Fighting late night cravings was one of the hardest challenges that I faced when I decided to lose weight. If you have the same problem, you’re not alone. A common refrain is:
I don’t know what it is about that time of day, but I find myself snacking on both salty and sweet foods. Sometimes I eat too much, but it doesn’t matter how much I eat: I know I won’t lose weight if I am eating those extra calories late at night.
I’ve done some research, and here are the best tips (give a couple of them a try and let me know how they work, or if you have other ideas…).
- Brush your teeth. I know I know, you’ve heard this one before… You trick your taste buds with a game-changing play. It’s old school, but it works! Give it a try!
- Whitening strips. I read about this as an addition to the tooth-brushing strategy. With a whitening strip, you literally can’t indulge your cravings, plus your mouth is happy because something’s in it! As an added bonus, you get whiter teeth!
- Keep raw food on hand. Raw veggies may be boring at other times of the day, but I find them really helpful for late night snacking. If you know you need something to crunch on, why not have carrots handy—at least you give yourself a fighting chance!
- Make a pampering list. Pampering yourself in other ways can give you the same satisfaction as eating… What else can you do to substitute for the soothing feelings you get from eating late at night? Play a video game? Paint your nails? Surf the Internet? Take a bath? Can you think of some things you can do that won’t interrupt your favorite activities too much (these tend to be key snacking times)?
- Beauty mask. And, in the case of a beauty mask, you can’t eat if you have one on…and you’ll have a shining face!!!
I am gonna try the gum chewing trick
How about eating enough during the day so that you aren’t hungry at night.
I found myself waking up like clockwork about 2-3am for weeks, months and not being able to get back to sleep unless i ate something.
But on nights that I ate something fatty before bed, ie. yogurt with coconut oil, or braunsweigher pate with cream cheese, I didn’t have the waking problem.
I was told I was experiencing a drop in blood sugar. having a non-sugar/starch, high fat meal before bed/after dinner gave me just enough calories to keep my blood sugar stable, but not rise and take like sugar/starch might.
Also on days I ate enough dinner to be fully satisfied, I felt sleepy earlier, and slept better instead of staying awake looking for munchies.
I have had NES since I was a child. I have just found recently, that for me, putting a piece of sugar free gum in my mouth really helps me not get up and eat in the middle of the night. I have never swallowed the gum, and it has only ended up on the floor one time. Most of the time when I wake up, the gum is stuck to the front of my teeth and I just continue chewing. Not only does it help me not eat, but it keeps my mouth moist, which helps with night coughs. I wouldn’t recommend it for those who sleep on their backs, and one should definitely check with their doctor before doing this. I told my doctor about this, and she didn’t say to stop.
go to bed and get some sleep