What is the worst time of day for you as far as cravings? I get the munchies late in the afternoon. I'm not always hungry, necessarily but I want to have some kind of snack. I plan my menus on fitday and try to stick to them, if I'm miserable I'll go ahead and have a 'good snack' (cheese, meat, deviled egg) versus reaching for the bad stuff but it's still an annoying thing to deal with, this real or perceived need to eat, late afternoon.

Any suggestions?

(I drink plenty of water - I'm NOT dehydrated. Not sure I buy that notion of thirst masking hunger, anyway. Whenever I've felt hungry but drank water instead I've found I am STILL hungry - now I am running to the bathroom as well.)

I was reading something on this just last month. Statistically (and especially for women) cravings tend to be the worst in the late afternoon when serotonin levels fall and stress kicks in. Women have 40% less serotonin than men which can help explain why they tend to experience cravings more than men do.

A snack rich in protein with a few carbs would be a good bet. Protein will contain the building blocks for serotonin production and carbs... well carbs increase serotonin production (there's a reason we get addicted to them!).

The Eades advise the following :

HTH
Nat

What does your breakfast and lunch look like? Could it be perhaps you aren't eating enough calories in those two meals to last until dinner time?

I don't really have any cravings between meals, so I rarely snack on anything. Only time I get hungry is if I have a late lunch or breakfast then it sort throws things out of cycle.

After almost 4 months I still have cravings at night. Lately I've been eating artifically sweetened jello with a spoonful of sour cream on top. I take lots of chromium but can't take magnesium as it upsets my stomach. I am just trying to learn to live with my cravings - they never go completely away.

Katie

I am doing a TKD at this time. I have my carb up snack in the am - a packet of instant oatmeal, 2 rice cakes or a piece of fruit. I then work out. Breakfast - coffee with cream, a custard or shake (about 2 eggs, maybe 1/2 c cream)
lunch - salad, leftover steak or chicken or some tuna salad
I try to stick to the CKD parameters of 1872 cals, 137 fat, 20 carb, 140 protein (this does NOT include the pre wo snack).

I would only do the grapes as a last resort, Nat. I'm thinking that would only leave me carb hunting! Again, it's not that I'm even hungry - just wanting a snack for some reason. I'm sure the fact that there is NOTHING at my office I can munch on (vending machines - ha!) only makes it worse. I usually try to keep things on hand but I was slacking today.

For me it is the period between dinner and bedtime. Around 8pm when I tend to reach for something...even when I am not really hungry.

Mornings before I get to work i'm SO INCREDIBLY hungry. I'm up for over 2 hours by then but it is hard to eat because 2 dogs need walking, 2 cats need feeding and a husband can't remember anything that he needs to take with him EVERY SINGLE DAY ... need I say more.