How Nighttime Snacking is Keeping you Fat

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Three Snacking Styles and Solutions

Identify your snacking type here and see how to solve your extra-calorie habit.

The keep-it-coming snacker: You snack continually from dinner until bedtime. You make frequent trips to the kitchen to seek out your next snack.

Solution: Decide on the number of snacks you may eat, then stick to it. One snack would be best, but if that's unrealistic, set the limit at two or three. Also, decide on the times for your snacks. Following this plan cuts down on trips to the kitchen and trims at least some calories from your diet.

The save-up-all-day snacker: You skip meals or go hungry during the day so you can snack at night. You often overeat at dinner or enjoy indulgent treats before bed. Unfortunately, you almost always consume more calories than if you had eaten three regular meals.

Solution: Start eating consistent meals during the day and you may find that since you're not starving, you no longer want all that food at night. Keep dinner light, and if you crave a special treat later, eat just one snack and make it something you really want, like a small piece of quality dark chocolate.

The 2 a.m. snacker: You wake up in the middle of the night to snack. "This is one of the most difficult habits to break," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, M.A., R.D. "In the middle of the night, you are very vulnerable and it's harder to stop yourself."

Solution: Eat your snack earlier in the evening when you're wide awake and able to make a better decision. If that's not possible, set out a healthful low-calorie snack before going to bed, then only let yourself eat it if you get up at night.

Tip: Cut 100 calories a day to lose almost a pound of fat in one month.