Late-Evening Eating

LATE-EVENING EATING

Late-evening eating can be harmful to your health.

Eating late in the evening can cause acid reflux, bloating, stomach distress and poor sleep. Late-evening eating often includes calorically dense foods that are also high in sugar, fat and sodium. Eating large quantities late in the evening can cause you to store extra calories as fat and make it difficult to maintain an optimal weight.

Try aiming for a window of at least a 2-3 hours between your last meal and bedtime. Start forming new evening routines that do not involve food. These can include reading, listening to a Podcast or relaxing music, journaling feelings, meditation, and connecting with friends and family. Watching TV or other screens usually is counter-productive, as these activities often stimulate a desire to over-snack.

If you are going to have a late-evening snack, here are some portion-controlled options:

—1 cup of unsweetened almond milk with a fiber one brownie
—A bag of unsalted popcorn (single serving size)
-1 to 2 squares of dark chocolate
—1/2 to 1 cup of berries
—Apple slices with 10 cashews
—100 calorie snack pack
—A hot cup of herbal tea & cinnamon stick