Eating Past 8PM – 3 Tricks to Curb Late-night Munchies

Many people are concerned that eating after 8pm is a problem. I'm here to clear up the concern on this matter. At the end of the day, calories in and calories out are the key; if you eat more than your body burns in one day, you’ll gain fat. If you burn more calories than you take in in a 24 hour period, you will lose fat. Eating late at night won’t make you gain fat as long as you’re within your calorie budget, but if you eat high salt or high sugar snacks, you may retain water into the next morning, showing up as more pounds on the scale.

 If you have a hard time resisting the urge to snack in the evenings, you're not alone. Many people, myself included, would get the feeling they needed to eat EVERYTHING at night. There are a few useful tips you can use to combat the urge to snack.

1. Brush your teeth right after dinner

Getting the taste of food out of your mouth will combat the urge to get something else to eat later. If you just ate something salty, you'll probably want a sweet to finish it off. Brush your teeth and use mouthwash to get any trace of food out.  

2. Do something engrossing

Watching TV doesn't count as an after dinner activity that will take your mind off food. You need to do something fun that engages your mind fully. Call a friend and say hello, read a really interesting book, or play with your kids/pets. If you must watch TV (which will spur the urge to eat), get a bowl of 100 calorie popcorn as a healthy and low cal snack.  

3. Try "veggie dessert" If you still have the urge to eat, try eating crunchy radishes or carrots or celery; basically something healthful that won't add many calories. You can allow yourself to eat a healthy snack at night. As long as you're eating low-cal veggies, you won't gain weight. Hopefully these 3 tips helped.

Remember: brush your teeth, do something engrossing like playing with the dog or going for a walk, and try having veggies for dessert to curb the late night eating impulse.

Getting started

Hi Everybody, Max here. Just wanting to say hello and get this blog started up. I'm going to be posting advice on how to lead a healthy lifestyle, get motivated to exercise, and what to eat to stay fit and trim and healthy. Check back for more soon!