If you have a habit of snacking at night, and many of us do, this one might be a little more difficult. Just try it for one night and see what you think.
Going to bed a little hungry doesn’t mean starving yourself. It means that after you eat supper, don’t continue to eat right up until bedtime. At least three hours before going to sleep, consume nothing other than maybe some herbal tea or room-temperature water.
This one little change could actually make you feel better within 24 hours.
If you are dealing with blood sugar issues then always do what is best for you, but even diabetics may find that their morning blood sugar levels are better if they don’t snack at night. It might be helpful to talk with your doctor if you find that your blood sugar levels frequently get low during the night, as an adjustment in insulin might help prevent this.
For the majority of us though, snacking at night is a habit that adds extra calories exactly when you don’t need them. Research is now showing that calories consumed at night make you gain weight compared to the exact same number of calories eaten during the day.
Action – The idea is not to eat within at least three hours of bedtime. Long-standing habits are tough ones to change. You need to want to do this in order for it to work, and that’s why you can agree to try it for one night and then decide for yourself. Some of the benefits might be enough to convince you to drop the late-night nibbling and focus on having healthy meals during the day.
Steps – We have things turned a little upside down in our world. Our eating habits are contributing to health problems and obesity, and the times we eat can contribute to the inability to lose weight. Many people skip breakfast, eat a light lunch, snack on high-sugar foods because they are hungry, and then eat a huge dinner followed by more carbohydrates through the evening. Then they plop into bed and wake up feeling less than energized.
If you stop eating at 7:00 pm, when you wake up you are likely going to be a little hungrier than normal. That’s a good thing. Having a healthy breakfast can set you up for a productive day. Follow that with a big lunch, then a lighter supper. Yes, pretty much exactly the opposite of what we do now.
Why It Makes You Feel Better – Late-night snacking can affect the quality of your sleep. It takes massive amounts of energy to digest food. A common misconception is that food provides energy, but just try to do an energetic activity after Thanksgiving dinner and you can understand why this isn’t true.
Our bodies like to do housekeeping at night. It is a time for healing, repair and growth. That is when the system becomes more active, looking for pathogens and intruders that could cause harm. The energy spent digesting food steals from the body’s healing time.
Lying down after eating can also contribute to indigestion and heartburn. Gravity naturally assists the digestion process, so lying down inhibits it.
Example – We don’t need to be slaves to our habits. Instead of eating at night, I make a big cup of tea and enjoy that. I also find that if I floss and brush my teeth right after supper, it signals to my body and my mind that I am done eating for the day. It seems simple but it works for me.
Our bodies have enough to deal with on a daily basis without us adding to the workload. If you want to be healthy, give your body the support it needs and allow it the time to heal during the night. This one small step could make you feel better than you have in a long time.