Thread: When It's Too Late to Eat

If nighttime snacking is ruining your fitness efforts and bloating your gut, you need to deal with it in the light of day. Here are 10 ways to put the problem to bed.

Originally featured in:
Men's Fitness November, 2001
Written by: Ben Kallen


After taking on a demanding, stressful office job, Robert began gradually putting on weight. It wasn’t for lack of exercise, because he had managed to keep up his workout schedule during lunch hours. And he had a pretty healthy diet, except for one weakness: eating at night. For some reason, his dinners seemed to be getting bigger, and he found himself crunching on chips throughout the evenings as he tried to unwind from the pressures of his long workdays. As the calories built up, so did his belly.

Of course, Robert isn’t alone. “At the end of a tough day, it’s easy to let your guard down and indulge in overeating,” says Southern California physician Barnet Meltzer, M.D., author of Food Swings. Enough people actually eat half or more of their daily calories at night that the condition has been given its own name: night-eating syndrome.

The average night eater doesn’t go that far overboard on p.m. calorie consumption, but the roots of the problem—chronic stress and tension that last into the evening—are similar. And when the days grow short and the weather segues from mild to wild, matters can even get worse.

While it’s untrue that calories consumed at night are more likely to turn to fat rather than muscle, guys who overeat at night are more likely to consume too much food overall—and that makes you fat. If you want to ensure that nighttime munchies don’t eat away at the progress you’re making in your eating-and-exercise program, you need to take action. Now.

1. Don’t let the season get you down
In the fall and winter, nighttime overeating can be related to seasonal affective disorder, a condition in which a lack of sunlight affects your brain chemistry, causing feelings of listlessness, lethargy and possibly even depression. To counter these feelings, the body generates cravings for sweet foods or fast-burning
carbs that are high on the glycemic index. Even a very mild onset of this phenomenon can contribute to unrestrained snacking.
• Nutritionist Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of Food & Mood, recommends you try to eat meals that are higher in either protein or complex carbs for a week, to find which one gives you an energy boost. Keep it up until the days grow longer again. (Of course, don’t gorge on these foods.)
• You can also check out the traditional “light cure” for SAD: Go out in the sunshine as much as possible early in the day. If there ain’t no sunshine, expose yourself to a full-spectrum lamp (available from a variety of Web sites, wellness stores or home-supply stores).

2. Don’t limit your daytime eating or skip meals
In an attempt to conserve calories, or because there’s no time to eat a proper meal during the day, you might end up skimping on breakfast and lunch. Problem is, if you cut too far back during the day, you’re likely to be frantically hungry by dinnertime. Later on, you may not have the energy to prepare a healthy evening meal, notes Boston-area nutritionist Nancy Clark, R.D., author of Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook. If you stuff yourself at night, you’ll be less hungry in the morning, which means the whole destructive cycle will start over again.

3. Eat a healthful, filling dinner
Working late or going out at night is no excuse to make a heaping bowl of Cap’n Crunch your evening meal. Low-fat protein, complex carbs and fiber are as important at night as they are during the day, and satisfying food will make you a lot less likely to want to snack later. Keep plenty of easy-to-prepare, wholesome food in your home—it takes only a few minutes to broil some chicken or fish and steam some vegetables. Even frozen dinners, augmented with a serious salad, can work in a pinch, but don’t make them a daily routine; you’re likely to get sick of them and revert to your bad bingeing habits.

4. Schedule your daily workout for the evening
This has several benefits: First, you’re doing something interesting with your time, so you won’t be tempted to decompress after work by sitting back with a bag of Chee-tos in your lap, trying to decide which new TV show is the worst. Second, working out tends to make you more aware of how food affects your body, so you’re more likely to eat for maximum muscle gain and energy instead of vacantly stuffing your face. Finally, exercise helps you burn off the stresses of the day, making you less likely to crave unhealthful snacks. If you lift weights after dinner, some extra postworkout protein and carbs may help your results—but don’t take this as an excuse to splurge. And remember, leave at least three hours between your workout and bedtime to ensure a good night’s sleep.

5. Do something fun at night
The curse of the eight-hour workday is that you don’t have time to let loose until the evening, but when happy hour rolls around, you’re often too tired to enjoy it. And stress and tedium can translate directly into overeating, warns Meltzer. “When someone is tense, bored, or their mood is down, he’s likely to use food to comfort himself and change his state of mind. He’ll use late-night ice cream, pizza or beer as a reward system for the frustrations of the day.”
The way out of this, Meltzer suggests, is to lift your mood with enjoyable activities. “Once you recognize these feelings,” he says, “there are many ways of dealing with them: Plan a trip, call a friend, read a good book, put on your favorite CD, go to a movie … anything that engages you and is creative.” Our suggestions: Schedule a hot date, or go out with the guys (you can substitute your wife on either occasion).

6. Kill your TV
Okay, that would be un-American. But a study published in the American Journal of Public Health has shown that the more television you watch, the more likely you are to be obese. And it isn’t just the number of commercials for bacon burgers and doughnuts that does it; watching TV while you eat leads to the kind of oblivious snacking that can go on for hours. To break this habit, simply set a rule that you won’t eat and watch TV at the same time. It may take some of the pleasure out of Monday Night Football, but keep in mind that all the onion dip in the world won’t make Dennis Miller any funnier.

7. When you have to snack after dinner, make it light and healthy
If no evening is complete for you without a little mindless munching, have something like fruit or air-popped popcorn. Whatever you reach for, though, strictly limit the quantities, especially if you tend to gobble up whatever happens to be in front of you. If you believe you sleep better after a snack, go for it; just make sure it’s small and easy to digest. (According to The Promise of Sleep by William C. Dement, M.D., Ph.D., the common idea that certain foods, such as turkey or carbohydrates, promote better sleep has never been documented. Any benefit you do get is likely to have less effect than maintaining proper sleep habits, such as going to sleep and waking up at the same times every day.)

8. Try a hot beverage
Often, what you’re really craving on a chill autumn night isn’t food at all, but just the comfort of something warm in your stomach. A cup of high-quality decaf coffee, herbal tea, hot cider or low-sugar cocoa—preferably sipped alongside an attractive woman by a blazing fireplace—can satisfy this need nicely.

9. Cut down on adult beverages
Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and raises your appetite, further encouraging you to overeat at night. It also adds to the overall number of empty calories you’re getting, so cutting down or stopping entirely will go a long way toward helping you lose excess body fat. Drinking at night can interfere with your sleep, too, so even if you aren’t trying to lose body fat, a glass or two of wine or beer with dinner should be your limit.

10. Give yourself a time cutoff
This is a simple behavioral technique in which you say to yourself, “I’m not going to eat anything after a certain time in the evening.” When that time comes, firm up your resolution by brushing and flossing your teeth. Not only will this cut down on late-night consumption—as well as tooth decay—you’re more likely to sleep better and have less heartburn if you give yourself a few hours to digest your food before going to bed. Before you know it, it’ll be time for breakfast.

Good article Prince!