Does this sound familiar…you do well eating clean and healthy all day long only to blow it later when you get home that night by losing control and pigging out!?!
Maybe it looks like this:
It’s after 10pm, you turn off the TV, get up from the couch and rather than go straight to bed you make a little detour to the kitchen “for just a little snack.” Next thing you know you’ve polished off a whole bag of cookies!
Often this happens after a long, stressful day, when you’re finally home and you’re emotionally and physically tired. Then you wake up the next day with a food-hangover and eater’s remorse feeling guilty and angry with yourself thinking it was your lack of will power: not a good feeling!
Well guess what, it’s not necessarily your lack of will power that might be to blame.
When you eat is just as important as what you eat
Science has shown us there is an optimal time to eat certain nutrients and food combinations in order to get the best results and if you’re trying to control your weight or take off a few pounds, eating late at night is one of the worst times to eat.
As you’ve heard me say before, it’s always good idea to think about what you’ll be doing after you eat. What I mean is, if you are going to be sedentary or sitting just around on the couch to watch TV or are going to bed soon after a meal, chances are good that you won’t burn off any extra calories consumed so this will affect your smart food choices and amounts.
Also, during sleep is when the body is designed to rest and repair (i.e.anti-aging and detoxification), so if you just ate, your body is digesting food and can’t “rest and repair” because it’s working/digesting your food! The result is you’ll wake up less refreshed, sluggish and all around BLAH 🙁
A good rule of thumb, do not eat 2-3 hours before bed. This will help with weight loss, quality of sleep, digestion, anti-aging and detoxification.
Why Willpower is not 100% to blame
There are several factors that will set you up to lose control and overeat. The good news is you can control them so it doesn’t happen! Here’s what I found:
5 Main Causes of Overeating at Night
- Not eating enough food at your last meal
- Not eating enough protein and/or healthy fats at last meal (my favorite healthy fats are: raw, organic coconut butter, organic avocado, organic egg yolks and organic olive oil)
- Eating too many fast-burning carbs at last meal (rice, beans, dairy, yogurt, fruit, juice, carrots, peas, corn, chips, salsa, grains, etc)
- Not dealing with emotional issues (eating because of boredom, loneliness, anxiety rather than physical hunger)
- It’s just become a habit!
If you like this article, you might enjoy being added to my newsletter list for more great stuff!
Was this article helpful for you? I’d love to hear what some of your reasons for overeating at night are or what you’ve done to prevent or overcome it. Please leave a comment below.
