Snacking at night can be a huge problem for dieters.
A common question that I get asked by my Fit in 42 members and the members in my Drop A dress size Challenge, is on what to eat in the evenings or at night to stop them from snacking on things that aren’t in line with their goals.
This may also be relevant to night shift workers, who find it hard to sleep during the day and are awake for a few hours before starting their shift.
I am going to give 4 tips that you can try individually, or all together to help you overcome this annoying situation.
1. PUSH ALL YOUR MEALS FORWARD IN THE DAY.
When discussing the issue of evening snacking with clients, one of the things I ask is if they are hungry in the morning time.
The most common answer is usually no.
One thing that you can try, is to gradually eat your breakfast later each day.
This allows you to then eat all your other meals later and will ‘push’ your dinner into the time where you usually snack.
Having a meal at the time when you usually snack, eliminates the snacking without having to change your diet at all.
2. EAT LARGER MEALS IN THE EVENING
If you don’t like the thought of skipping breakfast, or if eating at different times isn’t possible because of set work break, the eating smaller meals during the day and eating larger meals in the evening may be a better option.
Breakfast and lunch can be smaller than usual, you can also use snacks here if you like.
Then in the evening you can have either 2 bigger meals or 1 large meals.
This should keep you fuller and should save on snacking after.
One thing to note here, is that no matter how big the meals, they should all fit into your goals.
If weight loss is a goal, all meals and snacks, no matter how big, should leave you in a caloric deficit.
3. EAT MORE PROTEIN
Protein ranks very high on the satiety scale (the feeling of fullness after a meal).
When was the last time you sat down to a large meal that had a load of meat in it and were; A) able to finish, and
B) wanted to eat anything afterwards?
As a nation we are are notoriously bad at eating protein.
In a typical food diary that I see, the protein usually comes from a slice of ham at lunch and some sort of meat at dinner.
If you were to add protein at every meal, you wouldn’t feel the need to snack in-between meals and wouldn’t want to after dinner.
Think increasing your consumption of eggs, chicken, fish, beef etc.
Aim for a palm sized portion, that is the same thickness as your thumb, at each meal.
4. EAT YOUR VEGETABLES AND MORE OF THEM.
Vegetable are a great, low calorie meal bulker.
What I mean by that is, you can add loads of them to your meal and end up filling yourself up on foods that have very little calories compared to other carbs like breads, pasta etc.
If you had a large meal with a portion of meat, 2 portions of vegetable and 1 small portion of carbs, you would have a very large plateful, that would be hard to finish and would leave you full for a long time after eating it.
Best of all, it’s going to be low in calories.
If you always struggle with snacking at night, these 4 tips can be a life saver, especially if fat loss is your main goal.
Other useful tips for things to kill cravings are;
• raw veg
• diet drinks
• coffee
• green tea
• 9 cal jelly pots
• Sparkling water
These are just some of the tips I give to the members from my Drop a Dress Size Challenge.
Train from Home and get Real Results.
You can find out more through the link below.
#TrainSmart
http://www.rushefitness.ie/
Or contact me on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rushe-Fitness/120518884715118
* Emmet is the owner and operator of Rushe Fitness LTD
Tags: