Cleaning Up the Nighttime Snacking Habit

 

This month I'm giving special focus to something that I know a LOT of people are interested in …

 

Cleaning it up!

 

By that I mean, focusing on cleaning up our diets, our self-care and cleaning products, our homes, and even the info we feed our brain.

 

If you want a deeper dive on this, be sure to join my Clean It Up! 5 Day Challenge – you can get more info HERE.

 

Let’s talk about ONE BIG AREA that a lot of people struggle with when it comes to cleaning up their nutrition – NIGHTTIME SNACKING!

 

I wanted to share something that happened with a client recently - because I know you will probably relate.  (We all can!)

 

Have you heard of “ultra-processed foods”?  AKA "edible food-like substances"?  AKA "crinkly wrapper crap"?

 

That’s the new buzzword for packaged snacks, pizza, meal-replacement bars, and basically anything with a lot of added sugar, bad-quality fat, salt, or other ingredients to make them tastier and more appealing.  These are especially terrible when their crinkly wrappers include all kinds of "healthy" marketing puffery on the labels.

 

These foods are specifically ENGINEERED to trigger an addiction-like response in your brain, making you crave them and want to spend more and more of your hard-earned money on them.  It's on purpose, folks.

 

AND … it goes without saying these foods aren’t at ALL helpful (and actually run counter) to any health or fitness goals you have.

 

Back to my client:  She was CRUSHING her goals –  

  • choosing green leafies at every meal (yes, even at breakfast),
  • drinking more water with a bit of salt for electrolytes in it,
  • eating high-quality protein,
  • including high-quality fats
  • getting outside for sun & fresh air with her friends,

and she was feeling GREAT.

 

In fact, she even made a point to tell herself how proud she was of her actions!  (LOVE THAT!)

 

But then every night when she finished cleaning up after dinner, she got a massive craving for those ultra-processed foods (even though she wasn’t hungry) …. and every night she gave in.

 

She’d been a nighttime snacker for years and it got even worse in 2020.  She REALLY wanted to cut back on it but felt at a total loss for what to do.

 

We did some brainstorming on solutions that would work for her life and family, and we came up with an idea that might also work for you.

 

It’s something I’ve recommended to a LOT of my clients.

 

She changed up her evening habits to help her break the snacking cycle … and she did it in a way that short-circuited the “nighttime snacking” habit she wanted to get rid of.

 

For her, that meant tackling a home organization project and then going to bed early – and staying away from the couch and the TV (the trigger), which is where the snacking always happened.

 

This is a really great idea because it removed the automatic cue (TV + couch) to grab those junk foods.

 

And it worked!  The first couple of nights she thought about snacking, but then she got busy with her project.

 

Sometimes in order to break a habit loop, you have to (at least temporarily) remove the triggers that cause the habit to happen.

 

It’s a great tip straight out of the book on the shelf in my office,  "Atomic Habits" by James Clear.

 

Think about how you can apply this in your OWN life.

 

Do you have a time of day when it’s harder to meet your nutritional/fitness goals? You don’t always have to rely on willpower – a little brainstorming can help you find a solution that’s a LOT easier!

 

If you want expert guidance with this in your own life …. this is one of the things I do best!  A few simple tweaks can lead to GIANT results.

 

Let’s see if I can help you … just like I’ve helped so many others over the years to achieve a body that's fun to live in again.

 

Don't know where to begin?  Need some clarity on what to focus on first?  

 

For just $27, my Metabolic Health Assessment will start you on your path.

 

 Get My Metabolic Assessment Report NOW!

 

Make it an amazing day,