We’ve all been known to feel that 10 PM grumble in your tummy… And maybe you also have a serious craving for sweets or carbs and it only happens at night? You’re not alone and it can be so frustrating to your progress!! If you’re guilty of late night snacking (or binging…) there are some things you can do to avoid the pitfalls and stay on track at night. Kick your late night snacking with these tips!
- Eat throughout the day.
- I know many of us get busy and “forget” to eat, or by the time we think about it or have a chance to breathe it’s 1 PM and we haven’t eaten anything all day! This is bad bad bad… Not only are you setting yourself up for failure later in eh day but you are ruining your metabolism and, in some cases, can cause some permanent damage. Keep your metabolism at its peak by eating every 3 or 4 hours. This definitely takes some planning for those who have busy days or are on the move a lot, but if you keep it simple it is so easy to have a snack before your blood sugar crashes. Having quick grab and go snacks like trail mix, fruit and nuts, protein bars (with less than 5 grams of sugar), a quick sandwich on sprouted grain bread you made the night before…all of these are quick and will keep your metabolism and your energy level steady through the day.
- Eat balanced meals.
- Ever notice how when you eat a lot of carbs your body craves more carbs??? This is not your imagination, it’s true! When you are eating a ton of carbs all day long (especially simple, quick burning carbs or processed carbs), you are spiking your insulin levels, which makes your body craves more carbs. It ends up being a vicious cycle…To keep this from happening, eat complex carbs throughout the day, especially in the first half of the day. These include quinoa, sweet potatoes, brown rice, wild rice, or other whole grains. Even just eating a half a cup of these can help keep your insulin levels stable, thus keeping the steady through the day so it doesn’t crash at night.
- Eat plenty of protein in your last meal of the day.
- Eating high carb meals later in the day can often mean crashes later and you craving more. Eating a good amount of protein for dinner can keep you satisfied longer and won’t leave you wanting more. Try eating lean protein and veggies with some healthy fats for dinner to fill you up.
- Be careful with the late night workouts.
- Sometimes your schedule doesn’t allow you to workout in the morning or during the day so the only time that is left to work out is late at night; you gotta do what you gotta to to get it in! The problem with these late night workouts is that they can mess with your sleep and your metabolism. Instead of giving up your workout, be smart about your post workout meal. You should definitely be eating after you workout (you need to refuel), but this doesn’t mean binge out on tons of crap because you haven’t eaten since 3 o’clock.
- Your post-workout meal should include protein and carbs, with the majority being protein and the carbs being slow burning, complex carbs. Stay away from the quick burning kind (like fruit or starchy vegetables) which can spike your blood sugar and keep you up at night (or make it hard to get to sleep). The slow burning carbs will kind of give you a leg up on the sleep because your body will be working to burn them off while you sleep, thus keeping you in your REM cycle…
- You can also check out this post to get more ideas of a post workout snack!
Stay on track and kick your late night snacking habits with these tips I’ve shared here!