Finally, the endless working day has come to an end. And you were able to live it on an empty stomach. Honor and praise to you. Now hurry home and sleep. I don’t want anything else.
It would seem that everything is so, but for some reason I cannot sleep. You want something, you don’t know what. And here a criminal thought creeps into my head: “I cannot sleep from hunger. We need to eat something urgently. If you want, you need to eat. And more. Otherwise, there will be no sleep, and if you fall asleep, nightmares will torment you. » Then remorse begins: “How generous the refrigerator turned out to be, and what a glutton I myself turned out to be! Tomorrow I’ll arrange a fasting day, and I’ll lock the refrigerator. At least for the night. But will it help? »
Eating up for the night is like sumo wrestlers. Remember what they look like? Impressive, you won’t say anything. So, for these Japanese heavyweight athletes, a plentiful late dinner is a kind of diet, sitting on which they purposefully gain weight. But why do we overeat, always dreaming of keeping ourselves in good shape?
Why do we gorge ourselves before bed?
Food as a way to calm your nerves. For many, food serves as a sedative medicine, a kind of compensation for troubles, worries and a hardworking day. Coming home, we shed burdens and worries from our shoulders and allow ourselves small weaknesses. Soak up the bath, lie on the couch, watch TV … And wander around, of course.
If in the morning, making a choice between scrambled eggs and bacon and oatmeal, we reluctantly ate oatmeal, then in the evening everything is different. In addition, after 18 hours, the blood glucose level decreases, and you really want something sweet, especially since carbohydrate foods help relieve stress.
You need to remember a simple rule: in the evening you were not overcome by a depressive state, food cannot solve these problems. Find other ways to relieve stress: take an evening run, go to the gym, or take a relaxing bath.
At night, all cats are gray and full. So they are cats. They are nocturnal and sleep during the day — unlike us, who work by the sweat of our brow every day from nine to six. By the way, cats during the day can do without food at all, the mouse that they ate last night is quite enough for them.
The darkness itself greatly affects our endurance. In bright daylight, people have better control over their desires and actions, including food. It is easier to stop during the day, even if at the cost of a strong-willed effort. Well, if dusk reigns in the room, you are tempted to eat a couple of extra pieces. That is why it is so dangerous in front of the TV in the twilight.
Lack of calories during the day
Food self-control is high in the morning after adequate sleep, and gradually decreases during the day. We can say that your body is responsible for everything that you eat before 12 noon, and in the afternoon you will have to control the gastronomic process yourself. No wonder, they say: eat breakfast yourself, and give dinner to the enemy.
Try to stick to the golden mean — eat regularly and in moderation. And you do not need to starve yourself during the day, then in the evening there will be no desire to swallow a ram.
Owl lifestyle
If you work the night shift or are accustomed to staying awake in the dark, then a midnight meal may be a must for you. After all, you spend the day sleeping. In this case, have a hearty dinner at 22-23 o’clock, do not delay this procedure until «bull hour». At 2-3 o’clock in the morning, the stomach falls asleep, even if the brain continues to work actively.
How to gain control over yourself?
Why is eating at night negatively reflected on the figure? Because we load the body at a time when it should rest. The stomach cannot process high-calorie food, and it quickly fits into place — it is deposited in fat on the sides and abdomen.
Late gastronomic vigils are also harmful because after 22 o’clock the «stop-light», which tells our body that it is full, begins to weaken, and after midnight he stops talking altogether. At night, you can eat a dozen sandwiches and heels of buns, and after all this it will still seem to you that you are hungry.
The more often you gorge on before bed, the more difficult it will be to «hear» the voice of your body, begging you to stop. Otherwise, you can lose contact with yourself altogether. And overeat around the clock. But now is not about that.
Plan your evening menu in advance. Aim to eat 2/3 of your daily calories before dinner. After lunch, it is advisable to arrange an afternoon snack, and eat dinner itself no later than 3 hours before bedtime. The more time passes from lunch to dinner, the hungrier you become. Begin to gradually wean yourself from eating before bed. At first, snack on low-calorie foods — eat an apple, a loaf of bread. Then give up this nocturnal pampering.
Always brush your teeth after dinner. So you let yourself know that your mouth is closed until the morning. In case of an acute attack of night hunger, which can find you right in bed, drink a glass of water. If one glass is not enough, another one. And further. The urge to eat will surely disappear.
No food in front of the TV. If watching TV causes you to have a chewing reflex, give up the evening vigils of the box body or come up with an activity while watching programs.
Don’t read while eating. Because you will not even notice how you gobble up a mountain of cookies while reading your favorite book or magazine.
Especially no feasting in bed. Always eat at the table and concentrate on the process.
Chew slowly, and during evening feasts twice as slow. Give your stomach time to «understand» that you have eaten something, otherwise you can overeat without feeling full.
Forget about alcohol. It is not only a high-calorie supplier, but also a hunger enhancer. One glass of beer — and your appetite will wake up, and control over yourself, on the contrary, will weaken.
Go to bed early. So you will save yourself from painful thoughts, whether to look into the refrigerator, and put in order the biological clock. Lack of sleep, by the way, can lead to weight gain. Scientists recently found that regularly sleep-deprived people have decreased levels of the hormone leptin, which is responsible for feeling full, and increased levels of ghrelin, a hormone that causes hunger.
Go to the gym, run, swim. Exercise is another incentive for you not to overeat before bed.
Are you prone to nighttime gluttony?
According to psychologists, there are people who suffer from nighttime overeating syndrome. They eat very little during the day, but make up for this omission in the evening. Late dinner for nighttime gluttons accounts for 80% of all calories, and after midnight, everything that is left in the refrigerator is eaten. As a result, a person gets much more calories than the body needs.
Symptoms of Overnight Binge Syndrome:
- irregular breakfast;
- unwillingness to eat in the morning;
- feelings of guilt during late meals;
- nightly awakenings from hunger, when rest and sleep, is deprived of the presence of a sandwich or cake in the refrigerator.
If you find these symptoms in yourself, then you are building your diet incorrectly. Review your daily menu.
