Midnight’s Feasting Zombie
Just when I thought all of my personal challenges had reared their ugly heads, a little surprise was thrown my way out of a Freudian grab bag. Sleep eating. Ok, so it’s not really “sleep” eating as I am awake and fully conscious, but I feel my will power is at its weakest and in the moment, feel starved.
I think part of the challenge is that I am awake for so long. My days usually start at 5 a.m. and end around midnight. I usually, unintentionally, wake up around 3 a.m., compulsively check my e-mail (bad idea to have you laptop next to your bed) and then stagger into the kitchen like a famished mad woman. Last night, I must have consumed 400 calories (part of the 400 calories came from a YouBar which I will review down below, but let me just say it was SO WORTH it!). This is not good! I am consuming plenty of calories during the day (at this point, about 1600-2200…yea, too much actually!), so that can’t be it. Is it just a mental trick? Another subconscious, self-sabotage effort? Any insight into this?
I’ve written before about how important sleep is and how I was going to make it a priority (as I even surmised that sleep deprivation was depriving me from fully recovering from high impact workouts, which might have led to my tendinitis). It was easier written than done. Sometimes I feel like my “I should” goal list reads like a kid’s wish list for Santa. Sometimes I feel I can’t possibly be everything I want to be and do everything I want to do without sacrificing too much (especially sanity). Do you guys ever feel like this? What goals of yours seem to take a backseat most often?
Ok, so I’ve been meaning to write about some of the YouBars products I tried. I wrote about YouBars here once (before I had tried their products) — I simply noted their prices and that they offered customizable products. Here are three products I’ve now tried:
Delicious. There’s not much to say. To me, the main selling point of their customizable trail mix is that they send it to you in pre-portioned bags. To me, that’s their differentiating point and I love it (since at the end of the day, most trail mix is not going to deviate that much in taste – so the fact that you can choose what you want in it exactly, but more importantly have it sent to you pre-portioned, is a treat for the calorie counters).
It tasted ok. If you can get past the fact that it doesn’t look too appetizing, it tastes decent enough, but is not something I would crave or feel compelled to buy.
I don’t know how to properly formulate my thoughts on this bar. It is so good that it goes into the ineffable category (“ineffable” means that it cannot be described and happens to be one of my favorite words. It ended up in a lot of my undergrad lit. essays and usually resulted in happy check marks and smiley faces from my professors…teehee). Seriously, it is worth every one of its 220 calories. The texture is crumbly in the most delicious way possible. Again, I am at a loss for words, but it tastes just like these Mexican peanut butter candies I used to eat when I was little. They were round, about the size of a quarter and about an inch thick with the exact same crumbly, sort of chalky-but-in-a-good-way texture. They had a rose on the front. Does anyone recall these candies? Basically, I think I have to order a stash of these YouBars because not only do they make me nostalgic, they are the most delicious bar I have had. End of story.
Tags: sleep eating, youbars
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6 People have left comments on this post
Hey Annabel,
I’m a new reader.
I’ve heard that lack of sleep triggers appetite – I’m sure you’ve heard the same thing. You’ll feel so good if you can just squeeze in another hour or so! You can do it. 
And I was suprised to hear you say 1600 was too much – aren’t you maintaining? I eat 15-1600 a day (with excersize) to lose. Is that too much!?!?
Thanks for some great reading.
Christin – welcome to my blog! Nice to have you as a reader
I am actually not “maintaining” right now. I am trying to lose my last stubborn 10 pounds. Eating 1500-1600 calories/day + exercise is generally the perfect ratio for healthy weight loss (but, I have no scientific qualifications, so don’t take my word for it :/ ) Though, based on my own experience and what I’ve read, 1500-1600 calories with moderate exercise is great. Eating more and being sedentary usually will not achieve much weight loss. Exercising like a maniac and eating 1500-1600 is not good either. When I was running 6 miles a day and eating 1500 calories or less, I was miserable. I ended up increasing to 2300 calories a day and still losing weight. I will e-mail the equation from a reputable source that shows how to calculate how many calories you should eat a day depending on your age and activity level to healthily lose weight.
The reason I said 1600-2200 is too much for me is because, if I am on the higher end of that spectrum and not active enough, I can actually put on weight! Seriously though, don’t get too focused on the calories (I know easier said than done). I have found that by eating better foods (more veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, etc.), I can more naturally control my hunger, feel full easier, and don’t have to focus too much on the numbers because I am naturally falling into the right calorie range. Hope that helps. Will e-mail you.
I think I am really lucky to be such a good sleeper, that I rarely wake up and even if I am really hungry I love being in bed too much to bother moving! And yeah, I often feel like my goal list is way to huge. Unfortunately then nothing gets done, because where do you start?
Oh my goodness that honey cashew youbar sounds delicious.
Now move that laptop away from your bed and get some sleep! Of course it’s allowable to get up at 3 am to pee, but not to check email! There is no email that important at 3am unless it is one saying your building is on fire. Even then, I’d wait to make sure it’s a Big fire.
I love sleep.
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