bed hungry. Its your bodies recovery period and it needs those calories to do that.

A bowl of cereal is ideal as it maybe fortified with vitamins and the milk will be filling without upsetting your stomach.

You shouldn't eat large meals shortly before bed, I think, would be a better way to describe it. Your stomach needs adequate time to digest food and it digests slower at night when your more relaxed. A light snack such as cereal is better.

My 'snacks before bedtime' are either:

Cereal
Toast with a bit of Jam on it
Milk and a couple of digestive biccies.

Washed down with water only.....and I take water with me to bed just incase I wake up gasping for a drink.

Chocolate eggs will give you a sugar rush and keep you awake longer...


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## tdr1nka (21 Mar 2008)

I'm of the 'little and often' school of eating and have a bowl of Cornflakes before bed.

Another tip is to halt all caffine after 18:00hrs and then try to get to bed when you start to feel tired.
By nature(the musician thing)I am a night owl but my lifestyle doesn't allow for many late nights anymore and the change is still a struggle.
I always aim for 22:30 but generally get to bed around 00:00.


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## P.H (22 Mar 2008)

Congratulations, you're pregnant.


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## bonj2 (3 Jul 2008)

I'd say the key to not feeling hungry at 2:30 am is not to be _awake_ at 2:30 am.


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## Dayvo (3 Jul 2008)

All-Bran flakes instead of cornflakes.

There is little nutritional benefit in cornflakes, but bran provides a slow release of glucose, preventing those hunger pangs!

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/articles/glycemicindex.htm


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## Perry (7 Jul 2008)

User1314 said:


> I can't stop eating either, these days.
> 
> Today, for example, I had two weetabix and one banana for brekkie with a cup of strong tea; two weetabix for brunch; 4 apples, two satsumas and three bananas as a pre-lunch entree; can of oxtail soup for lunch; two more weetabix for an afternoon snack; bak of cashew nuts (small) to munch on all day.
> 
> ...




It's normal to have an appetite increase if you are training hard.

You being thirsty is a bit of a concern. The body isn't very good at deciding if it is hungry or dehydrated. 

It might be worth a chat with the doc.


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## Disgruntled Goat (7 Jul 2008)

Where abouts are the hunger pains BTFB? Is it a gnawing hunger? Could be an ulcer.


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