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We all know a healthy well-rounded diet is essential for successful weight loss. But did you know that the time of day you eat also plays an important role in how many pounds you keep off of your waistline?
Late-night snacking often leads to unhealthy eating habits and unwanted weight gain. There are even certain foods you should avoid at all costs, especially at nighttime, to stop the chances of fat gain.
It’s no secret that we often want something sweet after our last dinner meal of the day. However, those sweet treats stick around in the most unwanted ways long after your taste buds are satisfied. Typical dessert foods such as ice cream and cookies are top foods to avoid when you’re following a diet, especially at nighttime when you’re more prone to overeat desserts and snacks.
According to an article by registered dietitian Trinh Le, it’s best to avoid trigger foods in the evening.
Le explains that trigger foods are foods that hook you after one bite, such as chips, cookies and ice cream. “It doesn’t mean you have to eliminate them from your diet completely, but it’s best to avoid consuming them at night when you are more likely to overeat,” Le says. These types of foods are especially a little too easy to overeat when you’re preoccupied and consumed in watching t.v. and being on your phone late at night.
Even when you steer clear from snacks and desserts at night, it’s important to try to stop eating once you’ve had your evening dinner so that you can avoid overeating anything late at night.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to gradually eat less throughout the day by eating a large breakfast, a medium-sized lunch, and a smaller dinner since people who eat the majority of their food at night tend to overeat at night due to a lack of calories earlier in the day. Your body overcompensates at night to make up for the lack of nutrition during the day when you don’t eat enough throughout the day.
How do you stop yourself from overindulging in food at night? Let us know your best weight loss tips in the comments below!
