It’s late night watching Sex and the City or the Office
reruns after a long day of work and your lift was lit earlier that day, but yes
we all get the urge. That urge we are all familiar with whether you truly are
hungry or just need something to keep occupied with. And I will let you know
that this is not about how you are not allowed to feed the urge or have to eat
stringy celery at 10:45pm sadly rather than devouring that last piece of pizza.
There
are two factors that the primary factors when snacking if on a goal driven plan
body wise: timing and value. There is a difference when eating late at night
and eating your 2:30pm tide over snack. I have seen some posts about eating
your calories for the day at it “doesn’t matter when”…..THIS IS NOT ACCURATE. I
can firmly say even without a medical degree that eating 2000 calories from
8pm-10pm and that is it for the full day will actually probably restrict
anybody from attaining goals. No human body can be expected to digest that all
at once and give you energy for the entire next day with a fully working
metabolism. No. Please do not do this. I am not indicating that this is
entirely bad for either though. Let’s face it, life happens and busy days catch
up to us, but this should not be an accurate practice daily. A fully working
metabolism works by consistently using it similarly to building muscle: the
more reps, the stronger it gets.
The
other factor, value, is where most people struggle, so do not worry if this is
your weakness. EVERYONE WANTS THE SAME SNACKS YOU DO and you are not different,
so please do not make this the part of attaining your goal you struggle with.
When attaining goals health wise, the smart snacking is where you can thrive
in. The snacks should have some sort of nutritional and energy help in it, but
nothing that should be effecting your sleep. The snacks should have something
that can either be used to digest throughout the night or will be hydrating you
throughout the night. Almonds, fruits especially watermelon, and granola are
all great options, but do not be afraid to experiment.
My
favorite late night snack is something I actually found on Pinterest: Apple
Nachos. If you melt some all natural peanut butter (no additives at all-just
peanuts) drizzle it over sliced apple, and top it with mini dark chocolate
chips, if will satisfy absolutely any craving or urge you have. Check it out at Trail & Eater Apple Nachos:) 