Late night snacking is the downfall of many a diet plan and can ruin the best intentions to stay on track to lose weight.  Research has shown that our inhibitions are lower at night, making it much harder to avoid things we know are bad for us.

And while a well-planned snack can actually be a good thing if it’s during the mid-morning or mid-afternoon to help spread out calories and give the body a little metabolism jumpstart and energy boost, a late night snack can be lethal to your weight loss plans. 

So we know it’s bad for us – what can we do to overcome it?

Here are a few tips that may help you:

1.  Brush Your Teeth Yes – brush your teeth!  This helps curb the appetite and your dentist will thank you too!

2.  Starve All Day = Eat All Night! Be sure to eat enough throughout the day so that you don’t feel hungry at night.  Starving yourself during the daytime makes you even more hungry in the evening that sets you up for the inevitable binge that’s bound to occur.  Small, healthy meals during the day will also help your overall diet by keeping your metabolism steady.

3.  Drink Instead of Eat.  If you really feel hungry, don’t automatically reach for food. Try drinking hot water or tea to help soothe your appetite as well as fill your stomach somewhat.  Obviously, you don’t want to drink anything with caffeine, or you won't be able to sleep for the next few hours!  Avoid fruit or sweetened drinks like the plague - orange juice may be healthy, but all the sugar in it isn't good for you – or your blood sugar!

4.  Stay Busy throughout the evening. If your downfall is snacking while being a couch potato – get off the couch!  Try going for a walk which will curb the craving and burn calories too.

5.  Replace Junk Food with Healthy Snacks. If you absolutely have to have that late night snack, then make a conscious effort to make sure it’s a healthy snack.  Turn your house into a junk food-free zone to help keep temptations at bay.  Store only those foods that are healthy for you.  Fruits and vegetables are obvious choices that fill you up for relatively few calories.

6.  Make sure that the dinner you eat is “protein-heavy” to help stop the carb cycle.  The protein helps stop the craving for carbs and levels out your blood sugar.

7.  Portion out snacks. Portion control is the secret of weight maintenance.  All foods can fit into a healthy diet, but only in a serving size that makes sense for your goals. For example, 1 oz of walnuts (small handful) has about 189 calories; the whole cup (8 oz) can have a whopping 1480 calories!

8.  Learn to differentiate between hunger and boredom. Are you really hungry or just needing something to occupy your hands while you…..?

9.  Set a snack time limit – for example, promise yourself that you will not snack after 7pm – and then stick to it!

Make the effort to break the cycle!  Only you can take action and make the decision to change your late night snack habits.  Remember – all habits can be broken and replaced with new habits.  Create a healthy habit and keep repeating it so that your new plan becomes "routine'.  Once you see the difference how much your health improves, this helps motivate you to continue, and wishing you had started earlier.