How Do I Curb Nighttime Eating?

Question: I’m having a hard time with nighttime eating. Any tips, hints, or other advice to help me curb this seemingly routine habit?

Answer: The first thing you need to do is determine whether you’re actually hungry or not. Appetite and hunger are very different concepts, and it’s important to differentiate between the two. Appetite is the psychological need for food, and it’s influenced by your senses, your emotions, and your environment. Hunger is the physiological need for food, meaning your body desires food to function normally. To simplify things even further, appetite deals with the sight or smell of food and your desire for it. Hunger deals with those pangs and growls you get in your stomach when you actually need food. Generally speaking, you should try to eat when you’re hungry. Take this example…after having a big meal for dinner, you might want some dessert, but are you actually hungry for it? You may just want it because it looks good or smells good, or because eating dessert is what you typically do after dinner. Essentially, your eyes are playing tricks on you. If you think you might be hungry in the evening, try drinking a glass of water and then waiting ten to fifteen minutes. If you’re still hungry at that point, try to figure out why. Did you have a big lunch and a small dinner, and now hunger is catching up with you? Or did you skip dinner altogether? You’ll often find a logical reason for being hungry, and if this is the case, be sure to remedy that situation the next time around. In the meantime, find something light to snack on in the evening. Some popcorn, a piece of fruit, yogurt, or even some string cheese would work just fine.

About the author: Grant Pritchard is the club owner at Anytime Fitness in Buckley & Orting.