4 Best Strategies to Stop Late Night Snacking
Written By Kris Einboden, GM and Professional Coach at The Six Pack Dad Tribe
We’ve worked with 300+ busy executive dads, and one of the most common things our guys struggle with is late-night snacking.
Why?
Because for many guys, it’s a coping mechanism for stress.
Being a busy professional dad comes with a unique set of challenges. From sun up to sun down, you are going at full speed. Managing work responsibilities on top of family responsibilities is basically two full time jobs. The only time you get to relax is late at night when the kids are in bed. You stay up late to cherish this quiet time and nothing feels better than enjoying a tasty treat or snack with that. Late night snacking solves one problem (the stress from your day) but creates a whole new problem: weight gain and poor health.
If late night snacking is standing between you and your health goals, here are four proven strategies we use to help our clients break the cycle of late-night snacking:
1. Start With Better Swaps
The problem with late night snacking is that it typically involves high calorie junk food. One of the easiest ways to address late night snacking is to simply snack in a healthier way. Think through the foods you typically reach for at night and find lower-calorie alternatives:
- If it’s soda, switch to diet soda or sparkling water.
- If it’s ice cream, try a lower-calorie option like Halo Top.
- If it’s chips, try something like Quest protein chips.
These swaps help you reduce hundreds, if not thousands, of calories you otherwise would have eaten, making the late night snacking significantly less problematic. It's not perfect, but it's a great step in the right direction and often helps guys see a lot of progress. Ideally, it’s best to get out of the habit of eating late into the night regardless of what you’re eating because even “healthier calories” are still extra calories that you don’t necessarily need. The following is how to do that.
2. Create a Kitchen "Closing Time," and Brush Your Teeth!
Pick a time each night when the kitchen is officially closed. For many people, 8 p.m. is a good place to start. When that time comes, brush your teeth. This creates a clear transition between eating time and non-eating time.
It also adds a little friction to the habit. If you decide you want to eat something afterward, you now have to make the conscious decision to undo what you just did and brush your teeth again. Creating small amounts of friction like this can make unwanted habits easier to resist.
3. Eat More During the Day
One of the root causes of late night snacking is undereating throughout the day. Many busy professionals will miss meals, snack throughout the day, and then finally eat their first real meal at dinner. Then they wonder why they can’t seem to stop eating into the night. If you eat more food earlier in the day, especially high quality, well balanced meals with plenty of protein, you will likely be less tempted to eat late into the night. I recommend getting in at least 100g of protein before dinner to help reduce late night cravings.
4. Change Your Environment
It will be impossible to stop late night snacking if you are always surrounded by junk. So remove all junk food from your house. If you don’t, you will force yourself to rely on willpower, and willpower isn’t a strategy, it's a wish. My clients who successfully beat the habit of late night snacking do this without exception. It’s a tough step, but it’s the most important one to take if you want to see real results.
Implement these strategies to conquer late night snacking. Start today. And if you’re looking for a proven system to conquer your health, achieve lasting fat loss, and build a sustainable lifestyle that gives you more energy for your kids and career, let's talk: