Well, why not eat at night? Proper nutrition to avoid eating at night

Night gluttony - serious problem, which does not allow many girls to sleep peacefully at night. Experts say that raiding the refrigerator at night is psychological problem, buried deep in the subconscious. And since this is a problem, we need to fight it.

In addition, such night snacks do not carry anything useful - not only does the activity of the stomach and intestines decrease at night, and the food remains poorly digested, but what is eaten is also stored in excess fat and cellulite. Today we decided to look into the question - “How to stop eating at night?”

In 1955, doctors studied in detail the phenomenon of “night eating” and came to the conclusion that it is characteristic of people who suffer from the disorder. eating behavior, indecision, weakness of will, frequent stress And hormonal imbalance. They even gave the problem scientific name- night eating syndrome and developed a whole “rescue plan”.

Protein diet. Experts advise eating foods with high content protein – dairy and dairy products, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, plants, legume families, seeds and nuts. Thanks to protein, the body produces serotonin and endorphins, which balance hormonal balance and you will overcome night stress without gluttony.

Breakfast required. Experts say that breakfast is one of the most important techniques food, so it must be dense. Make sure your morning meal accounts for up to 30% daily norm calories. Ideally, for breakfast you should eat porridge with nuts and dried fruits, an omelet with vegetables or sandwiches.

Develop a routine. Try to have dinner no later than four hours before bedtime and do not eat it in the evening. physical exercise. The fact is that the body, warmed up by physical exercise, requires reinforcement, which is why you run to the refrigerator at night instead of getting a full night’s sleep. Drink plenty of water during the day, and before going to bed, place a glass of drink near your bed - this will save you from the temptation to get up at night and go to the kitchen for another portion of food. Spend as much time as possible on fresh air and do yoga. It is yoga that helps you find a balance between you and the world around you, as well as find peace and balance.

Fractional meals. Nutritionists advise eating little, but often - this is not only good for the body, but also prevents late-night snacking. You will develop a healthy eating habit that you will follow without being reminded. It is recommended to eat 200 g every 3 hours. Try it, and you will definitely notice that you don’t feel like eating at night.

Sweets for joy. After dinner, you can enjoy some light dessert. It could be anything: natural yogurt with fruit, fruit salad, jelly, cocktails, fruit, ice cream, cottage cheese, meringue, marmalade, marshmallows, pastille, sorbet, creme brulee, cottage cheese casserole. In general, do not deny yourself a treat, then after midnight you will not want to eat.

Keep yourself busy with something interesting. Don't think that you need to put something in your mouth before bed to help you fall asleep. It’s better to make the most of your evening time - read a book, watch a good movie, meet with friends and enjoy your vacation. Psychologists believe that pleasant memories of the evening will overcome the desire to eat at night. You can also more often present in detail the harm that late-night snacking brings.

Deceptive maneuver. If you really want to eat before going to bed or at night, use a decoy. Before going to bed, you can drink a glass of kefir, carrot juice or tea with lemon and lemon balm. These drinks help reduce appetite and have a beneficial effect on the health of the body.

Say no to the smell of food in your apartment in the evenings! It has been proven that the smell of food helps awaken your appetite. Even if you prepared food in the evening, thoroughly ventilate the kitchen and use the hood. You can use an air freshener or spray yourself with perfume to cover up the smell of cooking.

But sometimes at night you find yourself near the refrigerator with a sausage sandwich in your hand? Nutritionists urge you to remain calm - you are not alone.

Very often, restrictive eating systems lead to episodes of compulsive overeating, which occur about twice as often at night as during the day. And not to mention the fact that this behavior pattern prevents you from getting rid of extra pounds, it can have serious consequences for good health.

Study American Association American Heart Association, published in the journal Circulation, shows that working adults are most likely to skip nutritious meals. At the same time, 20-30% of them refuse breakfast, the energy potential of which is difficult to overestimate. Instead, they snack on the run, eat dry food and consume food almost around the clock, forgetting about such a concept as diet.

There is good news: the bad habit of eating at night can be overcome. Below are strategies that really work (you just have to gather your willpower and start acting).

1. Eat regularly

The habit of eating at night arises from a lack of food during the day, and this is something you should think about first. Prepare ahead of time not only for office meals, but also homemade healthy snacks that will help you fight chip and cookie cravings (like fresh diced fruit and carrot slices). Train yourself to follow a schedule: the norm is 4-5 meals during the day. As soon as you stop eating once a day, increasing the number of meals to at least three, the results will not be long in coming.

2. Decide on the final line

In fact, the habit of “not eating after 18.00” can be useful. Of course, only if you set real boundaries. In particular, you should stop eating 1.5-2 hours before bedtime, so if you know for sure that you will go to bed no earlier than 2.00 today, light dinner at 00.00 there will be nothing terrible. Why exactly two hours? Nutrition experts note that this is exactly the time our intestines need to fully digest foods (assuming, of course, that you didn't dine on a burger with two patties and fries). And this, in turn, ensures that your sleep will be sound and restful.

3. Give yourself time

If you always want to eat at night, and we are not talking about an impulsive “raid on the refrigerator,” then always give yourself 10-15 minutes before starting a late dinner. Ask yourself if you're really hungry or if you're feeling stressed and using food as a way to cope with stress.

If the second option seems appropriate, type hot bath with foam and turn on your favorite music - this should help. By the way, thirst is often disguised as hunger, so be sure to drink a glass of water before eating. Did not help? Obviously, you are really hungry. However, the same 15 minutes will help you make an informed decision. So now your plate will end up with fish and vegetables, not fried potatoes.

4. Plan an evening snack

If you tend to wake up early and, as a result, have dinner early, it's not surprising that you want to snack in the middle of the night. The solution here is this: plan a healthy late dinner in advance: for example, an omelette with vegetables or oatmeal with fresh fruit. A good option, if it's cool outside, there will be a plate chicken broth with a piece of bread. The main thing is that it should be a product that gives you pleasure, but is also easy to digest.

5. Follow the rules

Eating something from a bag or box while sitting in front of the TV is a classic situation. Meanwhile, the same scene illustrates ideal conditions for mindless overeating. To cope with a bad habit, set your own rules of eating behavior. So, when you are thinking about what to take with you to the TV as part of a “movie night”, put only a small portion of the snack on your plate and don’t even touch the rest. Well, and, of course, gradually wean yourself from having breakfast, lunch and dinner in front of the TV or in the company of gadgets. This will help you get real pleasure from food, and at the same time provide a prolonged feeling of fullness, which will reduce the number of nightly “attacks” on the refrigerator to a minimum.

Late night or late night snacking big dinners negatively affect a person’s health and well-being, threatening weight gain, sleep disturbances and other disruptions. If you follow a daily routine and diet, following simple rules, you can gradually wean yourself from eating at night and switch to more healthy image life.

Causes of night hunger

The habit of night and evening snacks, as a rule, is developed and reinforced in a person against the background of violation of the rules balanced nutrition during the day, hormonal imbalances. Emotional factors and eating disorders also play a role. The desire to eat before bed is provoked by:

• stress, the desire to relax, to have fun after a hard day at work with an intense pace of life (with eating disorders associated with “emotional hunger”, the habit of “eating”);
• poor nutrition during the day (malnutrition, lack of calories in the diet, long breaks between meals, causing you to overeat and gain weight);
• hormonal imbalance or other physiological disorders metabolism (failures in the metabolism of sex hormones, the production of melatonin, leptin, insulin, affecting the appearance of hunger and fat deposits).

How to stop yourself from eating at night

You should start not overeating in the evening and at night by observing the principles of balanced healthy eating during the day, correction of daily routine, behavioral habits. If measures do not help, you can use psychological techniques and methods. Nuances:

1. You won't get instant results. The process of adjusting any established habit takes three weeks (21 days) or more, provided that new dietary rules are regularly followed.
2. Nutritionists recommend taking the final meal in the form of a small snack (a glass of kefir, an apple) no later than an hour and a half before going to bed.
3. The main dinner time is until 19.00-19.30 (depending on the daily routine and work schedule).

Diet Tricks

You can stop overeating at night by following the recommendations of nutritionists and endocrinologists regarding general regime nutrition, rules of preparation daily diet. This way you will get rid of snacks at night, plus you will stop gaining weight and improve the functioning of your digestive system. Effective:

• A complete, varied diet throughout the day - with enough calories, no long breaks.
• Maintaining water regime. Lack of fluid is sometimes perceived as hunger. The recommended minimum is 1.5 liters of plain water (depending on weight).
• Prepare your dinner menu in advance and use foods with low glycemic index(to avoid spikes in blood glucose levels that trigger hunger pangs).
• An hour or two before going to bed, plan a light, low-calorie snack.
• Give up sweet soda, fast food, others harmful products throughout the day (to avoid spikes in sugar levels).
• Eliminate spices, reduce the amount of salt in your diet, give up tea with sweets, and other unhealthy snacks.

Behavioral Methods

Changing your behavior and activity in your life helps control and prevent the desire to eat before bedtime. evening time. There are such methods:

• Replacing evening TV watching with a walk before bed, playing with children, caring for animals, and other active and distracting activities.
• Taking a relaxing bath at night (no more than 20 minutes in time).
• Go to bed 2.5–3 hours after dinner. With a longer break, a feeling of hunger is guaranteed.
• Brush your teeth not only at night, before bed, but also after dinner and your last snack.

Psychological techniques

To control eating behavior, it is important not to follow stereotypes. Learning not to eat after 6 pm is not the most reasonable goal. You need to eat in the evening and at other times of the day so that you don’t feel drawn to the refrigerator at night. Warn or stop sudden attacks Psychological techniques will help with night hunger:

• self-hypnosis, auto-training, self-hypnosis (light trance);
• relaxing meditations;
• motivational photos on the refrigerator (if you are on a diet);
• aromatherapy with essential oils.

Exceptions to the rules

One and a half to two hours before going to bed, you can have a light snack if you know that for some reason you will have to go to bed late, and more than 5-6 hours will pass between the main dinner and going to bed. Plan its menu in advance - it could be a glass of kefir with whole grain bread, fruit, a little vegetable salad or low-fat cottage cheese.

But what if food constantly… interrupts all sleep? With constant or periodic attacks Many of us have faced hunger that worsens at night. As a rule, they end in “remissions”, but resume when various problems. Poor diet, overwork, lack of physical activity - and as a result, you can’t sleep due to an acute feeling of hunger. Some people wake up in the middle of the night with a ravenous appetite, but in truth, this happens less often.

How to stop eating at night: a bad habit

The habit of raiding the refrigerator late at night I can't really call it a norm. But appetite arises suddenly and haunts us inevitably. He almost never retreats himself and almost always triumphs over common sense. Its short-term consequences are insomnia, guilt and deep remorse for what they have done, long-term - overweight And chronic disorders digestive functions.

In addition, if you want to lose weight, you need to monitor not only the amount of calories and the quality of foods, but also the timing of meals. Allow yourself to eat only during daylight hours - then you will achieve great success. And if you have a habit of eating at night, first of all, you need to establish the cause of these “attacks”, and then learn to cope with them.

How to stop eating at night: looking for the cause of appetite

If nightly raids on the refrigerator have become a habit, it is necessary to determine the cause of their occurrence - this will help you quickly cope with nighttime hunger attacks and allow you to stop eating at night. Physiological processes The factors underlying this phenomenon have not yet been fully studied, but most likely, substances that regulate reward mechanisms in the brain, such as “hunger” hormones and some other hormone-like substances, are involved. Often we get up to eat at night, not because we are hungry, but because of stress or disruptions in biorhythms. What else can make us eat at night?

How to stop eating at night: adjust biorhythms

As has already become clear, in most cases of nighttime overeating, disruptions in biorhythms are to blame. Numerous studies have shown that most people believe that they are most productive either early in the day or late in the evening - a preference that is known scientifically as "chronotype." Indeed, many studies have examined the effects of chronotypes, but until now no one has looked at the reasons for these differences. And only recently it became clear what distinguishes “larks” and “owls”. New research shows that it's not night owls' fault that they can't wake up in the morning because they've been awake all night: they're just genetically predisposed to be more productive at night.

Melatonin supplements, which are already widely used, and new medications could also help people “beat” their chronotype. Although it sounds a little scary, it could prevent whole line diseases such as obesity and depression - these have repeatedly been linked to "faults" in our internal clock.

How to stop eating at night: taking into account the seasonal factor

However, disruptions occur not only in circadian rhythms - seasonal rhythms are also often disrupted: the need to reduce activity and gain more calories during the cold period is determined both historically and physiologically. After all, for many centuries our ancestors considered their lives not as years, but as years. From plowing to harvest lasted active life, it was as if they were waiting out the winters and sleeping through them. With us, everything turns out exactly the opposite. In the summer we are eager to go on vacation to the gentle sea, and we earn money for this luxury in the fall and winter. But in nature this is a period of hibernation. Our body, in step with all nature, falls into a slight anabiosis - the metabolism slows down, and it begins to work in an energy-saving mode. The shortened daylight hours seem to dictate: “Eat and rest!”

Indeed, from increased sleepiness and attacks of night hunger in winter period suffer where more people. Moreover, men suffer this condition more severely, while women have higher adaptive abilities of the body. There is even such a diagnosis: seasonal affective disorder. It is associated with insufficiency white light- this is a spectrum characteristic specifically for sun rays, ordinary electric light does not replace it. Our eyes are directly connected to the brain. And if there is not enough white light, then a state of drowsiness, weakness, and depression occurs.

Lack of light is not the only cause of this phenomenal syndrome. Becomes less vitamins. This is also fraught with weakness, lethargy, and decreased blood pressure. One more important factor winter sleepiness: We sleep longer, but... we don’t get enough sleep. Sleep specialists call this problem poor-quality night sleep. Trying to keep warm, many tightly close their windows until spring. As a result, the air in the bedroom stagnates - it's stuffy, and we don't get enough oxygen during sleep. Another unpleasant factor: Hot radiators and heaters dry out the air, which creates very uncomfortable sleeping conditions. There should be enough air and light in the room: open the windows, open the curtains or turn on the electricity. Moreover, if you are particularly acutely suffering from a lack of sun, purchase special lamps that provide light in the solar spectrum, and your well-being will quickly and noticeably improve, your routine will improve, and you will stop robbing the refrigerator at night.

How to stop eating at night: a step-by-step strategy

So, the reasons became more or less clear, and, of course, we tried to eliminate them, or at least correct them. But what to do when hunger still wakes you up at night with (un)enviable regularity?

1. First of all, you need to establish a clear daily routine and eat at the same hours. To train yourself to get up normally in the morning, use the “10-minute rule.” It's very simple: set your alarm clock 10 minutes earlier every day. As a result, in a week you will be able to get up an hour earlier without straining your body. It is also worth trying to follow the basic principle fractional meals- eat small portions 4-5 times a day: as a rule, this quickly rebuilds the body so that it stops waking you up at night with a feeling of hunger.

2. At the same time, you need to increase physical activity(especially if you work in an office). Do light exercise in the morning and throughout the day, and exercise daily or several times a week.

3. You should not immediately go to the table after coming home from work: a sandwich, grabbed at such moments, fills you up for a while, but after that it only provokes nightly attacks of hunger. Arriving home, you need to rest in silence for 15-20 minutes or take a shower - and only then start preparing and eating a full dinner.

4. Folk wisdom advises giving dinner to the enemy. Don't listen! Don't deprive yourself of dinner. The popular principle of “not eating after six” leads to the fact that the feeling of hunger does not allow you to sleep or wakes you up in the middle of the night. In order not to risk your figure and health, you should eat 3-4 hours before going to bed. Dinner should include a combination of protein, vegetables and complex carbohydrates(nuts, legumes, berries, fruits). Light dinner You can eat it 2-3 hours before bedtime, but be sure to exclude sweets and soda from it. Just try to eat more vegetables for dinner - they are rich in fiber, which helps slow down digestion, which means you feel full.

5. After dinner, take a walk in the fresh air for 20-30 minutes, and after it, just before going to bed, it will be useful to drink a cup of fragrant herbal tea with soothing herbs(for example, this combination has proven itself well: chamomile, linden, lemon balm, valerian). Improves sleep quality and contrast shower.

6. You should try to go to bed early: if you fall asleep before midnight, nighttime hunger pangs will not have time to arise after dinner, and your sleep will be more sound. It takes the average person about 6-8 hours to completely control their appetite. good sleep every night.

7. If the feeling of hunger is so acute that it prevents you from falling asleep, willpower will not help here - in this case you should not torture yourself. It is better to drink half a glass of water and wait 10-15 minutes. If hunger has not subsided, you can eat some low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese or drink a glass of milk with honey.

And one more thing: if you can’t cope with nighttime hunger attacks in one evening, you shouldn’t reproach yourself and limit your food intake the whole next day. This contributes to the development of feelings of guilt and dissatisfaction and returns to the problem of stress eating.

In his youth, when an ardent young man sits in front of the computer until five in the morning, gnawing on pizza with huge doses of Coca-Cola, obesity often bypasses him. This usually happens because a young, growing organism, also weakened by insomnia and the same computer, is not ready to turn into a ruddy fat man. For this reason, many people stop being afraid of eating late, and in vain: by the age of thirty, it will be a serious source of concern for the athletic figure, even among former skinny young men.

We will show you how to fight this horror that awaits us in the darkness of the night. But I would like to immediately dispel the popular myth that eating after six is ​​harmful: this is very, very wrong! In reality, you need to time your dinner so that you have time to digest it just before bed. That is two to three hours before bedtime you have every right have a nice meal with something easily digestible. And it’s better to do just that, so that a bout of hunger doesn’t overwhelm you when you’ve already buried your nose in the pillow.

This means that if you are used to going to bed at 1 a.m., you can safely move dinner to 11 p.m., just make sure that it contains no more than 30% of calories from your daily diet.

If you are still drawn to the refrigerator in the middle of the night, then you need to understand whether you want to eat from real hunger, or simply from nothing to do, out of habit. This can be easily verified using an ordinary apple. Take it in your hand and think about it, do you want to eat it? If the answer is “Yes!”, then you are really hungry, if the answer is “No, it’s better to have some tasty sandwich,” then you don’t really want to eat. In the second case, we observe psychological and emotional hunger. That is, far-fetched.

Psychological hunger usually comes suddenly, like an epiphany, like an irresistible desire to eat something tasty, spicy or salty. It can occur even if you recently had a large dinner.

Many people try to extinguish such a stimulus with some kind of activity or surrogate action (usually smoking, but doing so is not sporting). It is allowed to fill your stomach with something low-calorie - for example, drink a tablespoon of polyphepam. For some, regular chewing gum helps. But the main thing is discipline and a strict nutrition schedule.

The banal absence of appetizing temptations in the refrigerator helps a lot. Indeed, if you maintain a minimum subsistence level there, so that at three o’clock in the morning you can only find two lonely carrots there, then the problem will disappear by itself. Destroy all the most delicious and satisfying things at breakfast and lunch! Many nutritionists especially focus on, since it is a competent morning start that determines your appetite for the whole day.

Except unbalanced diet(excess sugar, flour products), stress can be the basis for night hunger. How to overcome stress repeatedly.

A simple trick that works well purely psychologically is brushing your teeth at night. Then every thought about food will be accompanied by torment that you will have to clean them again.

We have already mentioned above a surrogate action - something that can distract or occupy you. After all, most people do things at night that do not interfere with food consumption - watch TV shows, read, spend time on forums and chat rooms. Both hands and mouth are free all this time, as luck would have it, which is why there is an incentive to start eating at night. Now imagine what will happen if you hold an expander in your fist. If you pluck the strings of a guitar. Paint. Assemble the puzzle. It’s a completely different matter - gradually new habits will supplant old ones, and the night will begin to bring not obesity and nicotine cough, but useless but pleasant skills.

And finally, about the unpleasant - it happens that an unhealthy nighttime appetite is caused by disorders of the body: gastritis, ulcers, diabetes. In this case, you yourself understand that you should look for advice not on the Internet or even in the MAXIM magazine, but from a pathologist... oh, wait, you’re in the wrong office. See a therapist!