Hi all! Coach Lisa here!
Don't worry, you're not alone. It's actually quite normal. More people do it than you realize. Oh... it... meaning late night snacking! You curl up on the couch or in bed to settle in for the evening. You've already had dinner, AND it was healthy. But, you still feel a littttttle bit.... dare we say... hungry. All the sudden, in an undisclosed amount if time you've managed to eat 6 spoonfuls of peanut butter and the dish of leftovers that you were going to eat at lunch tomorrow! It's okay! We can kick this habit together!
We get asked all the time how to conquer nighttime munchies. Here's a few quick tips that may help!
Make sure you have healthy snacks on hand.
You can't eat what isn't in the house. Begin transitioning your snacks to healthier options like fruit, nuts, popcorn, cheese sticks, veggies and dip. Have these readily available and at eye level. Put the more tempting chips and sweets in sealed containers out of sight.
Pre-portion and pre-track your foods.
Find snack size containers, weigh or pre-measure what you're going to have and pre-track it if you're tracking. When that is gone - snacking is done.
Set a daily "snack-BITE" allowance and stick to it!
Try to gradually decrease it week by week instead of trying to do it all or nothing. If for example you start with allowing 7 BITES, the next week try 5, then 3-4....
Set a "kitchen closed" time.
On the same principle as intermittent fasting... Make a rule - no food after [x] time. I don't know what your home situation is but if this could include other people not snacking in front of you, that would help.
Hard candies and gum are your friends!
Keep something around to keep your mouth busy. Peppermint and Cinnamon are natural stomach settlers so maybe see if you can find a more natural hard candy or make your own. Some people use sugar free gum, Tic Tacs or breath mint strips even...
Brush your teeth.
Use this as a signal to teach your mouth, brain and body that you are done for the night.
Busy hand hobbies.
Find something to do in the evenings besides eat. Find a new craft - color, stitch, crochet, those little bead kits, crosswords, suduko, games on your phone.... It doesn't matter what but find something that you can get absorbed in that involves your hands. Watching TV or reading allows your hands to wander into the food but you can't eat popcorn and color at the same time....