Whether you’re studying late for an exam or binge-watching your favourite TV show, when midnight comes around it can be tempting to dig into some snacks. But eating so late at night, especially if it’s snacks filled with sugar and carbohydrates, can do bad things to your health and weight. But don’t fret, there are ways that you can break these late night snacking trips. Here are some tips to help you out.

Spot the triggers

So what is it that is leading you to your binge snacking? Is it sitting down to watch TV? Being bored? Feeling sad? Before you get the need to snack write down the reason or the feeling that you get that leads you to the cupboard, so you know what’s driving you.

It is also important to know the reward that you are getting from snacking, is it because of comfort or distraction? Once you know the reward and the trigger you can make another plan on how to achieve the same feeling – without the snacking.

Remove snacks from your home

You can’t have a late night snack if you have no snacks waiting for you in the kitchen. Remove all your trigger foods and replace them with a healthier alternative instead. Get some fruit and veggies that you can snack on. Even having some calming tea can help to replace sugary drinks.

Eat a proper dinner

One of the reasons that you could be reaching for that snack bar so late at night is because you’re not eating properly at dinner. Convincing yourself that you should only eat a small amount at meal time will only lead you to feel hungry later in the evening. So make sure that your dinner is more substantial and filled with nutrients. And don’t just eat everything in one go, slow down and take your time so that you are more aware of how much you are eating.

Distract yourself

One of the most effective ways to kill your cravings is to distract yourself with different activities. Maybe call up a friend you haven’t seen in awhile, go for an evening walk, take up a new hobby, go to bed early or play some video games. Having a distraction can make it more difficult for you to indulge in your cravings.

Bad food habits can be very difficult to break, it doesn’t help that at night we have less self-control because we’re tired from the day’s stresses. However, this doesn’t mean that with some effort and motivation that we can’t break these habits.