The Harsh Truth About Evening Snacking
Hi Friends,
Weight loss is a concern for most people at one time or another in their lives. Whether you struggle with day to day eating, or late-night snacking, I am here to help you.
If you’re trying to lose weight, you may want to stop eating in front of the TV at night.
A recent study presented at the European and International Conference on Obesity
adds to the growing evidence that when you eat can matter almost as much as what
you eat.
Researchers found that the average adult consumes nearly 40% of their daily
calories after 6 pm, and hunger typically peaks at about 8 pm. Unfortunately, that’s
long after you’ve probably completed most of your usual physical activities.
Late night meals and snacks also tend to involve less nutritious food choices. You’re
more likely to open a bag of chips than to toss a green salad.
That means you’re likely to go to bed with elevated blood sugar, which leads to
storing more calories as body fat and increasing your risk of diabetes. Plus, digesting
heavy meals can disrupt your sleep, causing an increase in appetite hormones and
more weight gain.
Breaking the cycle will help you to eat healthier and slim down.
Try these suggestions for changing your eating schedule to one that supports your
health.
How to Eat More of Your Daily Calories During the Earlier Parts of the Day:
1. Change your bedtime. Do you skip breakfast because you run out of time? Go
to bed earlier so you can avoid the rush and wake up feeling refreshed
2. Drink water. You lose about one liter of water due to breathing and perspiring
each night. Rehydrating will make you feel more alert and stimulate your
appetite.
3. Go outside. Morning light gives you energy too. Make breakfast more
appealing by working out outdoors first and eating on your balcony.
4. Choose delicious foods. If you think cereal and milk is boring, try less
conventional options. Eat grilled fish or black bean soup for the first meal of the
day.
5. Make it convenient. A nutritious breakfast can be simple. Heat up leftovers
from last night’s dinner. Prepare the ingredients for a smoothie the night before
and store it in your refrigerator.
6. Stop for lunch. You’ll be more productive if you leave your desk for lunch.
Pack a balanced meal you can bring with you. Browse online to find nearby
restaurants with healthy takeout menus.
7. Carry snacks. Keep a cooler in your car filled with healthy treats. Put them in
your desk drawer too. Smart choices include nuts, string cheese, high protein
cereals, and cut vegetables.
How to Cut Back on Late Day Calories:
1. Plan your menu. Decide what you’re going to eat in advance. That way you’ll be
less likely to accidentally binge on pizza or a whole pint of ice cream.
2. Cook at home. Making your own meals lets you control the ingredients.
Restaurant fare usually has more fat, salt, and sugar.
cookies instead of bringing the whole bag into the TV room.
4. Leave the table. Lingering around the dinner table may extend your eating
time. Go to another room or clear away the dishes if you want to talk.
5. Focus on protein. Your body uses protein more effectively if you spread it out
throughout the day instead of eating most of it at dinner. For evening snacks, a
little protein will help you to feel full and stabilize your blood sugar.
6. Brush your teeth. Try to stop eating at least 2 hours before bed. Brushing your
teeth may remind you that the kitchen is closed until morning.
Knowing when to eat can make losing weight and eating a nutritious diet easier.
Enjoy a hearty breakfast and lunch and lighten up on dinner and evening snacks with
these strategies.
Excellent tips! All of them are completely doable and necessary. I am sadly forgetful about drinking water. That is easy to change, and have changed this within the last week. Getting up every half hour is also necessary. In the early part of this year, as we were setting up blogs and link trees etc, sometimes I’d sit for hours without getting up. Now I pay for that with extra weight.
I am happy to hear about your husband’s progress. His health has propelled you in a new and exciting journey in your business!
Kate,
Thank you for your comment. I am glad to report my husband is doing better every day. Keep up that water intake. Water is so important for our bodies. I can relate to sitting for hours and I find myself doing this if I need to complete a task. I have to make myself get up every hour to stretch.
Hi Sherri,
Thanks for sharing these insightful tips! I’ve definitely struggled with late night snacking, and your suggestions for adjusting meal times are really helpful. I love the idea of planning meals in advance to avoid those tempting late night binges. My problem is I don’t like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking though.
Drinking water and getting outside in the morning are great reminders for starting the day off right. I need to make these things happen. I’m going to try brushing my teeth earlier in the evening as a signal to stop snacking! I’m so guilty of this..
Have you tried any specific meals for breakfast that you find particularly satisfying? I’d love to hear more about what works for you!
Looking forward to your next post! Thanks 😊
Meredith
Meredith,
One thing that really works for me at night is brushing my teeth. I love to cook, and I really like to make mini quiches for breakfast. These are so easy to make and reheat. They have a lot of protein also. I will be creating a video soon on my quiches.
Sherri
Hi Sherri!
Great tips and definitely worth the read. I usually don’t have a sweet tooth but these days, I’ve started eating dried fruits and a mix of nuts.
I do try to not eat too late (a little harder during the summer for some reason) but I do drink a lot of water during the day, which makes for that 2am visit to the white god a must! LOL!
The one thing that my wife and I have found also is that, you can’t eat as much as when you were younger – in my case, being in the infantry sure made those calories disappear – but now that I’m retired and somewhat sedentary compared to before, I definitely need to watch what I eat and definitely when I eat it! Great post!
Hi Sherri,
Great post! Always good to learn more about ways of keeping healthy by eating right. Thanks for sharing, there’s a lot of great tips here! I sometimes indulge in some chips or a few cookies later in the night but am a lot better than I used to be. I feel best when I’m doing intermittent fasting. At these times I will eat all my food between 11 am – 7 pm, then fast for 16 hours. I would eat fewer snacks more protein and healthy fats. Then I get a little loose and start eating later and more snacking 🙂 I do cook 95% of our family meals though. Thanks again for sharing this!!
Denny
Denny,
Yes, those chips and cookies are hard to ignore when they are calling you late at night Ha Ha. I also like to do intermittent fasting every once in a while.
Sherri
Hi Sherri – Guilty is charged! Now, with that said I do tend to eat pretty healthy during the day. Yes, there is an occasional snack or two, but I do get plenty of water, plenty of protein, I try to delimit sugar and control carb intake and generally space out my meals appropriately. The two things I could do better or get more exercise and stop snacking in front of the TV at night. Your tips are excellent and a good reminder and some new information that I learned. For your expertise and valuable advice.