Why am I still hungry?

[SportJeep00]

I'm about 5'5" and 230 and I have started a food journal a couple months ago with eating around 1500-1700 calories per day, and I am incorporating a lot of the healthier foods into my system including going to the gym. But it's been lately that at night I'm waking up with severe abdominal and stomach pains. And I feel that I need to eat again, but in a way I don't want to eat. And I'm not sure what's causing this, or how I can at least lessen it. I do eat three medium sized meals per day with snacking on veggies and fruits throughout. But I'm at a loss as to what to do, and having to get up early is hard enough knowing that I'm awake at night with the pains. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

   Thank you

[SportJeep00]

Never thought about that, I'll check into that as well. I have a doc appointment next Tuesday morning. So I'll print out this page and copy down the suggestions that you've given me and ask my doc about it.

[Barb135]

Have you had your gall bladder checked?  I used to have gall bladder attacks, but I didn't know that's what it was at the time, and that's the way I felt.  There really was no position that was comfortable.  Turned out I had a large gall stone and after I had my gall bladder removed in 2005, the pains went away.  Just a thought.  

[SportJeep00]

My stomach pain feels like it in the abdoment section, kind of like a "curl into a fetal position and hope it goes away" pain. And it's only in that one area. I do get it in the day when I haven't eaten for a while.

[Barb135]

What does your stomach ache feel like and where, exactly is the pain?  Do you get it ONLY at night?  

[SportJeep00]

I do read for about an hour before I turn off the light. I do not have a TV in my bedroom for that reason. I can hear my stomach growling followed by abdominal pain. The pain doesn't happen everytime and when I do eat something, I try to make sure that it isn't spicy or something that could cause a stomach ache. But I'll take your suggestion on first trying the no eating 3 hours prior to bedtime, and if that doesn't seem to help any (hunger wise), I'll takl with my doc and see what she says about it. Thank you

[Barb135]

My doctor recommends that I not eat anything within 3 hours of going to bed because I have a huge problem with acid reflux.

Are you sure it's really the hunger that's waking you up?  I'm wondering if there might be another reason why you wake up - sleep issues comes to mind - and it just so happens that you are hungry when you wake up.  

I agree that a high protein snack before bed would be a good thing.  I'd also suggest that you try to get at least 30 minutes of "quiet time" prior to going to bed.  This means turning off the TV, etc and spend time doing something that relaxes you, such as reading, etc.

Last, but not least -- maybe you should have those stomach pains checked out by a doctor to make sure there's not a medical issue involved.  

[SportJeep00]

I will usually drink something like a glass of milk or orange juice and eat a few spoonfuls (regular spoon size) of cottage cheese. But on other nights, I'm not hungry until I get to bed. I don't eat past 8pm as I've heard that it's harder to digest when you eat and lay down, (don't know if there's any truth to that though). And yea, that's one thing that I have trouble with is that if I eat something light in the middle of the night, well heck I'm gonna be up in another 2-3 hours anyways, so why go to sleep lol. So unfortunately on some nights I'm up around 3am and not in bed till 11pm when I'm working my second job lol. It makes for a very long day and it's not something I'm enjoying too much. But I do thank you for giving me at least something to go on that I haven't thought about.

[tigerlilly5909]

I'm very hungry when I wake up but it doesn't wake me up in the middle of the night.I feel bad for you, trying to keep out of the cupboard is hard enough without being woke up in the middle of the night. Sometimes I notice that if I eat a little later in the evening it is worse. What is the last thing you are eating before bed and when? I would stay away from any high carb snacks before bed and try a yogurt or something high in protein. I also notice that my hunger is worse during certain parts of my cycle. Could this have anything to do with it? Make sure you getting enough water. Water does more good when you drink it and bad when you don't than you can imagine. The only other thing I can think of is to keep a snack at your bedside and eat it if you wake up hungry. Applesauce, pudding pack or hard boils egg would make it through the night but would you be able to fall back to sleep after sitting up in bed and eating? I guess if your already awake what's the difference? Good luck and let us know if anything works.