Raise your hand if you’ve ever had an out-of-control food feast late in the evening.  Most of us have found ourselves sometime between dinner and bedtime staring into the refrigerator or searching through kitchen cupboards.  You eventually find the perfect snack food and before you know it, you also find yourself turning into a masticating glutton. 

Maybe every now and then probably won’t lead to a huge weight gain, but if you find yourself being a regular nighttime nibbler, this could be one reason for difficulty in losing weight.  Eating throughout the evening can spell trouble in taking in extra calories which end up being stored as fat rather than burning them as energy. 

Studies in animals suggest when we eat out of our normal rhythm it may result in weight gain.  The late night snacking can also raise blood sugar increasing the risk of chronic disease.

Another study of 420 overweight or obese individuals published in 2013 showed those who ate a late lunch after 3 pm lost less weight and had a slower weight-loss rate during the 20 weeks of treatment than those who ate at an earlier time.   The individuals who ate early lost 22 pounds compared to 17 pounds of the late eaters.

The study also found that those who ate late could not burn off carbohydrates as well when they ate earlier which appeared to lead to glucose intolerance which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

One factor driving many of us to want to grab a bite to eat before bedtime is hormones.  Blame it on cortisol and adrenaline, two hormones decreasing after 3 p.m. since they follow the natural circadian rhythm of our day. This tends to make us feel tired, sleepy or finding it difficult to concentrate.   If we all simply ate our dinner meal at 5 p.m. and retired to bed early, everything would be good.  But in the fast-paced world we live in and work deadlines to meet, instead of listening to our body and going to bed early, we seek out food for an energy boost late into the evening.

The high-sugar, high-fat foods we choose only increase our appetite – eating junk food increases insulin sending you foraging for more food later on. 

Putting the brakes on nighttime nibbling

If the above scenario sounds all-too familiar, don’t feel like you are trapped into a never-ending cycle of nighttime noshing.  Here are ways to halt the hunger:

·         Have a bigger breakfast and lunch so when dinner approaches you are less hungry.  Spread your calories more evenly throughout the day. 

·         After lunch, plan to eat a lower-calorie, fiber-rich midafternoon snack – some healthy choices include:

½ cup low-fat cottage cheese or Greek yogurt mixed with cut-up fruit

1 portion of string cheese with apple slices

¼ cup hummus and baby carrots

1 tablespoon of peanut butter with celery or apple slices

Greek yogurt mixed with sliced almonds, walnuts, or high-fiber cereal

·         Stop buying high-calorie trigger foods such as cookies, chips, ice cream, sweetened toaster pastries, doughnuts, or cupcakes.

·         Restock the kitchen with healthy foods – more fruits, vegetables, whole grain crackers, Greek yogurt, hummus, nuts, string cheese, cottage cheese or beans.

·         Practice signals of “doneness” after you snack by drinking green tea, brushing your teeth, or turning off the kitchen lights.

·         Reset your nighttime routine finding activities that don’t involve eating:

       Watch TV in another room or a different chair

      Pick locations that do not trigger your desire to eat

      Add 20 minutes of time for evening relaxation – practice yoga, stretch, listen to music

      Take a warm bubble bath

      Read a book or magazine

      Do crossword puzzles

      Paint your nails

      Call or email a friend

      Go to bed early