Waking up starving when nursing at night

[Terri822]

Does anyone have any tips or experience with waking up starving in the middle of the night? I'm still nursing my 7 month old 2-3x a night and some nights I have to grab a snack I'm so hungry - usually a few plantain chips or something .. Otherwise I get so naseous and can't go back to sleep. I know it's not advised to eat close to bed time & ESP at night during the whole30 but don't know how to fix this! I'm super active/ fit and make sure I eat enough during the day so it's not like I'm not eating enough. This is bad for my digestion also and that's the main thing I'm hoping the whole30 fixes. Thanks!!

[ladyshanny]

No real words of advice on the nursing since I have no frame of reference.  Note though that plantain chips are not permitted on Whole30 unless you've made them yourself by baking or light frying. There are concessions made for pregnant/nursing folk but none of those concessions allow non-compliant foods and commercial chips of any sort are not compliant.

 

If you want to post a few typical days of your eating including portion sizes, timing, fluids, stress, exercise etc, we can take a look and see if anything stands out.  You say you're eating enough during the day...........most of the time this turns out not to be true.  Nursing women should be eating at least 4 full template meals every day and additionally you could be sipping on a can of coconut milk and eating cans/handfuls of olives to keep your fats up.  You should also be getting at least one fist sized serving of starchy veggie every day, if not more.

 

You don't mention your water intake but the recommendations are half an ounce per pound of bodyweight for people who are not nursing/exercising.  Active and nursing people should drink more.

[jburth7]

There were definitely times when I was nursing my LO overnight that I woke up starving and needed a snack.  I still remember the time I nursed my son back to sleep, handed him off to my husband and ran downstairs to fry up three eggs because I was so hungry.  My husband thought it was HILARIOUS!

 

For me, it usually came after a day or two of lighter eater.  You may have heard on these forums that nutrition is cumulative and I would notice that if I had a lighter day or couple of days that it would catch up to me.  My son is now 20 months and we're still nursing and I'm still eating 4 meals a day even though he's nursing less than he did at under one.... back then I would eat four FULL meals everyday and on occasion a handful of olives or a hard boiled egg in between meals just to make sure I was staying full of food

 

So, I would say make sure you're eating FULL template meals, drinking a ton of water and realize you may still need an additional meal along the way.

[Terri822]

Ok great thanks! I usually drink a gallon or more of water a day so plenty hydrated. When I first get up around 5 am or so I have some baked green plantains (prob half of one) with maybe 1/2-1 tbsp almond butter an egg and coffee with a bit of ghee and coconut oil. Totally random I know but plantains def help keep me regular;) then I workout a bit later and eat breakfast / post workout at 8 or 9.., 1 egg scrambled with 3 oz shredded chicken and a ton of left over veggies and small sweet potato or some sweet potato chips that I make . Lunch / dinner is a ton of veggies with protein or a salad with avocado , olives , olive oil , tuna salad and hard boiled egg. Between lunch and dinner I have a grapefruit w macadamia nuts & sometimes before bed I'll have some more plantains or coconut butter .. I probably should measure stuff out to make sure I'm getting enough !

[Terri822]

Oh and I don't feel as if I'm stressed - I sleep 6-7 hr a night - as much as I can with a 7 mo baby .. I exercise on average 5 days a week- I try to be active daily tho so at least walk 2-3 miles if I don't weight train.

[ladyshanny]

Ok great thanks! I usually drink a gallon or more of water a day so plenty hydrated. When I first get up around 5 am or so I have some baked green plantains (prob half of one) with maybe 1/2-1 tbsp almond butter an egg and coffee with a bit of ghee and coconut oil. Totally random I know but plantains def help keep me regular;) then I workout a bit later and eat breakfast / post workout at 8 or 9.., 1 egg scrambled with 3 oz shredded chicken and a ton of left over veggies and small sweet potato or some sweet potato chips that I make . Lunch / dinner is a ton of veggies with protein or a salad with avocado , olives , olive oil , tuna salad and hard boiled egg. Between lunch and dinner I have a grapefruit w macadamia nuts & sometimes before bed I'll have some more plantains or coconut butter .. I probably should measure stuff out to make sure I'm getting enough !

You are not eating enough food.  Full stop.

 

If you are having a pre-workout in the morning it should be protein and fat. This will help your body adapt to using fat as a fuel source rather than the easier to access plantains.  Save the plantains for after your workout when you want to eat lean protein and some starchy veggie. The pre and post workouts are in addition to your regular meals.

 

Your breakfast of 1 egg and 3oz of chicken is not enough food and doesn't appear to include fat.  How does 3oz relate to the size of your palm? Eggs if they are your sole protein should be as many as you can hold without dropping; at least 3-4.  Protein is recommended as 1-2 of your palm (length, width, thickness).  As a breastfeeding, exercising person I would think you should be at the 3 egg, additional meat level.  And add fat.

 

Between your lunch and dinner and before bed if you are hungry (as you would be), go for protein and fat or protein and veggies.  Eating fruit or fruit and nuts is not doing anything to help you regulate hunger or blood sugar.

 

And no, you should not be measuring anything to ensure you get enough.  The "measurement" is whether or not you are hungry, how your energy is and how your milk production is going.  You should be matching your meals to the template (linked in my signature below) and creating 3-4 of them each day that allows you 4-5 hours in between.  Remember, these are separate from your pre and post workout food.