Dieting Effects – Midnight Snacking

Eating three square meals a day has been the standard for as long as anyone can remember. The dieting world and eating habit recommendations are changing slightly in recent years. The big changes come in the portions at mealtime and the snacks that come in between.

Snacking never used to be part of a nutritious diet. Most of the snack foods are what we call junk food. The convenience of a bag of potato chips or a chocolate and peanut candy bar draws us in with limitless temptation. Snacking is recommended to keep the metabolism up throughout the day, but not on junk food.

The perfect supplements are fruits and vegetables. Take a container to work and munch on delicious natural snacks whenever you wish. Eat as much fruit and veggies as you like; they are good for you and packed with nutrients.

Late Night Cravings

Midnight snacking is the worst type of snack we can have throughout the day. It is not recommended. In fact, many dietitians recommend no eating after seven o’clock in the evening. It gives the body a chance to slow down for bedtime.

So what happens if you are a midnight snacker? The body needs food for energy, to keep it going throughout the day. The food that is ingested and not burned as fuel gets stored in the body. It gets stored as fat. Eating late and then going to sleep shortly after will almost guarantee that the food will be stored for future use. Only it will probably not ever be used up.

At night, the body’s metabolism tries to rest itself for another day. Eating late at night creates an unusual consequence. The body is hungrier when it wakes up. If that midnight snack was skipped, it wouldn’t be so hungry. Try it.

Best Diet Scenario

The best possible scenario for your diet is to have as much fruit in the morning as desired. It is easy to digest, won’t make you tired, and tastes great. Have a sensible portion for lunch including vegetable, preferably not fried potatoes, and then have a well rounded dinner.

Snack between the meals on healthy organic fruits and vegetables and enjoy a salad before lunch and dinner. A big salad does a couple of important things. First, a vegetable filled salad will provide lots of good nutrients for the body. Secondly, it will start to fill up the stomach. This prevents over eating on the bad stuff that’s on your plate.

Choosing natural and organic foods can really help the diet as well. The foods digest easier in the stomach and intestines, and get the most out of the food. Conventional foods are filled with chemical preservatives and herbicides that are foreign to the body. The stomach tries to digest the chemicals first, and then makes its way to the nutrients, often not getting the most out of them.

If you have to snack during the day or even at night, select light foods that the body will be able to digest easily. They will past faster and not as much of the calories will be stored as fat.