Late night eating is a terrible problem for most people trying to eat healthy! Many people maintain good diets during the day only to blow it late at night. So I’ve put together some helpful tips to curb late night eating.
First of all, be sure to eat 3 good meals during the day, with 1 or 2 snacks between meal times. A common fault amongst healthy eaters is trying to eat too few calories during the day, which only ends up resulting in bingeing late at night. I’ve often found that a good insurance policy is to eat most of your calories before 7:00 p.m., whenever you can.
But what about when you still feel the urge to eat late at night? Instead, try drinking 2 or more cups of water. You can also make a cup of herbal tea or something warm, as hot liquids have a soothing effect on both emotions and appetite. The truth is, thirst or dehydration often manifests itself as a restless, hungry feeling. So before you nosh on food, go for a drink.
Constantly remind yourself that it’s normal to feel hungry late at night due to habitually eating late. Breaking this habit can feel like learning to quit smoking! Remind yourself of your goal to maintain your lean body mass, and that the key to maintaining this healthy weight is to STOP mindless late night eating!
It sounds easy enough, but much of late night eating after dinner can be avoided by hiding the not-so-healthy food. Put foods that you’re prone to crave late at night out of sight. Better yet? Don’t buy junk food at all! I know this may be more difficult if you have kids, but the whole family will benefit if you simply don’t bring it into the home.
For those of you who are more motivated by visuals, keep a written copy of your eating plan in view. This will help keep your goal of a healthy weight firmly fixed in your mind. The temptation to snack late at night will not be as great if you don’t give in to the urge for several weeks. Once these healthy habits become routine, your body will adjust and some of the cravings will dissipate.
Believe it or not, some people (like ME!) have great success by simply brushing their teeth late at night. This method has been known to curb late night eating for many people. For myself, once I’ve brushed my teeth it signals to me that bedtime is approaching and the time for eating has passed. Plus I’m too lazy to want to brush them again if I slip up and eat! 😛
Stats say that the most vulnerable time for eating late is 1 hour after dinner right up til bedtime. Keep your life interesting by working on a favorite hobby in the evenings and NOT watching TV. (Ok, so that’s not terribly realistic…) But just remember that the ads on TV can subconsciously trigger the impulse to eat. And boredom is your biggest danger to late night eating!
Most importantly? Psych yourself up for the daily battle. You know that you WILL feel tempted to snack late at night. But be reminded that it’s an artificial feeling that will go away when you go to bed. The next morning, you probably won’t be hungry …. But eat breakfast anyway …. Because as I’ve said a dozen times, it’s the most important meal of the day!
Today’s Workout
Buy-in: 3 rounds of – 10 double crunch, 10 pushups, 10 kettlebell swings
WOD:Â BunchoStuff
1. Overhead Squat – 4 x 6 (8 min countdown timer, be quick!)
2. Deadlift – 5 x 3,1,3,1,3
- Perform a moderate set of 3 reps, then add weight and do a single rep (rest in between)
- Aim for between 75-85% 1RM for the 3’s and 85-90%1RM for the 1’s
- If new to the deadlift, perform 5 x 5 with moderate weight
- 10 min running clock
3. “HalfTab”
- Perform 4 tabata intervals of burpees followed immediately by 4 tabata intervals of situps and double unders
- Low score for each is your score for the day (i.e. 7 burpees, 7 situps, 8 doubles = 22)
Cash-Out:Â Foam roll and lacrosse ball
