While after-dinner snacks can be super tempting and tasty, in many instances, they can lead to more calorie intake than we might realize. Luckily, there are many effective ways to prevent late-night cravings and to eat *just enough* to keep you satiated and satisfied during your weight loss journey! We checked in with certified personal trainer Macy Sarbacker for 4 simple tips and after-dinner hacks to prevent nighttime snacking and further weight gain.
1. Eat a Well-Balanced Dinner
A basic guide to creating balanced meals is to make sure your dinner has equal parts lean protein, complex carbs and veggies with fiber (which is essential for your digestion and healthy weight loss). Often, Sarbacker says, we get hungry and “want to snack when we eat a meal that isn't satisfying or filling us up.” She advises to choose a meal that has a “balance of carbs, protein and fat,” to avoid this. Even if it seems obvious, it’s worth repeating if you keep finding yourself eating at night. After all, as countless trainers and experts say, analyzing your diet and really looking at what you’re consuming only helps when creating meal plans that work best for you and your body.
2. Drink More Water
Before reaching for an evening snack, Sarbacker says, instead drink a large glass of water. “Water can help fill up your stomach, which reduces hunger, and thirst is actually commonly mistaken for hunger,” she notes. She says that being honest with yourself and seeing if you’re really hungry can help curb cravings. “Stay well-hydrated and drink some water before choosing a snack,” she adds. To determine if you are truly hungry, Sarbacker says to “ask yourself if you would eat an apple.” If the answer is yes, eat a snack! If the answer is no, you may be bored or just feel like snacking. “There's nothing wrong with eating a snack if you are truly hungry,” she says, adding that “this is just a good way to find out if you are truly hungry and would eat a healthy snack, or if you are bored.” Either way, drinking an ample amount of water will greatly aid weight loss and overall health.
3. Stay Out of the Kitchen
To avoid further temptation, another tip is to spend time in a room other than your kitchen, where you probably prepare the most meals and snacks. “If you are hanging out in your kitchen, it seems very natural to look for a snack,” Sarbackser says. “Stay out of the kitchen and keep yourself busy doing other things— this will prevent you from mindlessly snacking.”
4. Go For A Post-Dinner Stroll
Going for a quick 10 minute walk after you eat dinner can have so many benefits. “Some of these benefits include: reducing sugar cravings, improving blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, assisting in digestion and more,” Sarbacker notes. “A simple walk can help reduce sugar cravings, therefore helping you to avoid nighttime snacking.”
Overall, these tips can work for many of us since they aren’t difficult to implement and can help us feel more attuned to our bodies’ needs for nutrition, nourishment and exercise! Eating when you’re hungry is of course necessary for healthy weight loss, and these tips are only meant to help prevent mindless snacking that all too often leads to weight gain.
