Late Night Snack Attack

It’s 10pm on a weekday night. I’m watching August Rush and the only thing distracting me from Jonathan Rhys Meyers penetratingly blue eyes is… the munchies. Now, I know that I’m not hungry because I had a great dinner. It’s just amazing that after the sun goes down and I’m curled up on the couch, I start craving a snack.

Night eating can be a disaster for anyone trying to lose weight. In fact, some people suffer from a clinical eating disorder called “Night Eating Syndrome”. Why does chowing down at night seem to hurt our waistlines? Well, there’s a couple reasons. First of all, when we’re snacking after hours we’re often being completely sedentary…like I am on the couch right now. Afterwards, we then go to bed without burning off the calories we just ate. But, the main problem with night snacking is what and how much we eat. Face it, who sits and craves a nice bowl of lettuce when they want a late night snack???

If you can’t wait until morning for a snack, make sure that you keep your portions small and that you eat some type of protein, to keep your metabolism going.

Put down the box of Girl Scout Cookies! Here’s some healthy late night snack ideas:

Popcorn and peanuts
Low-fat cheese and whole grain crackers
Greek yogurt and fruit
Celery or apple slices and peanut butter
And always plenty of water!