Late Night Munchies..?

If your goal is to trim excess body fat, the point bears repeating (and emphasizing):

The closer you get to bed time, the fewer calories you should consume.

Why? It's just a simple equation of calories in versus calories out. As your metabolism slows, preparing for rest, you need fewer calories to get through the rest of the day, and you have less of an opportunity to burn off what you do ingest. So if you're going to need 700 calories between 6:00pm Tuesday and 6:00am Wedesday, and you want to lose a pound of fat this week, you'd better only get in 200 calories in that time frame. The trouble is that most people take in their single biggest chunk of calories in during this window of time. A major contributor for many is after-dinner snacks.

I'm targeting this topic today because, in my experience with hundreds of clients, this is one of the toughest habits for many people to break. So one way to minimize the impact of late-night snacking on the daily calorie equation is to keep the snacking to one of these three low calorie, high nutrient-density options:

1. Carrot sticks - this is a good choice if you're into the crunchy texture more than anything else. They're high in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, and you literally cannot physically consume so many that you'll be making a serious dent in the calorie deficit you worked so hard to create earlier in the day.

2. A glass of non-fat milk - the perfect combination of easily digestable carbs (unless you're lactose intolerant) and highly bio-available protein, which will help to keep you satisfied longer than strictly carbs. Plus you get the bonus of healthy doses of calcium and vitamin D.

3. Frozen grapes - you have to try this if your weakness is a late-night sweet tooth. They're fun to pop in your mouth, taste delicious and you have to eat them more slowly when they're frozen, so it's harder to stuff yourself. Grapes are also rich in healthful anti-oxidants.

Try one of these great alternatives to cheetos or ice cream and you'll find that you can have your cake (well, maybe not cake!) and eat it too!