There’s nothing inherently wrong with late-night snacking. Weight gain (or loss) is dependent on the total number of calories you have consumed throughout the day , relative to the total number of calories that your body needs to expend in a day. You could have all those calories at one sitting or spread them out all day long, and the equation works out the same.
By the way, I am in no way advocating that you have all your calories at one time. The multiple reasons for having smaller meals and snacks throughout the day is something I will certainly discuss in a future post.
So, the problem with late-night snacking lies in the what and why of it. What are you snacking on and why are you snacking?
First, if you don’t want to gain weight, you have to take a good look at what those late-night snacks are. Cookies? Chips? Cheese & crackers? Ice cream? Sugar-sweetened beverages? It’s too easy to kick back after a long day with a bag of chips only to realize a short while later that we’ve eaten the whole bag. If you’ve been eating good, nutritious food the whole rest of the day, then having a little…well, let’s face it, junk …is not out of line. The operative word is little. If these are the foods you really crave at night, then get one of those portion-controlled snack bags. There are lots of them out there…100 calories of chips, cookies, popcorn etc. And stick with one portion.
And do I really need to mention that there are scores of better, more nutritious snacks that can be eaten as well? Fresh or canned fruit, vegetables, yogurt, edamame, high-fibre granola bar etc, etc. If you haven’t been eating quite so virtuously all day, then these are the kinds of of foods I would recommend. It’s your last chance to get your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables in, right?
The second question is why are you eating at night? Are you truly hungry? Or are you eating out of habit? Or boredom? Or for emotional comfort? There are many reasons why we eat, and they are not all physiological. If the answer has nothing to do with hunger, then you need to explore the real reason and work on that. Unfortunately, that’s an area in which I lay no claim at being an expert, so it is out of the scope of my blog.
Hunger I can work with, though. If you are hungry at night, is it possible that you could move dinner a little later? Or, are you mistakenly interpreting for hunger what is actually thirst? Try having a glass of water and see how you feel. And if dinner is as late as it can be, and you’re not actually thirsty, then by all means, have a snack!
An after-dinner snack only needs to “take the edge off” so we’re not hungry while we’re trying to sleep. It does not need to be very big. The list I mentioned earlier of good snacks all still apply. And here’s another, more comprehensive, one from the Dietitians of Canada website.
So, tonight, when you’re considering an after dinner snack, think about what you’ve eaten for the day and when you’ve eaten it. Now that you’ve got the tools to make the right decision I know you’ll do great! Good luck!
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