Ever start craving naughty foods late at night and feel like you simply cannot go to sleep until you consume them? I know this feeling very well and have trained my body to change these habits due to my early morning, late night schedule. Below are some strategies for dealing with these natural cravings for sweet, salty & starchy foods that your body is programmed to desire at night!
1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
I know that it can be difficult to find time to eat during your busy day, especially if you are relying on a takeaway lunch and vending machine snacks. Get up a few minutes earlier than usual each morning (or stay up a few more minutes at night) to prepare snacks that you think you will need for your working day. Pack leftover dinner, fresh fruit or cut up carrot, celery, zucchini and/or cucumber sticks. One of my favourite snacks at work is a hard boiled egg, as it is a meal in itself. Don't have a fridge at work or travel in your car during the day? Throw some mixed nuts and dried fruit into a small container or make your own goodie balls using these ingredients for a tasty, filling & healthy on-the-go snack. My rule is to always pack more snacks that I think I could ever possibly eat, that way you do not run the risk of running out of food and being tempted to buy crap. You'll also snack a lot during the day, which will decrease your appetite for dinner and late night feasting. And I do not want to hear that you don't have time to prepare snacks; its a poor excuse! I wake up at 4:30am for work every day and usually do not get home from work or finish work until 9pm and I find the time, so you can too! All it requires is an attitude shift and perhaps a 10 minute sacrifice of extra sleep.
2. Eat the majority of your calories before 7pm
Do you recall this saying; 'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper'? Truer words were never spoken. Go large at breakfast and lunch. I try to eat my main meal around 12pm every day, as I know that if I eat after 1 or 2pm I will not be touching any more food until at least 7 or 8pm. Fill your body with lots of good, healthy food during the day so when you crash at home at night you are less likely to try to 'catch up with calories' and consume the bulk of your daily kilojoules then.
3. The later the dinner, the lighter the meal
This is something I struggled with for a long time, as I often do not get home from work until 9pm. What I finally realised was that eating heavy, carbohydrate-rich dinners late at night was not only leading to weight gain, it also meant that I woke up for work the next morning not hungry and skipping breakfast (the most important meal of the day!). As you can see, this can lead to a rather vicious weekly cycle. Nowadays when I get home late at night, I cook up an omelette or a filling, yet light salad. A light piece of fish like salmon or a tin of tuna will also go down nicely after 7pm. This does not mean that I never indulge in pasta or rice or noodles; I just pick my timing and usually eat these meals on the weekend at around 5 or 6pm so they have plenty of time to digest. This also means that I look forward to these meals and think of them as a 'special treat'.
4. Use your freezer
I'll admit that myself and my fiancé are quite big eaters so we often do not have any of our meals left over to freeze! However, if it was just myself at home I would definitely utilise my freezer as a means to prevent late night dinner blowouts. Freezing a healthy meal you have made yourself is a much better scenario than coming home starving to an empty fridge and reaching for a convenient bag of chips or ordering oily takeaway. Try to cook an extra serving or two of what you make for dinner on Sunday or Monday and you will be set for half of that week. Remember to freeze individual serves so you eat a small portion size and are not tempted to eat more than one serving.
5. Keep your pantry & fridge well stocked
I may not often follow point 4 above, but I certainly keep my pantry filled to the brim. My pantry looks like I am getting ready to hibernate for winter. I always keep tinned beans, corn & rice crackers, nuts, dried fruit and healthy tinned soups on hand. My fridge is constantly bursting at the seams with eggs, fresh fruit & vegetables, other salad ingredients and leftovers from the day before. I overstock my kitchen with supplies for a few reasons; the most prevalent to this discussion being that I feel very guilty if I have to throw anything away at the end of the week, therefore I am constantly making healthy meals to use up all my produce!
Emily's 5 top late-night dinners
1. An omelette with fresh tomato, onion & herbs.
2. A salad with hard-boiled eggs, beans and balsamic vinegar
3. A baked sweet potato stuffed with beans, corn & chicken
4. Lentil salad, featuring brown lentils, diced tomatoes & cucumbers, parsley with a garlic, lemon & lime juice
5. A filling smoothie with a protein supplement
x Emily
