Midnight Snack

    Does anyone else suffer from severe midnight cravings,,, I have had aalot of them latley,  I have been getting up sometime after 1 in the morning and have an incredible hunger for peanut buter sandwich,,, why  peanut butter,, and why such an intence craving ,,its like an addiction ,, and I can't stop myself from getting something to eat. does anyone else have something like this

 

Wolfer

I don't know the reason for the cravings but I also go through the midnight hunger pangs - I don't give in - but I wake up in the morning like I hadn't eaten for days. I would like to know where they come from.  I have heard and I have read that when sugar levels are elevated the cravings start - what are your readings when you begin to crave?  - I haven't checked mine in the middle of the night but I think I will on the next episode.  I am sure someone will a little more experience and knowledge will give us some of their wisdom -

Wolfer and all,
You haven't said if you are eating your bedtime snack or not... I'm guessing not and your body is trying to tell you it needs a more steady food intake. Have a look at your food plan and see if there is something you can save from dinner and eat later, or see if you have been skipping an assigned snack.

For an evening snack you could try peanut butter smeared on the halves of an apple. I like to cut it in half, and scoop out the seeds with a melon baller. The malic acid in the apple, especially the skins is a naturally occurring compound that assists in the process of deriving adenosine triphosphate (ATP; the energy currency that runs the body) from food. If you want to lower the carb amount peanut butter on celery is great. Peanuts are full of monounsaturated fat, the best kind to consume. Lowers the LDL while raising the good HDL. While fighting cholesterol they will add a bit of protein and their high fat content slows stomach emptying and offers a full feeling for longer.

Another hunger fighting snack that I've found is 18 peanuts and a one ounce cube of motzarella.(I buy the 8 oz. block and cut it into 1/8 ths. and keep them in a zip lock bag.) I learned this from the Zone diet. I set the peanuts out and eat them one by one with nibbles of the cheese. Also have this with a glass of cold water from the fridge. Within ten minutes of consuming this combo all hunger pangs are gone. This is a great snack if you've already reached your carb limit for the day since it doesn't raise your blood sugar substantially while giving your stomach something good to do. Monounsaturated fat plus calcium for your bones... can't go too wrong there.

BTW - Hunger after dinner and nightime cravings are one of the criteria for help in diagnosing Type2 Diabetes so you're going to find a lot of us with it.

All good tips.  Thanks, everybody!  It helps to know I'm not the only one struggling with this night time hunger.

Peanuts are a staple around here; always have been.  I prefer them raw... almost always available in the baking aisle of the grocery store with other nuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc.  Best ones (fresher) come from local co-ops - but maybe this is just in the south where they are grown.

Hadn't thought about cheese cubes, jeannie, but will put that on my list.  I make my own pim-cheese with sharp chedder and Hellman's Lite.  One of my "chocolate fixes' is Hood's milk with Nestle's Nesquik no sugar added chocolate milk mix... need to try judy's idea re Hood's chocolate milk.

Re apples:  how much nutrition do I loose by peeling mine?  Have found the peels don't digest well with my colostomy. Fruit yesterday was canned no sugar added peach slices with cottage cheese ... Very satisfying! 

Bs was 112 this am ... oh well, new day, will try to do better today!  Cooler here this morning so am looking forward to a soup/stew/chili.  Really do like to have food available that doesn't requie portion control. 

Tomorrow is the local "diabetic walk" fund raiser ... guess what they'll have at the food booth?  Hot dogs, chips, soda ...  Tell me that makes sense?! 

Thanks, Jeannie! 

Wolfer,
Hang in there buddy... And enjoy your peanut butter... How about only one piece of bread with the peanut butter? Then the cheese after? I can't tell you what to do or not do. It's your life and you need to live it as best you can. All I know is that when my father in law was going blind with diabetic retinopathy and had already had two heart surgeries and mom was so ill he just said, "Heck! If I want fried potatoes for breakfast I'll have them!" He rode is bike like he was supposed and took his meds and took his insulin but one day he just went in to lay down and he had a heart attack and left us. But right up till then he did what he wanted to do... as was his right.

I found a few studies that suggest the white matter lesions are less prevalent in people with high levels of B vitamins in their blood stream so you may want to start taking those, especially B6. If burping vitamins is a problem, take them at night with your fish oil capsules. That way you can burp the stuff in your sleep and won't notice it. That's what I do. Or you could take them with your peanut butter and apple. I don't know any self respecting vitamin that could squeek a burp past peanut butter!

Actually Trisha, low sugar or natural peanut butter is recommended for diabetics. It's better for you on toast than butter and much better for you than the saturated fats in ice cream. Eating mono unsaturated fats found in peanuts, olives, olive oil, walnuts, pecans, almonds, avacadoes and macadamia nuts are good and healthy for you. The secret is to eat small amounts of these good fats to help your good HDL levels stay high, fight the bad LDL cholesterol and keep it low. They also slow down the absorption time of carbohydrates that are consumed with them so the helps keep blood sugars level instead of spiking.

I have ice cream about once a week, real ice cream. I put my 1/2 cup amount on a cone and take my precious time licking it. Works for me!