5 Smart Ways to Stop Late Night Eating

5 Smart Ways to Stop Late Night Eating

After a long day of healthy eating and hydrating, many people find themselves giving in to the late-night craving, something that automatically nullifies the day’s effort to stay healthy and fit.

Late-night eating can make you accumulate extra calories and cause you to gain weight, among other health downfalls.

Here are 5 habits you can develop to stop eating late at night.

1. Figure out the cause.

Eating late at night is often due to a restricted daytime schedule that an individual doesn’t get time to eat or simply chooses to postpone their meal. What happens is that you’ll end up eating a huge portion to compensate what you didn’t eat during the day. And in most cases, you’ll snack your way till late at night.

In other cases, your cravings may be due to dieting or nutritional deficiencies. And this is where you need to understand the benefits of having a nutrient-dense diet rather than following fad diets.

Eating disorders like night eating syndrome and binge eating might also be the reason to be eating in wee times of the night.

Both disorders have been linked to obesity, among other health issues, a reason why you should minimize your chances to crave by ensuring you eat a diet rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats during the day. Hydration is also key.

2. Include protein in every meal.

If your cravings are due to hunger, having protein with each meal may help curb hunger, reduce cravings, keep you full and satisfied for longer and prevent you from snacking late at night.

In one study, high protein diet cut cravings by 60% while reducing individual desire to eat at night by half.

Best plant-based protein sources to include in your diet include legumes, nuts, and seeds, tofu, tempeh, etc.

3. Avoid stocking on snacks

Why are you so unlikely to crave a bowl of soup or some steamed broccoli?

If you have a tendency to snack at night, you most probably do it on the most unhealthy foods such as chips, cakes, cookies, etc. and the only way to control yourself is to not shop for snacks at all.

That way, you don’t have too many alternatives, but in case you’re starving, take a couple of dried fruits.

4. Brush your teeth.

Nobody really likes how food tastes in the mouth after brushing their teeth. It’s the easiest trick to help you avoid overeating. Taking green tea is another thing that can help you suppress your appetite and prevent you from eating.

You may as well chew a mint-flavored gum or make use of mealenders (appetite suppressant Lozenge). Plus they come in different flavors such as mint, citrus, etc

5. Go to bed on time

It’s without a doubt that some eating disorders will have you waking up to eat, but generally, late-night owls tend to snack throughout the night.

Leptin and ghrelin are the two hormones that control hunger. Ghrelin increases appetite while leptin decreases it. Lack of adequate sleep increases ghrelin levels while reducing leptic, leading to an increase in hunger episodes.

Late-night eating can be a real struggle for most people; however, following these simple steps repeatedly may help you curb your night cravings, lose weight, and stay healthy.