5 tips to avoid midnight snacking
It's 11 pm – you’ve had a healthy dinner, you know you should stop eating now, but you are feeling hungry and craving something – sweet, salty, or carby. Or you are just back from work, changed into your PJs, and looking into the refrigerator for some comfort food.
In both cases, you end up eating junk foods or rather excessive food – which your body doesn’t need. And you don’t even feel good after this! Does this sound familiar?
Snacking after dinner or late at night is one of the most common fitness mistakes people make!
Binge-eating over a Netflix series or just craving something sweet after a long day of maintaining a diet – each one of us falls prey to midnight snacking! It is one of the biggest contributors to weight gain, disrupted sleep, and digestive issues.
The first and foremost step to a healthy diet is to knock off your midnight snacking habit, and here are some tips to follow!
Eat balanced meals
While skipping meals can be tempting for weight loss, it can actually make you overeat later in the day! You need to eat healthy and balanced meals so you don’t feel hungry at odd hours. When you eat healthy, balanced, and nutritive meals, you are consistently giving your body the energy and nourishment it needs. Focus on eating more protein, drinking enough water, and including high-fiber food in your diet that keeps you fuller for longer.
Eat your dinner on time
Often people end up snacking late at night either because they have eaten their dinner too early or not eaten anything at all. A good practice is to fix dinner time and stick to it, so you don’t end up feeling hungry in the late hours. Eating dinner on time also inculcates a healthy digestive system, and keeps your sleep cycle in check.
Don’t stock snacks at home
When it comes to curbing midnight snacking at home, inconvenience is your ally.
Think about it: If you don’t have chips, a cold drink, or chocolates at home, you can't eat them! Don’t stock them at home, and you might find it difficult to go out and fetch some at night. You end up not binge-ing anything at all. Be mindful of what you have in the house, and only keep healthy, low calorie snacks around.
Drink enough water
If you are dehydrated, chances are you are confusing thirst for hunger. If you feel hungry after dinner, try drinking water and wait for 20 minutes to see if that impacts the hunger you feel. When you are dehydrated, you also tend to eat more. Drinking enough water isn't just going to keep you satiated, but also keep your body functioning optimally.
Sleep on time
It is important to get a good night’s sleep – for brain health, body health, and your appetite. Go to bed early, and sleep 7-9 hours daily as it doesn’t just save you from binge-ing in the night, but also saves you from overeating the next day. If you hit the bed early you will not have snacking windows. If that means skipping one episode of the show you are watching, so be it.
Making a few simple changes in eating patterns can help you cut back on midnight snacking and progress towards a fitter you. At MSF, we help you with a customized meal plan with over 6000+ meal combos to eat healthy balanced meals that nourish the body and help save from binging at odd hours.
That’s not it!
We also help you with a dedicated workout routine suited to your fitness goals, lifestyle, and habits, together with a nutrition program, constant motivation, 24/7 guaranteed support, weekly check-ins, progress tracker and a whole lot more to help you transition into fitness as a lifestyle.
Check out the details of the MSF Programme now to cut away from unwanted snacking habits and move towards a holistic fit and healthy lifestyle!