How Late-Night Snacks Impact Your Abs

We’ve all fallen prey to the lure of the refrigerator in the late evening, or even during the wee hours of the morning. With today’s busy lifestyles and long hours, we’re having dinner later at night, often followed by even later desserts and snacks. There’s nothing inherently wrong with snacking -- as long as you’re making healthy choices when choosing what you’re nibbling on, quick bites can actually help to boost your metabolism, allowing your body to burn fat more efficiently.

That said, when you’re trying to achieve washboard abs, consuming food late at night can counteract all of the hard work you’re doing during the day. Have you ever noticed that if you eat a big meal and then go straight to bed, your midsection is bloated when you wake up in the morning? The main reason late-night snacking is so detrimental to your abdominals is that you’re usually not participating in any physical activity afterward. During the day, your meals and snacks are expended by the demands of your regular routines and activities. But when you snack shortly before bedtime and then hit the sack with high blood sugar, the excess levels are immediately converted into fat cells instead of being efficiently burned. This contributes to the dreaded layer of belly fat so many of us struggle with.

If your goal is to achieve sculpted abs, it’s best to stop eating at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep. Below, we’ve listed some tips for avoiding late-night snacking:

• Try to stay busy: When you’re sacked out on the couch or puttering around the kitchen with nothing to do, it can be easy for boredom to lead you straight to the pantry. Try staying engaged in some sort of activity to keep your mind off of food. Go for a brisk evening walk, begin a craft or home project, or tackle a task you’ve been putting off. Chances are, once your mind is actively occupied, you’ll forget about the craving that seemed so compelling just a few moments ago.

• Make meals official events. Instead of eating in front of the television or the computer, make it a point to eat meals -- especially dinner -- at the kitchen table. If you’re actively thinking about what and when you’re eating, you’ll be less likely to overeat, helping to prevent tummy bloating.

• Consume enough calories during the day. A prime culprit for nighttime overeating is dieting. If you’re hungry all day due to insufficient calorie intake, you’ll be much more likely to have tummy growling at night. Stay satisfied with small, healthy meals throughout the day, and then taper off a few hours before bedtime.

• When you do snack, make wise choices. If you must give in, trade the potato chips and milkshakes for yogurt, fruit, or baby carrots. Monitor your portion sizes, too. It’s easy to start out with the intention of having a snack, only to end up consuming as many or more calories as a regular meal. It’s a good idea to pre-package allotted snack amounts to have on hand for those late-night “emergencies.”

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