Evening Snacking – Why It May Pile On The Pounds, And Tips To Avoid This Problem

Many of us like to have a snack while we’re watching the television of an evening, but if you’re trying to lose a bit of weight, this might not be such a good strategy.

Why?

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 discovered that:

1. The average adult consumes almost 40% of their daily calories after 6 pm.
2. Hunger typically peaks at about 8 pm.

And that’s bad for most people, because by that time of day, you’re probably not planning on doing any more physical activities to help work off those calories.

The other big problem is that these late-night meals and snacks tend to involve less nutritious food choices. For example, which is more likely – that you’ll make yourself a fresh salad, or you’ll open a bag of crisps (that’s chips for my American readers) or a box of cookies?

Exactly!

What this means is that when you do go to bed, your blood sugar levels will probably be elevated, which in turn will cause your body to store more of those calories as fat, thus increasing your risk of developing diabetes.

Another issue is that digesting heavy meals can cause a form of insomnia – sleep disruption – and that can create an increase in appetite hormones, leading to even more weight gain.

What you need to do is break this cycle, so that you’ll not only be healthier but also lose weight.

With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to help you change your eating habits from ones that may cause you gain weight to ones that will create a healthier you.

These tips are split into two categories:

1. How to eat more of your calories earlier in the day.
2. How to reduce the calories you consume later in the day.

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? If so, try going to bed a bit earlier so you can avoid the rush and wake up feeling refreshed instead, and ready to eat a bit of food.
2. Drink water. During the night, breathing and perspiring causes you to lose about one litre (34 fl. oz.) of water. Rehydrating will make you feel more alert and stimulate your appetite. (There are other benefits to drinking enough water, which you can read about here.)
3. Go outside. Apart from the fact that dawn is often a beautiful time of day, the morning light gives you energy too. So, if this is practical for you, you can make your breakfast more appealing by working out outdoors first (which is what I do) and then eating on your balcony or in your garden.
4. Choose delicious foods. If you think cereal and milk is boring (which it is, to me – and I cannot put milk on my cereals anyway because I have never liked the taste of milk, and I have Sensory Processing Disorder which makes me highly sensitive to the texture of foods, especially ones that turn soggy), why not try less conventional options? For your first meal of the day, then, you could have black bean soup or grilled fish, for example. (I like to make scrambled eggs.)
5. Make it convenient. A nutritious breakfast doesn’t have to be complex or time-consuming. One option is to heat up leftovers from the previous night’s dinner, while another would be to prepare the ingredients for a smoothie before you go to bed and then store it in your refrigerator, so it’s ready to blend in the morning.
6. Stop for lunch. While it’s tempting to eat at your desk, maybe while you continue working, it’s actually more productive if you leave your desk at lunchtime. You can either bring a balanced meal with you (in a suitable container, of course) and find somewhere to go and eat it, or you could seek out nearby restaurants that offer healthy take-out menus.
7. Carry snacks. Let’s be clear here, we’re talking about healthy snacks such as cheese, nuts, or vegetables. As to where to keep them, then you could keep a cooler in your car for when you’re travelling, as well as storing a few snacks in your desk drawer.

How To Cut Back On Late Day Calories

1. Plan your menu. If you decide what you’re going to eat in advance, 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 retain complete control of the ingredients. Eating out, whether it’s at a restaurant / fast food place or from a take-away (e.g. fish and chips, Chinese, Indian), typically means you’ll be consuming more unhealthy fats as well as salt and sugar.
3. Limit portions. At meals, you should use individual plates instead of family-style bowls that encourage additional helpings. And when it comes to snacks, you could buy single-serving snacks, while another option is to remove only a couple of cookies instead of bringing the whole bag into the living room.
4. Leave the table. For some people, lingering around the dinner table may extend your eating time, so get up and move to another room and/or clear away the dishes first if you want to talk.
5. Focus on protein. It turns out your body uses protein more effectively if you spread it out throughout the day, instead of eating most of it at dinner. In terms of evening snacks, a little bit of protein will help you to feel full and stabilize your blood sugar levels.
6. Brush your teeth. Try to stop eating at least two hours before bed. One related trick here is to brush your teeth early (i.e. not immediately before climbing into bed) to remind you that the kitchen is closed until the next morning.

Conclusion

Knowing when to eat can make losing weight and eating a nutritious diet easier – which does not mean, of course, that you can carry on eating unhealthy junk food! 🙂

So, enjoy a hearty breakfast and lunch, then lighten up on dinner and evening snacks with the above strategies.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Healthy Desserts And Snacks