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What’s Up with Night-Time Snacking?

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Are you snacking at night?

It’s 7 p.m. Dinner is done, the dishes are put away, and you’re watching your favorite show. The next thing you know you’re standing in front of your pantry (or fridge or freezer), pulling out chips (or ice cream or crackers or popcorn) to satisfy your craving. And you might even find yourself there again at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., too! Does this happen to you? What’s going on? Are you really hungry?

Night-time snacking is one of the biggest challenges and culprits of weight gain. When you eat within a few hours of sleeping, your body stores the food as fat.

Believe it or not, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes of night-time snacking — habits, hormones, emotions, nutrition deficiencies, sleep deprivation – even the influence of television! See my top tips below to help you Skip the Snacking!

• “Emotional eating.” Have you heard of “emotional eating?” Perhaps you’ve experienced this or seen a movie where the jilted lover tries to soothe her broken heart with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? (Did you know they have a flavor called “Chocolate Therapy?”)

But emotions that can drive you to snack are not always that clear or dramatic. Everyday stress, anxiety, frustration, loneliness, and boredom are just a few of the feelings that cause many people to “comfort eat.” You may not even be aware of those feelings, but night-time can magnify them and send you to the kitchen.

In my practice, I work with clients to help them understand their emotional triggers, change their relationship with food, and learn healthier habits. The first step is self-awareness. When you find yourself mindlessly snacking, write a few notes about how you’re feeling. Ask yourself a few questions:

o Am I really hungry or am I bored? New clients often tell me that they snack because they’re bored. Does that ever happen to you? When and why does that happen? What could you do about your boredom besides eat?

o Am I stressed and snacking comforts me? Stress increases cortisol, which can increase your craving to snack. How about trying some healthier ways to relax, such as taking a walk, doing yoga stretches, soaking in a warm bath, or doing some deep breathing or meditation exercises. Check out the meditation app, Headspace. It’s easy, just 10 minutes at a time, and very calming.

Emotional eating is just one driver of night-time snacking. What are some other reasons we snack?

• Entertaining. When we get together with family or friends, it’s often about eating. And summertime brings picnics, BBQs, family reunions, and more! If you’re worried that you’ll offend your host who’s baked all day, or that your family or friends will give you a hard time (and what’s that all about?), let them know you are focusing on healthy habits, and find other ways to join in and connect! If that idea makes you uncomfortable (you’re not alone here, this is a very common challenge) let’s talk about ways you can handle this with your friends and family.

• TV triggers. When you’re watching your favorite shows, you’re the target of commercials for fast food, sweets and salty snacks. These ads work, as they were designed to, and trigger the urge to snack – companies spend millions of dollars to create those cravings. Take back your power by muting the television or fast-forwarding through your recordings.

• Hormone health. Your body produces hormones to help regulate your appetite – insulin, leptin and ghrelin are just a few. If these hormones are out of balance, you might feel as if you can’t control your hunger, because your brain is not acknowledging that you’re full. For example, why do we crave something sweet right after a big meal? It’s physical! Your body produces insulin after you eat in order to process the carbohydrates (sugar). Making just small changes to when and what you eat can help keep your hormones in check, making it easier for you to kick your cravings and maintain or lose weight.

Now that we’ve explored some possible “whys,”

what else can we do about it? Here are some steps you can take right away to help curb your night-time snacking:

• Eat a balanced breakfast. Because our bodies store late-night eating as fat, snacking before bedtime might prevent you from being hungry when you wake up. This might cause you to skip breakfast, which could throw you off for the whole day! It’s a snacker’s vicious cycle! To prevent this, be sure to begin your day with a balanced breakfast of protein, fiber and healthy fats. For example eggs with veggies sautéed in olive oil or ghee will help regulate your blood sugar until it’s time for lunch! But no one breakfast works for everyone. Not sure what to eat and what to avoid? Click here to schedule a complimentary one-on-one session with me to talk about your unique concerns, goals and challenges and put together a plan that will work for you!

• Don’t have it in the house. So there you are, right after dinner, looking in the pantry or frig. What are you looking for? If you can’t find the snacks you crave, you can’t eat them! The decision not to have snacks in the house is made in the supermarket. Next time you’re grocery shopping, resist the temptation to bring home the unhealthy treats that sabotage your health and weight-loss goals. If it’s not in your house, it’s not in your mouth!

• Crowd out the unhealthy snacks with better options. It’s unrealistic to think we’ll never want a snack – the key is to choose good, better, best options for snacking! See my favorite frozen banana ice cream recipe below.

• Make sleep a priority. Studies show that when we’re tired, we’re 25% hungrier. Why? Remember the hormone ghrelin I mentioned earlier? Your body produces more of it when you’re tired, and ghrelin is the hormone that tells your body that you’re hungry… If you tend to stay up too late, you could be adding a double-whammy to your night-time cravings.

Holistic Health Coaching supports you in all areas of your life. Life affects your food and food affects your life. Let’s get to the root cause of your snacking!

Tame Secondary Eating

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Secondary Eating. What is it and why should I care?

Simply put, secondary eating is the act of eating while doing something else such as; opening the mail, surfing the net, texting, watching TV, standing and the big one…driving. As a matter of fact, Michael Pollan, estimates Americans spend 78 minutes a day on this mindless form of eating. Wow.

3 Reasons It Matters

1. FLAVOR STEAL-ER – When we engage in secondary eating we aren’t aware of the amazing flavors and textures that whole foods offer up. Have you ever had just one more serving with the excuse – I’m just eating for taste? Me too! It’s because we didn’t savor the first go round.
2. FULL METER – We often over eat because we are so out of touch with our own body that we miss the subtle messages it tries to send about satiety. Hence the popularity of the Plop-Plop-Fizz-Fizz commercials! People relate.
3. DIGESTION – Eating without being present leads to fast, even frantic, eating. Here is a simple overview of what happens. You begin the digestion process as soon as the food crosses those luscious lips of yours. While you chew, enzymes in your mouth get to work breaking the food down so your gut doesn’t have to work as hard. When you rob the gut of this help you create a slowdown in digestion. So, even though you finish your meal in record time the work isn’t over. Ever had that “I have a brick in my stomach” feeling after a particularly fast eating session? Yep, me too!

3 Tips to Tame Secondary Eating

1. MINDFULNESS – This isn’t just new age gobbly-gook. Being aware and mindful in the moment has profound effect on you not just mentally, but down to the cellular level. Make meal time a ritual by slowing down and really experiencing the flavors and textures in your food. Here is a great way to practice and break the ‘wolfing’ habit. Take a square of dark chocolate – and I’m talking high end organic dark chocolate – smell it and really look it over before placing it your mouth. Put it in your mouth and just let it melt. Notice the bitter and sweet balance as it becomes molten bliss inside your mouth. It helps to close your eyes and really be in the moment. Guess what? You just meditated! Awesome, isn’t it?
2. SLOW DOWN – Once you feel the concept of mindful eating you won’t have a problem slowing down while you eat. It’s not a chore. It’s an experience. I used to think of eating as a chore, but when I implemented some of these strategies my experience changed. Same food, but my attitude toward the experience changed. When you slow down and are mindful the flavors and textures will come alive. The more whole food focused your diet is the better the flavor too! Seriously, you will be amazed. The added bonus is that the quantity you eat will diminish as well. By giving yourself a chance to hear your stomach say, “Full Already!” you will naturally cut volume.
3. CHEW THAT CUD – Cows chew on their grasses for what seems like an eternity to us. They instinctively know that chewing is their key to feeling good. Same for us. Remember the enzymes in your mouth? They are your digestion friends. Try to chew at least 15 times for each bite of food you take and you will be rewarded with easier digestion. The added bonus here is that you will actually taste your food!

I know that our harried lives don’t necessarily jive with mindful eating, but in the interest of feeling fantastic why not give it a try? Instead of gulping your morning smoothie down in three gulps take a sip and allow it to wander around your tongue before heading south. Try to not eat at your desk at lunch. Just imagine how cleaner your keyboard will be. Then make your evening meal an event. Sit at the table, use real plates and silverware and take your time. It helped me to put my fork down in between bites so I was more focused on chewing what was already in my mouth. Surprising how soon this becomes a habit. I can tell you these small simple changes will have a most positive effect on your digestion. Happy belly just ahead!

Inner Peace

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Today is the kind of day that it is hard to judge time by the sun. Today is the kind of day that makes me compassionate to my friends in the North. Today is the kind of day for introspection. We have been so busy preparing our dirt and hydro gardens for spring that a rainy grey day is a welcome repose. Baking bread was on the agenda today and as it rises, I am thinking about seeds. Not the ga-jillion seeds I yet need to start, but the seeds we nurture inside ourselves.

Find Your Inner Peace

When things are not running along smoothly it is easy to seek escape. Instead of looking externally for comfort with our “grass is always greener” mentality, it is amazing what a look internally can accomplish. A deep breath, along with a realization that we are able to shake off our own anxiety, does amazing things for our spirit. It is not always easy, but with practice, bringing your awareness inward and consciously calming your mind relaxes your mind and body, bringing treasure. This treasure is inner peace. Finding your seed of peace inside, and nurturing it, gives you a source to draw from when the daily grind gets a little unsettling.

Before I started a yoga practice I heard the term “be in the moment” and I thought it was a bunch of new age gobbly gook. Not so. Words can’t do the phrase justice. Perhaps that is why it sounds ‘out there’ to so many people. I assure you, once you take the time to quiet your mind and just ‘be’ it is amazing. Once you find your seed of inner peace you are able to return whenever needed. It gives you a clearer head when dealing with tough issues and provides an inner calm that can’t be found anywhere else.

Living a sustainable life includes making sure you are strong and resilient. Take the time to tend the garden of your mind and reap what you sow! If you are like me meditation is not easy. I found using guided meditation helped me train my brain to slow down enough for me to quiet my mind. Check out these guided Guided Meditations titles for one to help you get started!

Peace,

~Joni