Night eating and weight loss

By Weight Loss Consultant • Related • Filed Under

One of the worst enemies of any weight loss program is night eating. The main reason for this is that when you eat late at night, you are most likely not going to be doing enough activity to burn off those calories. A bedtime snack is usually a horrible idea when you are trying to lose weight because you eat your snack, and then lay down to go to sleep.

The worst part about this is that night time is when most people usually have that little craving for something. This can be just an “I really want this moment, or it could be genuine hunger”. Either way, it will kill any efforts you have made toward losing weight throughout the day.

Another issue that keeps coming up in this age of working, is that by the time most people get off of work and get home, it’s already 6:00 or 6:30 PM. Then, you have to cook dinner which can take another 30 minutes to an hour. It could be that you and your family are not able to eat dinner until 7:30 PM every night. As the advice of most weight loss professionals is to eat your last meal around 6:30 PM, you might feel that you will never be able to lose weight.

However, all is not lost. There are ways to still lose weight even if you are one of these people who are forced to eat late at night. First of all, it just may not be the time you are eating, but more so WHAT you are eating that is the problem. If you feel this could be the case, you will be interested to know that there are some ways to combat the bad effects of late night eating.

You need to be sure that you’re not missing or skipping any meals through the day. This might be a bit hard because there are so many instances that happen during a regular work day which may cause you to miss breakfast or lunch. If you are missing meals, by your next meal you will be starved, which could lead to binge eating. It might be a good idea to eat a healthier and more filling lunch so you aren’t tempted to over eat at dinner.

Something else you need to think about is portion control. This is the key to not overeating at night. Don’t use the largest plate you have if you are eating late. Using a smaller plate will help control overeating, as your portions will not be as large.  A lot of times, you may not be hungry anymore, but there is still food on your plate, so you eat it. By taking less food, you will not run into that situation as often.

There IS such a thing as GOOD snacking. Pick out some healthy snack type foods that you like and enjoy eating. Use these to nibble on during the day so that you don’t feel so hungry. You can eat things like fruit, almonds or certain raw vegetables as your snacks.  Being satisfied through the day will keep you from overeating at dinner.
If you must eat later at night, try eating something lighter. Instead of having pasta, which can sit heavy in your stomach, try having something like fresh grilled chicken salad, or a stir fry of some sort.

Healthier eating is vital if you have to eat late. The last thing you want to do is go to bed with a full feeling. You will most likely not be doing enough activity to even begin burning off those calories. So, it’s better to eat lighter at night than during the day. One last thing to remember is that whatever you are too full to finish, you can save as a leftover to have the next day.

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