Throughout high school I was plagued with night time eating. I would wake up between 2 – 3 am and sleep walk to the fridge. I would automatically reach for the sugariest and highest carb thing in the fridge. Take several bites and then wander back to bed in a coma-like state. This plagued me all the way until my mid 20’s. Guilt didn’t control it, disgust didn’t tame it, nothing seemed to break the beast that woke me up at 2 am everyday to demolish the sugar in the cupboard and fridge. It was an animal of it’s own. Slowly it dissipated but I never figured out why until recently! Turns out that leptin and “The Rules” seemed to kill the hunger monster and help me get restful sleep and lose inches.
Stop Eating, Start Losing
In order to control night eating it’s ESSENTIAL to stop eating 3 hours before bed. This allows you body to switch off the “energy mode” and turn on “fat burning mode.” Eating too close to bed will inhibit your bodies own leptin and work against you as you toss and turn through out the night. This is also why people wake up at 2 to 4 am in the morning to eat. After so many hours the body registers that it’s blood sugar is dropping. Once it does, it automatically wakes you back up to “refuel.” After eating your body relaxes and then you are able to go back into to dream land. Stopping this patterns will lead to lasting fat loss, especially in the belly, upper thighs and hips!
Insulin Resistance
If this is you, chances are you ARE insulin resistant (or you’re on your way). If you don’t wake up BUT you have intense cravings for sugary (or high carbohydrate) foods soon after eating meals OR late at night this STILL applies.
The Problem with sleep eating and late night munchies
If these symptoms match your eating, chances are you have unbalanced blood sugar, insulin resistance, and leptin issues. Don’t worry it can all be altered with some simple fitness tips. Once you do this for 3 -4 weeks it will all start to level out and you will begin to see changes in your body as well!
1.) Don’t eat 3 hours before going to bed.
It will be tough at first. Drink a lot of water and consume a dinner that is moderate to low in carbs will help you to control your cravings.
FITNESS MUST: It’s important that you adhere to the low carb, moderate carb rule (in order to control your hunger). A simple trick is the 50/50 rule. Eat the same amount of grams of protein as the grams of carbs. THIS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
Fitness Tips: Use veggies to fill your stomach when you decrease your carbs. Also, make sure you eat enough carbs through out the DAY so you don’t over eat them at night.
2.) Eat enough protein at dinner.
Not eating enough protein will actually make these rules harder. SO stock up and balance out the carbs you are eating to make your life easier!
3.) Allow your digestive system to rest! 12 hours minimum
From the time you eat your last meal (dinner) to the time you eat your first meal of the next day (breakfast) – make sure there are at least 11 – 12 hours. This will allow your body to digest and rest. After 2 -3 day of eating this way, you will notice that your body does its own cleaning and it will have a day of frequent bowel movements to push out all the excess junk that was hanging out in your digestive track and slowing you down!
Follow these rules for 3 – 4 weeks. Make sure you measure yourself before hand (weight, inches, and body fat if possible). Also measure how well you sleep, how much energy you have and your mood. You should have some great results as long as you keep your eating consistently healthy and normal during the day (no overeating 😉 Then write in and let me know how you did!
Living Lean,
Adria
Leave a Reply