Client Call: Late Night Snacking

A common topic of discussion during my recent client calls has been late night snacking. People are often embarrassed to admit this struggle they face, not realizing it is so common. From speaking with a number of different people, I have learned there are several factors that motivate people to snack after dinner: inadequate food intake during the day, boredom, dissatisfaction with foods consumed during the day, etc. Thus, the first step in putting a stop to snacking at this hour is pinpointing the cause(s). This makes it easier to address the root cause of the issue, rather than the symptom.

One of the reasons I encourage consumption of 5-6 small meals each day, as opposed to three larger ones, is that it helps moderate our appetite. I often hear people explain that they’re a late night snacker by nature. They fear eating more food earlier in the day will not lessen their snacking later on, but rather increase their total caloric consumption. However, of those I have been able to convince to consume more substantial “meals” earlier in the day, all have had success in battling their evening snack habits. Last week, I had a client tell me that because of the shift in her eating schedule to put more emphasis on her early meals, she has had zero urge to snack after dinner. She admitted that she is even less hungry for dinner itself than she has ever been in the past. To this I say YAAAASSSS, thank you for trusting me and giving this new dietary pattern a try! 😊

For those of you who snack out of boredom- I have a lot of experience with folks like you. In fact, I live with someone who demonstrates this tendency (I love him very dearly! <3). If you fall into this category, there are a few different tactics I encourage you to try: 1. Plan an after-dinner activity: go for a walk, play a game, do some laundry- something that requires movement to prevent your feeling of boredom later on. 2: As humans, we are all lazy- play to this weakness and make it a strength. After you fix the dinner plates, go ahead and put the excess food away. We are much less likely to go back for seconds if we have to haul all of the food out again. After you finish dinner- brush your teeth. No one wants to eat after they brush their teeth at night, because that means brushing your teeth again. Ain’t nobody got time (or energy!) for that. 3. Keep some unsalted nuts and/or 100-calorie popcorn on-hand (do not add salt or butter!). Nuts are the more nutritious option, but due to their (healthy) fat content only warrant consumption of ~20 pieces. Popcorn is a blessing to mankind in that you can consume a large volume for a relatively small number of calories. It also satisfies the desire to participate in the hand-to-mouth motion of eating. Rather than shoving fistfuls in your mouth as fast as possible, slow down and challenge yourself to eat 1 piece at a time. This will allow you to be occupied with the snacking for longer, plus gives your body the chance to register that it is full before you reach a point of over-consumption. Popcorn- thank you for gracing us with your presence.

If you realize your motivation for snacking at night is due to dissatisfaction with your food choices earlier in the day, let’s re-evaluate those other food choices. As suggested above, find your weaknesses and convert them to strengths. If you know you have a sweet tooth (ME!) and are inevitably going to consume at least one small sweet treat each day, go ahead and consume it early on. Most mornings I wake up and have a small sweet treat immediately. Satisfying this urge first thing in the morning prevents me from giving in to this desire at night where we a) have less self-control and b) have less flexibility with consuming carbs + sugar. For times when I still want something sweet in the evening, I am so thankful for my multivitamin gummies. I take 4 Garden gummies (satisfies vegetable needs for the day), 4 Orchard gummies (satisfies fruit needs) and 4 Vineyard gummies (satisfies berry needs). Twelve gummies isn’t skimping it, so this always does the trick for me. If you would like more info on these nutritious life-savers, please contact me and I will be happy to share! 😊