Tips On How To Minimize The Midnight Munchies

A growling stomach late at night is no fun.  It’s nearly impossible to get to sleep, or stay asleep, when we're hungry.  We trudge to the fridge and grab the easiest, and often the least healthy, snack we can find to satisfy our cravings.  If this happens to you night after night, it can get old very quickly, and you may be ruining your diet in the process.  Is there any possible way to avoid these cravings and stick to a healthier plan?  Let's take a look.

Regular Eating Schedule

This is extremely important if you want to break the cycle of late night snacking.  Planning out your meals ahead of time and making the most of the meals you eat will make a huge difference.  Most importantly, don’t skip meals.  This will cause you to binge on other meals throughout the day because your body thinks it's starving.  Start with breakfast.  Eating breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day for several reasons.  With a good healthy breakfast, we kick-start our body into the optimum metabolism.  As the day wears on, schedule a light snack, then lunch, then another snack, then dinner, then another light snack.  Keep with this schedule and your body will recognize the fact that you will continue to feed it so there is no need to dig into that leftover pie at midnight.

Exercise

Getting yourself on an exercise routine will eliminate the urge to eat at odd times of the day.  Exercise not only burns calories and helps you maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it also will help improve your metabolism.  A slow metabolism can fool your body into thinking it needs more food.  When you're exercising regularly, you are burning fat, building muscle, and letting your body know it has everything it needs so you won’t constantly feel hungry.

Hydrate Yourself

Many of us mistake dehydration for hunger.  If you are craving food, pour yourself a big glass of water, sip it until it's gone, and then wait.  Your brain will get the signal that you are operating at the proper hydration and that you are full at the same time.  You can also try sipping herbal tea, especially if the cravings hit late at night.  Many have properties that sooth and help you sleep.  This will make it easier to move past the cravings.

Commit

It will be completely up to you to break the cycle and make a change if you want to stop eating late at night.  Discipline is necessary in order to make a change in any habit that we form.  Stop buying junk food, start planning your meals ahead of time, eat every 3 to 4 hours, and be sure to make the most of the meals you do eat.  Don’t starve yourself.  Get yourself on a routine and journal your progress.  Do whatever works to get the ball rolling and form healthier eating habits.

There are a number of ways you can avoid the late night munchies.  Do your research and plan healthy snacks ahead of time. That way, if you do wake up late at night at least you know you won’t be reaching for the junk food.   Give yourself time to change your routine.  Eventually, you will have scratched those midnight cravings from your daily routine and move toward a healthier lifestyle.