Aarti
Do you snack late at night? Do you feel satisfied by your daytime diet, yet famished by dinnertime? It’s one thing to go for a banana or an ounce of walnuts, and quite another to open a bag of chips at 10 o’clock at night. “The problem is not so much the time as it is the quality of food,” explains Joan Ifland, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Food Addiction Reset. “Processed foods do the opposite of what whole, unprocessed foods do for your mood, sleep, energy, and appetite.” There are many potential causes of late-night snacking on unhealthy foods. Follow these steps to control your late-night eating habits.
Set a cutoff time.
A writer named Judy Koutsky set out to reduce her late-night snacking for an entire month. “I usually eat dinner with the kids around 6 o’clock, so I made sure that we were all done by our 7 o’clock cutoff,” she says. A strict restriction like “no food after 7 p.m.” was easier to adhere to than a less concrete one like “no snacking before bed.” Having a deadline in mind is helpful, however it’s possible that yours will be different from mine.
Schedule your meals.
“Waiting too long before your next meal can cause you to become “hangry” and more likely to binge,” explains Lauren O’Connor, M.S., R.D.N., owner of Nutri Savvy Health. This can help keep your blood sugars steady and prevent ravenous hunger in the evening. She suggests aiming for no more than 150 calories between meals, preferably spread over two food groups. For instance, “a good example is an apple (fruit) and up to 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (healthy fat),” explains O’Connor.
Look at what’s around you during the
day.
Cues are “an often overlooked source of overeating,” adds Ifland. To quote the article’s author, “if there are addictive processed foods out on display in your workplace or home, they can trigger cravings just by being available, and those cravings can build up throughout the day and erupt as bingeing in the evening.”
Include protein and fiber at every meal.
According to O’Connor, “both protein and fibre add to satiety and will help prevent the munchies.” “For instance, sweet and salty cravings persist when we aren’t nutritionally balanced and, thus, feeling quite low,” but “when your body is supported with the nutrients it needs, your constant cravings will likely subside.”
Have dinner ready to eat.
This could be using a slow cooker to ensure dinner is ready when you get home from work, or cutting vegetables and otherwise preparing ingredients for dishes that don’t require a slow cooker in the morning. “Having dinner already prepared means not falling prey to addictive fast food on the way home or grabbing a craving food because there’s nothing else,” explains Ifland. “Starting the night off with processed foods amps up cravings and lack of self-control.” Feeling uninspired? Consider making one of these slow cooker soups.
Plan healthy desserts.
When asked about dessert, Koutsky said, “I’m trying not to eat sweets for dessert, so I eat a piece of fruit or maybe cheese.” Try one of these desserts that nutritionists recommend if you have a sweet tooth. The piece of fruit you have after dinner won’t kill you unless, as O’Connor puts it, “it prompts you to keep grazing.” “Some days we just need a little more than usual,” she says.
Brush your teeth right after dinner.
While Koutsky admits to making some early mistakes, he eventually developed the habit of brushing his teeth after dinner. I’ve noticed that once I’ve brushed my teeth for the night, I don’t feel like snacking since I don’t want to get my teeth dirty again (and I’m too lazy to brush twice).
Limit your supply of processed foods.
O’Connor argues that it’s difficult to eat only one cookie or two or three chips of any kind, but that we tend to overeat things like pretzels, crackers, and chips. She recommends not buying them at all, but if you do, hiding them in the bread box and putting an overflowing fruit bowl in the centre of the table instead. “That way, when you’re feeling a bit peckish, you’re more likely to reach for one of nature’s perfect treats,” O’Connor says.
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Stay busy.
“Find an engaging, mindful activity that doesn’t involve food,” suggests O’Connor. After dinner, you should finish off the dishes and leave the kitchen. Play a board game with the family. Or if you’re alone yourself, pick up a book. Engage in a pastime that helps you unwind. Staying rooted to the couch in front of the TV is something you should probably avoid: “Television has been shown to stimulate overeating,” as Ifland puts it.
Pay attention to emotional triggers.
“If you are an emotional eater, work on developing non-food related ways to respond to your triggers—like stress,” advises O’Connor. As the saying goes, “It won’t happen overnight, but it’s something you can achieve with time and practise.” She suggests keeping a diary to track your emotions and diet and look for trends. “Do a guided meditation, practise yoga, or set up a relaxing bath if by the end of the day you are feeling uptight, anxious, or overwhelmed,” O’Connor says.
