Nighttime Eating // Your Worst Enemy or Your Best Friend

Check out this example meal recipe I came up with tonight that's not only delicious, but extremely good for you, as well as my knowledge and thoughts about nighttime eating. For some people, nighttime eating is the sole reason they are unhealthy and overweight, it's their guilty pleasure, and they don't know how to avoid it. I am going to show you how. You know those nights where you're starving, scrounging for something to eat because you've had the busiest day but lacked the time to fix dinner or grab a snack? This is generally the worst possible scenario because you usually end up grabbing a convenient bag of chips, candy, ice cream, etc. just to get rid of the hunger pangs. And of course, this is what leads most of us to weight gain. If you haven't eaten dinner, than your more likely to be desperate for food and just inhale anything you can find in your pantry. This is a recipe for disaster, so do your best just to do some reading and go to sleep. But if your going to be up for a while working on something or just aren't tired, then you should definitely listen to your body and feed yourself. (But for heaven's sake, read the rest of this article!!!) The same bad scenario creeps up when you have eaten healthy, portioned meals throughout the day and aren't really hungry per se, but may be craving something because your bored and emotional, and you end up gorging on cookies, snack foods...you get the idea. Well, whichever the case may be, the idea and goal is to avoid taking in a bunch of unnecessary calories, keep yourself busy and at least eat something beneficial to your body. If your eating because your bored, obviously you need to fill your time with something productive. If your legitimately hungry at night and need to eat, what you eat is imperative and needs to have a tight reign on your blood sugar. Why? I'm glad you asked! Your body's metabolism slows throughout the day, and is slowest at night. That's why fitness experts will tell you that breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day, lunch should be a little smaller, and dinner is even smaller. (Also, this is why you hear breakfast is the most important meal of the day - it prevents over eating throughout the day.) You are generally sedentary at night, and when you are asleep, you are burning the least amount of calories. Therefore, regardless of how healthy you are and how fast your metabolism is, if you eat 3 slices of pizza before bedtime, those calories inevitably will be stored, unless of course you had basically starved yourself that day. So what does blood sugar have to do with anything? If you were to eat nothing but sugar, bread, or chips (processed carbs) for example before bed, your blood sugar spikes, your body pumps unnaturally high insulin levels to process the glucose (turn it to energy), and stores every bit of it as fat - because fat is glucose/energy that is not being used. (Stay tuned for a very important article on insulin resistance and obesity.) The difference with incorporating protein, healthy fats, and fiber into your nightly/general diet is that it regulates your blood sugar by counteracting carbs, leveling out your body's insulin production, and therefore creating a natural balance with stored glucose. Your body will continue to use protein, nutrients, and fiber to your advantage even if your sleeping, as opposed to sugar and refined carbs. This does not make it okay to stuff your face with everything in your kitchen just because it has these nutrients in it! If you exceed your body's calorie budget, your still going to gain weight, but at least if your snacking, you can feel good that these nutrients are working to your benefit, instead of against you. So, if it's nighttime and you find yourself bored and in the kitchen, you need to cook. The Green Lentil, Edamame & Meatball recipe I shared is packed with these healthy fats, protein, and fiber. The great thing is it takes a while to cook, hopefully keeping you from mindlessly snacking and it keeps your blood sugar/insulin levels balanced. Also, the recipe is modifiable - you can change the dressing, use lemon juice instead, change up the spices and flavorings, you name it. The lentils, meat and edamame are going to take on the flavor(s) of whatever you choose to add to them. You can also interchange quinoa for the lentils which is a healthy grain that's also packed with protein and fiber.

Bottom line, nighttime eating/snacking can be your worst enemy by becoming the primary way you sabotage your healthy lifestyle (trust me, I've been there), or it can be conquered in a healthy, tactful, and fun way. It should be well thought out, and success is achieved by 1) always keeping healthy ingredients/snacks in your kitchen, 2) being aware of the healthy foods out there you can cook so your not always turning to rice, pasta, Ramen, etc., 3) choosing to cook or enjoy something that takes some time and patience, and 4) making enough to satisfy your craving/boredom or hunger, AND have leftovers for the next day.

Stay tuned for healthy, late-night snack ideas.

Peace!