Do you find yourself hungry before bed and not sure what to eat? When choosing a night snack, nutritionists at Behavioral Nutrition suggest focusing on pairing fiber-rich carbohydrates with a protein source. Practicing better eating habits, such as this combination will help restore glycogen and support the building and repair of muscle throughout the night.
If you are someone who tends to overdo it on snacking at night, Behavioral Nutrition nutritionists suggest trying your best to make sure you choose a snack that will satisfy your hunger. Satisfying your hunger will help prevent overeating later. Foods containing melatonin, magnesium and tryptophan may benefit the quality and duration of sleep, so it may be beneficial to include these in your night snack as well.
- Melatonin: tart cherries, eggs, fish, nuts, berries
- Magnesium: almonds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, peanut butter, banana, avocado, dark chocolate
- Tryptophan-rich protein: eggs, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, chicken, dairy
Snack combination examples:
- 1oz dark chocolate, ½c raspberries and 1oz nuts
- 2/3c chia seed pudding or yogurt with 1/2c fruit
- 1 banana with 2 tbsp almond/peanut butter
- 2 hard boiled eggs with ½c fruit
- 1c fruit smoothie (with added protein such as peanut/almond butter)
Nutrition Services
The team of nutritionists and dietitians at Behavioral Nutrition can help you come up with a personalized plan to create better eating habits before bed if you need support. They’ll help with ideas for nighttime snacks, like the ones above, so you can find healthy foods that you enjoy eating. If all else fails, remember to stay away from sugary foods such as candy, cakes, as well as snacks with caffeine like chocolate. Dietitians agree that this type of snacking can cause agitation and alertness at night instead of relaxation.
Finding foods to add to your diet that you won’t stop eating because you don’t like them is one of the best ways to stick with it so you can enjoy the benefits. Our nutritionists work to identify problematic behaviors that lead to unhealthy eating so you can be prepared to avoid them. Falling into a habit of overeating before bed is a common way for many people to lose progress that’s been made by sticking to a healthy diet throughout the day but there isn’t one solution to stop it from happening. Get in touch with Behavioral Nutrition today to learn more about how we can help develop a healthy diet that you’ll enjoy.
