Do you often feel hungry in the evening? Like you can’t keep yourself out of the snack cupboard?
If the answer is, “yes”, then this article is for you.
When I sit down with a nutrition client for the first time and ask them what they struggle with, one of the common things I hear is late-night over-eating. After a long stressful day of work, we sit down in front of the TV to relax and think to ourselves, “you know what would be good right now, a bowl of chips or a couple of cookies.”
It’s not so much about what time we’re eating in the evening as much as it’s about HOW MUCH and WHAT we’re eating.
Most of us aren’t usually reaching for an apple or cup of strawberries for that late-night snack.
When the clock strikes 8 PM on a Wednesday evening, nothing magically changes about our food and our body still digests it as if it were any other time of the day. If your body needs more food in the evening, there are lots of different ways to deal with it.
Here are a few hot tips to help you with those late-night cravings.
- The most common mistake I see is not eating enough throughout the day. We rush through our day until dinner time; by then, we haven’t realized how hungry we are. In general, eat more throughout the day. Spread the calories throughout the day vs backloading at dinner. This might sound counter-intuitive but hear me out! Typically we’re not snacking on carrots and cumbers late at night. Usually, we’re reaching for potato chips, cookies, or ice cream. The tasty stuff, calorie-dense stuff. If you give yourself permission to eat more of the ‘good stuff’ throughout the day, you’ll be less hungry when it comes to dinner time.
- Make sure you are eating enough protein throughout the day. If you crave sugary treats at night or after dinner, this can be a game changer! Try adding 1 cup of 0% Greek Yogurt to your breakfast, or add extra egg whites to your omelette. Make sure you’re choosing a high-protein lunch and dinner options as well. About 1-2 palm-sized portions of a lean source of protein at each meal is a great place to start.
- Keep it out of the house. Willpower is finite. We make thousands of decisions every day. Deciding not to have Oreos at night is another decision we can avoid all together. If it’s out of the house, it’s out of sight and out of mind.
- If you are hungry at the end of the day after dinner, give yourself permission to eat. Choose something you know will satisfy you instead of feeling guilty for eating past a certain time. Typically this looks like telling yourself you’ll just have one bite, then heading back again, and again because you’re not satisfied. Instead, choose a protein snack like turkey pepperoni or low-fat cottage cheese with fruit.
- Last tip. If you aren’t hungry but still feel like munching or snacking try going for a short walk, having a Bubbly or glass of sparkling water, or messaging a friend. Sometimes we snack or munch because we are bored. The idea here is to stimulate the brain in some other fashion.
The coaches at CrossFit Vernon are highly experienced and have a wealth of knowledge regarding nutrition and how to work with individuals looking to optimize their nutritional needs. It you have any questions at all please message us or come pick our brain after class!
