I love the movie elf, it’s hilarious, anytime of the year. His eating habits were atrocious, I think we call can agree that syrup on cold spaghetti with crushed pop-tarts and candy is nasty. But how often do you get home from work and graze about the kitchen while deciding what’s for dinner? Or mindlessly eat an entire bag of chips in front of the TV? If you’re trying to lose weight or sleep better, this habit can derail your hard work. Snacks can temporarily fill the void, but they create a bigger problem later.  And remember the four basic food groups for elves are: candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup. They are not the basic food groups for humans. Ha ha

Clients, including myself, express nighttime as the hardest time to avoid snacks.  These unplanned snacks can add up to a whole lot of calories and interrupt a good night’s sleep.

Here are Janelle’s top ten ideas to break the noshing at night routine

1.      Break your routine If you’re in the habit of eating at night, you may need to consciously break the pattern. If you’re used to grabbing a snack on TV commercial breaks, use that time to fold laundry, walk up and down the stairs, or do other small tasks.

2.      Don’t buy it Get away from temptations by breaking the habit of buying unhealthy snacks to begin with.  Stock your home with healthy snacks and pre-portion others so that you have an easy grab ‘n go ready to go verse brining the bag or the box to the coach.  Pre-portioning snacks also trains your mind to realize what a serving is.  That can break the routine of over-eating.  

3.      Start planning your meals Trying to decide what’s for dinner after a long day at work can feel like a chore, which makes ordering take-out very tempting! But, if you already have a plan in place for dinner, the task isn’t such a burden. Meal planning is a snap if you keep ingredients on hand for a few of your favorite go-to meals.  Also doing meal prep on weekends or making many meals at once, then freezing plan overs can take the burden out of meal prepping during a busy week.  It gives you healthy grab ‘n goes right in your own frig or freezer.

4.      Eat protein throughout the day Protein helps curb appetite well and will also help keep your nighttime cravings under control.  It does this because protein helps stimulate gut hormones and those hormones play an important role to help you feel full — for longer. 

5.      Keep a food journal or use a habit tracker Write down what you eat daily in a journal, or a form called a habit tracker.  A food journal keeps you aware and honest with yourself. It can also allow you to find unhealthy patterns, which is the first step to changing them!  Then assign value to your habits and work on removing those that derail your goals of not snacking at night.

6.      Stop, take a pause This is called being mindful.  Bringing yourself back to the present.  Then ask yourself “Am I physically hungry?” Are you simply looking for a snack out of habit or feeling anxious, lonely, bored, or tired? If you are not physically hungry, grab a glass of water or decaf tea instead.

7.      Use the broccoli test  If you aren’t hungry enough to eat broccoli it is another form of eating you are doing, usually emotional.  If you don’t like broccoli substitute another healthy food like an apple, or sugar snap peas. If you aren’t hungry enough to eat the healthier alternative you give yourself, it is not physical hunger.  (Email me for a copy of the broccoli test! Janelleb.Baldwin@SoulisticWell-Being.com)

8.      Close the kitchen after dinner, drink water  Allow yourself to have water, peppermint tea or beverages that are not full of sugar or calories at least 2-3 hours before bedtime.   Many times, we think we need something to eat, but we are just thirsty. Did you know that dehydration can cause night cravings?  Did you know that peppermint tea reduces cravings for sugar and fatty food?  Also note, it takes our digestive systems time to digest our food and break everything we ate at dinner down. Getting into the habit of eating late can lead to a whole list of other bad side effects such as interrupted sleep, digestive issues, bloating, heartburn, and the dreaded weight gain.

9.      Sniff peppermint  A unique study done by Wheeling University showed that just inhaling the scent of peppermint (every two hours) can cause people to eat fewer calories as well. Other benefits of peppermint tea include faster digestion, rids of some questionable breath and if you become really irritated at times, the mint can soothe those jagged nerves away in minutes.

10.  Brush your teeth If you brush your teeth, it can reduce or eliminate the desire to get them “dirty” again.