The American Dietetic Association points out that while eating before bed won't inherently cause weight gain, giving into nighttime cravings for unhealthy foods could cause you to gain a few pounds. The hours between dinner and bedtime are often fraught with the need for sweets and snacks to help quell nighttime hunger, so knowing your triggers and preparing healthy snacks in advance help you to meet cravings head-on to conquer nighttime hunger.
Step 1
Eat dinner an hour later than usual. The actual time of day you eat won't change the way your body processes and burns calories, so waiting an hour to eat simply decreases the time between dinner and bedtime to help stop cravings and hunger before you go to bed. Eat meals made up of complex carbohydrates, fiber and protein for long-lasting nutrition.
Step 2
Turn the television off, and read a book or complete another quiet activity. Watching television means you're constantly assaulted with a barrage of commercials for unhealthy food products, such as sugary candy, chips, soda and fast-food restaurants. These commercials are engineered to make you crave the product they're advertising, which often leads you to your fridge or pantry.
Step 3
Keep your hands busy so that you're less likely to turn to food out of boredom. Knitting, scrapbooking or even playing a video game helps to keep your mind off of eating because your hands aren't sitting idle, leading you to believe you're hungry when you're simply bored.
Step 4
Eat a healthy snack before bed if you tend to wake hungry in the night. While unhealthy snacks, such as those made from refined sugar and flour are digested quickly, leaving you hungry again, health snacks made with protein and fiber take longer to digest. You'll feel fuller longer if you eat celery and peanut butter, vegetables and hummus or a cheese stick and a piece of fruit.
Step 5
Drink a glass of water when you feel hungry, and then assess your hunger level. Thirst often manifests as hunger so always check to see that you aren't dehydrated instead of defaulting straight to food. Adding flavor to your water in the form of a twist of lime or a splash of seltzer makes your water tastier in the place of a snack.
Step 6
Brush your teeth and use mouthwash. It's good practice at the end of the day anyway, while infusing your mouth with a minty flavor that is associated with the end of a meal. The lingering flavor of toothpaste helps deter you from craving other foods, since the flavor would be altered and even unpleasant.
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