Wanted! - Late Night Bingers That Are Serious About Quitting

Are you one of the millions of people looking for a stress-free solution to your weight loss dilemma? By now you realize promises of quick fixes don't really work. Yo-yo dieting isn't fun, so hopefully now your weight dilemma is something you are ready to take serious. The advice in this article will help you to begin living a healthier life in no time.

For many of us dieters that battle with the urge to eat late at night know, it is not easy to resist late night temptations. It should be expected that this bad habit has got to go if you are going to become healthier and be successful on your diet. When you give in and start eating during a part of the day when you're not expending much energy, you will gain weight. It is not necessarily the time of day you eat that will cause you to have weight gain, but the type of foods you tend to eat late at night combined with inactivity. You know what your favorite junk foods are to eat after everyone else has gone to bed; cookies, ice creams, chips, and whatever else you may be craving at the time. Eating late at night will not allow your heart the rest it needs because it is working overtime to help digest all the food you just ate.

The following 8 tips will help you be more successful in your diet, and will help you put an end to the late night eating that is sabotaging your diet.

1. Be sure to eat three well balanced meals during the day with 1 or 2 healthy snacks between meals. Many people who want to lose weight will eat too few calories during the day and then start binging late at night. Don't skip out on breakfast and try to consume most of your calories before 7pm.

2. When you get the urge to eat late at night, instead make it a point to drink 1 to 2 cups of water or your favorite herbal tea. You will most likely still want to eat after this but remind yourself that you feel hungry late at night due to your custom of eating late or it is because your mind thinks it needs to eat again. Breaking this custom is like learning to quit smoking and takes strength and support. Write yourself a note on your pantry, refrigerator or wherever else needed; include your dieting goals and in large letters write something like: By not eating late at night, I will reach my weight loss goal!

3. Don't buy your favorite junk food items and avoid late night binging by getting rid of all high calorie foods. Instead of eating junk food, suck on a piece of sugar-free hard candy or get a pack of sugar-free pudding.

4. Don't watch TV late at night! If your favorite TV serious comes on late at night, try recording it so you can watch it earlier in the evening. It is easier to start eating at night when you are sitting down watching the television. Keep physically active by working on a favorite hobby and NOT watching just TV for hours on end. Food advertisements can unknowingly trigger the impulse to eat and being bored can be one of the biggest dangers to late night eating.

5. Journal it! Have a written copy of your diet plan nearby, and this will be a huge help in keeping your weight loss goals at the forefront of your thoughts. This will allow you to see your progress, as you begin to see your late night eating pattern begin to improve and the pounds to start coming off.

6. Be Thrilled to be Alive! Mix up your daily routine and start doing something new! You've already decided to get rid of unwanted fat and start focusing on better health; now it's it falls on you to be proactive about your late night eating habits. Do you realize that on average it takes 6 weeks to break a habit and start a new one? Begin creating a good healthy lifestyle and stick to it until it becomes a new lifestyle for you. Once you see and feel the difference it makes in your health and fitness, you will be even more motivated and your self esteem will begin to soar!

7. Having a lite snack is okay, but check the nutritional value on what you eat or you may regret it later. Try not to snack while in a car, but rather take the time to be aware of what you are eating and enjoy it. I was relieved to find out that; occasional snacks that are low in fat are okay. I enjoy having 1-2 scoops of sugar free butter pecan ice-cream on Sundays. Select a favorite snack and see if you can find a low calorie or sugar free version of it. Just remember though that even if the snacks are low fat, they may be loaded full of salt! Just because the nutrition guide on back says it is low fat or is sugar free doesn't mean you can eat three times as much. It's okay to enjoy it but don't go crazy and end up putting weight back on.

8. Exciting Changes: Become unwavering in your commitment to weight loss; you can reach your goal! Since you know what your weak areas are, you can begin avoiding any bad habits. When you feel tempted to eat late at night, you don't have to give into what your mind is telling you to do. The next morning you can wake up and enjoy a healthy breakfast to feel encouraged and you will be one day closer to a happier, healthier you!

Eating late at night is a constant struggle for nearly all of dieters. My basic conclusion is: If you are on a diet, you HAVE TO put an end to any late night munchies. Many people maintain good diets during the day only to blow it late at night; but you don't have to be one of them!