late night workouts

rundinarun

Active Member
Hello Everyone,
I had a question about late night workouts. I have 2 kids (6 yrs and 10 months) and found that the only time I can workout is at 10PM. After my workouts I find myself hungry but afraid to eat because it so late. Does any one have any advice on how to workout late at night and deal with the hunger afterwards? Also are there any diets out there that do not require pills or shakes that have been successful? I am still breast feeding so I can' take any diet pills

Thank you,
Dina
 
I workout at about 7pm. I normally have fresh fruit around to crave that hunger pang. Last night I had a few pieces of watermelon which cured it and being that is mostly water its not like eating a sandwich. Sometimes I have grapes or a peach.
 
I've always eaten after a workout..no matter what time it is. I never worked out as late as you do but I have been known to start at 8pm and not finish until 9 or so.

Late night eating won't hurt you so long as you choose your food wisely. In addition...it's important to refuel your body after a work out.

Don't refuse your body the fuel it needs, just be smart about the fuel you choose!:)
 
Hi Dina,

Lately I've been able to get home from work, eat, wait an hour, then workout (this definitely helps me keep my stamina up for the workout). BUT, there are those times where I can't get to working out until around 8, 9, or even 10pm like you. Regardless of when I workout, I ALWAYS have a nightly snack. I'm not as good about my snack as others who've already replied to your message (mine's usually something chocolately or salty), but I don't think it'll hurt if you eat after your workout as long as you eat within the first hour after you work out. Your metabolism is still going for that hour and you'll burn it much faster than if you wait. If you're that concerned, cut down on your caloric intake at dinner and add those extra calories to your after workout meal. Keep up the good work. I don't have any little ones, but I do know its a challenge to try to fit those workouts in with little people running around (or even asleep).
 
I wind up working out late alot. Two little ones too. I always have to eat after. I need that fuel. A few times when I didn't eat after, I would not sleep good and wake up feeling sick in the AM. Definately fuel your body after, just make it really clean and healthy. ANd don't go way over board of course.
Good luck!

Maeghan AKA megadoo

New pics added in July 25 2006 and Fitness album!!!!

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar072/slider-but3/lb/203/145/152/.png[/img] [/url]

http://www.picturetrail.com/megadoo2
 
I can't contribute to this conversation except to say wow, I really admire you guys! I don't know how you do it--work, kids, exercise--I'd be ready to drop by 10:00!
 
Hi Dina. I normally workout between 7-8. I have dinner as soon as I get home, workout about an hour later and then immediately after I grab an apple to tide me over until snack time which is usually around 9 or 10. My snack is usually organic pb on a slice of natural whole wheat bread and a cup of skim milk. Depending on how hungry I am I might have some blueberries and strawberries with that.

Melissa
 
I don't think eating something light like fruit will hurt you after a workout.

Alternatively, I drink a glass of water with a tbsp of sugar free Metamucil to fill me up sometimes. It completely fills up me so I'm not hungry. Plus it's great for the colon!
 
Hi Dina,

I also workout late at night after the kids are down. My goal is to workout by 9 or 9:30pm. I also get a little hungry after a good workout so I have no guilt eating even if it's not clean. I don't eat heavy though since it's soon time for bed in an hour or 2.
 
Me Too! I workout between 8:30 and 10:00pm. When I am hungery after I workout I eat saltines, jelly and a glass of milk or cereal and milk. I stick with the healthy cereals. The milk seems to do the job.

If I do not eat when I am hungery after a workout, I wake up in the middle of the night from hungery pains.
 
I am happy to know that I am not the only nutty person out there working out late at night. I just got off the treadmill and its 12:30am. I feel great. The down side of working out so late is that you are wired for a while but that works for me because I'm doing laundry. I am proud of all you guys out there really dedicated to staying in shape despite the many obstacles of life. I am an ultra marathon runner and I was determined not to let having kids keep me from something I love. Don't get me wrong. I love being a mom but I also love being a competitve athlete. Keep the advice coming. I love hearing from you all.

Dina
 
Thank you for your words of praise. I saw your pictures and fitness is obviously a big part of your life. Do you have any words of advice for a mom trying to get back into competitve running shape? What sort of eating habits seem to work for you? I have the classic mommy habit of eating while standing at warp speed because the baby is crying. I finish my son's plate because I didn't really have one of my own and breakfast consists of coffee and a balance bar. Boy! My habits are worse than I thought!
 
> The down side of working out
>so late is that you are wired for a while but that works for
>me because I'm doing laundry. I am proud of all you guys out
>there really dedicated to staying in shape despite the many
>obstacles of life.


I can relate to that. Some nights my workouts will have me wired for a couple hours. Last night I did Muscle Max and wasn't sleepy even though it was after 2am. Most nights after my workout I'm ready to go to bed between 12am-1am.

So this morning I sure am sleepy. Hopefully my kids nap this afternoon and I can join them.
 
I am a Total night person, even works nights! On my days off, the earliest I workout is around 10-11am, but usually it's around 5-6 pm. There was one night that I didn't get done until 10pm, and yes, I was wired for a couple of hours, but then I crashed because I hadn't been sleeping well.
Last night, however, I went for a jog around 6pm, got done around 7pm then hauled out the lawnmower (hey, I was already sweaty) and got that done around 8 or so. Didn't eat until after the shower and relaxing, so that ended up being around 10pm. I ended up having a bowl of Kashi Go Lean for dinner with soy milk.:9
 
Wow! An ultra marathon runner. I definitely admire you. I know this is a little off-topic for this thread, but did you run while you were pregnant? Also, when you do treadmill runs, how many miles do you normally do? After about an hour on the treadmill, I feel like I've been on there so long it'll probably break or something :) . I also give you credit for the 12:30am workout time. I hope you get to sleep in at least a little. The latest I've ever gone is 10:30pm, considering my 6:30am wakeup time for work.

I really admire you. Keep up the great work!
 
Hello DB,
I ran 3 races while I was pregnant. The first was the LA marathon when I was at 8 weeks,then a 1/2 marathon whent I was at 12 weeks and then another 1/2 marathon when I was 32 weeks. I ran and took a lot of spin classes in between until I had my daughter Nylah. Running then got to be hard after the 32 week and I just stuck with the spinn classes.

Treadmill running can be boring so I usually go for a quality run rather than quantity. By that I mean I will run not more than 60 minutes with 40 minutes of actual hard intervals. Some times I go less depending on my energy level at night. Put me on a trail and I can go forever.

I really miss my early morning runs but for now it has too be at night until Nylah gets older. I do what it takes with what I have and I can only get better. THank you for your words of encouragement they mean a lot.
 
Hi. I workout late too. I try to get in the basement by 9:00 but lately its been more like 9:30. I have twin girls (6) and I have to wait until they are in bed asleep before I can get started. very frustrating. anyway, I am hungry too after I workout and I hate to eat that late. When I'm being "good" I try to make a whey protein shake beforehand and have it in the fridge ready for me for when I'm done so I can just drink that and go to bed. Of course, I don't do that all the time. Sometimes I have yogurt instead. Its hard when you workout late because if you are starving its hard to control the urge to eat whatever you want and justify it by saying "well, I did just workout...."
good luck with those two little ones!
T.
 

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