Night Eater Alert!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who LOVES to come home from work and indulge myself with a nice big bowl of ice cream with some chocolate syrup on top! It makes my stressful day ‘seem’ so much better. But then we all know that ten brief moments later, it makes us feel even more stressed and angry at ourselves for doing something that deterred us from reaching our goal.
BUT, I read an article that helped me in my attempt to overcome this terrible habit! Because that’s exactly what it is, a bad habit.

First things first, he says there is no scientific explanation that says the food eaten at night is more likely to be stored as body fat. It’s usually WHAT we are eating, or OVEReating that is the problem, not that we’re simply eating at night.

All of us by now should have a Calorie Cap (refer to the first nutrition post to find out how to figure out your calorie cap.) It’s basic science, to lose weight is to consume less calories than you ate that day. So at night, notice how you’ve already eaten that day, and if you’re still underneath your calorie cap, then you can have something. But if you spent most of your calories at lunch, then it’d be a good idea to refrain from eating something after dinner that night.

Here are 4 practical suggestions by a personal trainer expert, Matt O'Neil on ways we can break this negative cycle:

1. Plan Ahead: If you’re not eating enough during the day, of course by nighttime you will be starving!

2. Break the Habit: Try new habits instead of turning to food. Ex: After you serve dinner, put the leftovers in the fridge immediately so you aren’t tempted to continually eat after dinner.

3. Social Support: Sometimes we overeat at social gatherings, especially for long social meals. If those around you know that you are trying to reach a specific goal (which if you don’t have one, you should make one right after you finish reading this!) it can be helpful to have that support when you start reaching for you 3rd round of homemade rolls:)

4. Find an emotional alternative: When it’s been a long day and you’re turning to the freezer for those delicious Girl Scout cookies (this one hits home for me) stop for a second and identify why you are going for those. Replace that stress, or boredom with something else besides food.