EDIT: Kinda just remembered that the concept of midnight munchies can associate with weed and marijuana. Should clarify that my case of night food cravings has nothing to do with that and that I don’t smoke any weed haha
I’m started doing IF again about a week and a half ago (I do both 16:8 and 14:10 depending on the day), and I’ve been getting really bad midnight munchies very often. In fact sometimes it gets so bad I have to resort to eating at night, even if I’m not hungry. Now, I do have to say my sleep schedule is really messed up and I end up taking naps during the day and end up staying up really late. And it is at around 2 a.m. or so that I start to get those really bad cravings. Sometimes I get really hungry, too, and I have to go downstairs and eat. That’s because I really don’t eat much during the day. I can easily consume less than a thousand calories during the day, and the reason for that is because I don’t crave food during the day. In fact, food feels kinda gross to me and I don’t even want to eat half the time when it’s daytime.
What can I do to make these midnight cravings go away? One thing I looked up and will try for sure is to really try to get a set sleeping schedule where I go to bed earlier (2-3 a.m.) so I can fix my circadian rhythm. I’ve also been adding more fruit to my diet, though I do admit I still do take in a lot of sugar. What else can I do to help with this issue? Thanks!
“ One thing I looked up and will try for sure is to really try to get a set sleeping schedule where I go to bed earlier (2-3 a.m.)”
I also have a massively messed up sleep schedule. I saw a board certified sleep doctor and what he told me to do was focus on the time I get up, instead of the time I go to sleep. Let’s say you ideally want to sleep midnight to 8 am. Set your alarm for 8 am, get up, get some morning sunlight if possible. No naps. When you’re tired, go to bed. Don’t fight it, don’t push through to a second wind, go to bed. It will probably take about a week, more or less and you’ll be on a 12-8 sleeping schedule. Here’s the lousy part. You have to do that every morning. Forever. No sleeping in on the weekends or you will be right back at square 1.
I was incredibly dubious, but it worked for me in about 4 days. I’m bad about sticking with it, which is why I’m posting at 3 am, but it definitely works.
I asked him about melaton and he told me to take 0.5 mg 4 hours before I want to go to sleep. Yes, this is a much smaller dose taken much earlier than is usually suggested for sleep, but there’s good science for it.
If you are eating less than 1k calories and are hungry at night then I’d assume your body doesn’t have enough nutrients. For example if you eat less than 1k calories but still take in alot of sugar then it sounds like you’re not really eating foods that fuel your body