Often times, I find it hard to resist those “extra-gooey-double-trouble” chocolate goodies during late night studying sessions. Those high-calorie and high in sugar snacks can cause all sorts of problems for your digestive tract, skin, and your physique. Luckily for you, I have compiled 5 ways to reduce snacking at night and a few snack ideas to help you snack more healthily.
1. Eat a well-balanced dinner 3 hours before you plan on hitting the sheets for the night. A well-balanced dinner includes protein, veggies, and some healthy fat. Protein helps you feel fuller longer, thus, helps in fighting off cravings. Veggies are a good source of fiber that assists in your digestion–fiber is another key player that assists in the “full” feeling. Add a bit of healthy fat from avocados, nuts, or a splash of olive oil to help in your satiety of your meal. Fat also helps vitamins A, D, E, and K assimilate into your body.
2. Stay hydrated! Throughout the day, make sure you are consuming half of your body weight in ounces of water–aka, if you weigh 140 pounds, you should be drinking at least 70 ounces of water a day and even more if you are active. When you feel cravings starting to hit, also try drinking a full glass of water and waiting 20 minutes to see if your craving still exists.
3. Make sure you are getting at least 8 hours a sleep a night–ok, if you’re a college student, shoot for 7 hours. Your body searches for any energy source when you are tired, and snacking seems like an appropriate solution to your energy crisis. By upping your hours with your beloved bed, you will soon begin to experience less “quick-fix” energy cravings when you’re tired.
4. Set a goal for a week: no snacking after dinner. Then try setting another goal for two weeks, one month, and so on. Reward yourself by putting one dollar in a jar every night that you don’t snack, then spend that money at the end of the month on those shoes you’ve been eyeing.
5. If you have already had a glass of water and are still hungry after 20 minutes, try my one of my snacks I mention below!
- Pick your favorite veggie (carrots, peppers, celery, cucumbers, etc.) and dip into 2 Tbs. of hummus–the trick here is to limit your hummus… Calories from veggies don’t add up very quickly so veggie up!
- Natural popcorn with your favorite topping! Topping ideas: melted coconut oil (1 Tbs.), salt (1 tsp.), taco seasoning (1 tsp.), or nutritional yeast–it tastes like cheese and is a great source of vitamin B-12 (if you are a vegetarian or vegan, start adding nutritional yeast to your dishes for a dash of that necessary B-12 that you may be lacking from not consuming animal protein.)
- “Berries and Cream”: use 1/2 cup frozen berries of your choice (Costco sells a great raspberry-blueberry-blackberry blend) and top with 1/4 cup of either almond, soy, or regular milk.
- Apple slices and nut butter: slice up half an apple and dip into 2 Tbs. of your favorite nut butter! (peanut, almond, cashew, etc.)
- “Turkey Slice Roll-Ups”: take a turkey slice and add bell pepper slices or avocado slices for a great mix of protein and fats.
- Make yourself a cup of warming peppermint or chamomile tea. Peppermint aids in digestion and reduces stress. Chamomile is very calming and helps you wind down into bed. Plus, tea helps fill you up, too!
Happy and healthy snacking collegiettes!