Ask the Trainer
Q: I find that I am always hungry at night even after a good meal. What are some healthy snacks you’d recommend that are ok for eating later at night and wont affect our sleep?
A: Before addressing good late-night snack options, I have two questions for you: Are you eating enough of the throughout the day? What is the macronutrient (carb/protein/fat) makeup of the good meal?
Some people skimp on calories throughout the day and by evening they are just hungry. And for some reason when we’re hungry at night, we tend toward junkie food options – like we’ve been socially programmed to believe that whatever we eat after dinner is dessert. Is it possible that this is the case with you?
The other thing that can happen is that if you are eating too much carbohydrate, you may find that you get prematurely hungry. I do not want to suggest a high protein diet as I think that’s only appropriate for some people, but I do think that most people who eat a “balanced diet” are actually eating a high carbohydrate diet. Is it possible that you fall into this category? If so, increasing protein and fat content a bit and decreasing carbs and switching from processed carbs to fibrous carbs might help reduce your late night appetite.
Even with a good diet, there are definitely some people who are just hungry often. The general recommendation is to eat something that has protein in it the rationale being that carbs before bed will just turn to fat because while you sleep your metabolism slows right down so you expend very few calories. Ideally you want minimal sugar and caffeine so that you’re not wired.
According to Amanda Carlson, Director of Performance Nutrition for Athletes Performance, you should try cottage cheese, 3 oz of turkey and some almonds, yoghurt and fruit, or peanut butter and a banana.
The other thing to think about is serving size. If you’ve eaten well throughout the day, you really don’t need much food to address the hunger. I think this is another societal thing – we aren’t very good at having small servings. One of my personal night-time snack options is a bowl of high-fiber cereal with milk. It is a bit high in carb, but for me it works. The trick is that “a serving” is 1 cup of cereal with 1/2 cup of milk. It does the trick and is only 240 calories.
Do you have a question about training or nutrition?
Submit your question with the form below and I will provide an answer.
I will post those that I think will be of interest to others (edited for length and to ensure your privacy).
If I don’t know the answer I’ll ask one of the great strength coaches and therapists I know.
Please remember that this site is for information only. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.
Q&A: Glute and hamstring exercises
Q: I have some questions about glute and hamstring exercises. I find these hard groups to target. For example, I’ve read so many great things about deadlifts…but my problem is that I can’t hold enough weight to get a good workout – my hands give out.
A: I’m assuming that you’re talking about Romanian (stiff leg) deadlifts where you start with the weight in your hands and bend at the hips to lower it. Some people suggest using an alternating grip to address grip strength but personally I’m not a fan of that because it puts uneven stress on your shoulders. I actually like straps for deadlifts. Something else to keep in mind with these exercises is that it’s a good idea to have about a 20 degree knee bend as opposed to straight leg because that helps to target glutes more than hamstrings.
There are of course other great options for glutes and hamstrings:
- Single leg versions of the Romanian deadlift are great – takes a bit of doing to get the balance, but because it’s one leg doing the work, you can get more involvement with the same amount of weight. These are typically done with dumbbells (one or two).You can also do cable machine versions of this.
- For glutes there’s a great exercise called a shoulder elevated hip lift. You can do it on 2 legs, on one, and can progress to adding weight.
- Stability ball leg curls are great for hamstrings. Or you can do a slideboard leg-curl to targets the glutes more than the hamstrings. If you don’t have a slideboard, there a couple of options: I have found that a krazy karpet works well – take your shoes off and do leg curls with socks only. Or you can pick up pieces of that material used under furniture to keep from scratching floors and put those under your shoes if you’re on hardwood.
- Another tip – when doing glute bridges, try doing it with the feet flat on the floor and concentrate on pushing your toes away from your body. If you do this, it takes your hamstrings out of the exercise and so makes it a better hit for the glutes.
Do you have a question about training or nutrition?
Submit your question with the form below and I will provide an answer.
I will post those that I think will be of interest to others (edited for length and to ensure your privacy).
If I don’t know the answer I’ll ask one of the great strength coaches and therapists I know.
Please remember that this site is for information only. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, you should consult your health care provider.
