healthy eating plans

Late night snacking can ruin your diet. When time is structured, you’re less likely to think about food. Why are so many people tempted to snack late at night?

The #1 reason is boredom. When the mind is not stimulated, it tends to seek pleasure and eating is a very pleasurable experience. Here are tips for eating healthy that will prevent those unplanned snacks that add unwanted calories.

Don't Skip Dinner - Skipping dinner will set you up for failure. The temptation for eating junk food or whatever is available becomes overwhelming when you are very hungry. You can help your weight loss effort tremendously by not skipping meals.

Include a Light Dessert for Dinner - Any light dessert will do if you love sweets. Desserts that are less than 150 calories can easily be added to your diet to give your sweet tooth a real treat. When you're satisfied, you are less tempted to snack later at night.

Watch Less TV – Weight loss will certainly not come by way of deceptive infomercials. You’ll also be surprised how watching television can cause you to snack and cause "out of control" eating. Your mind is not working and boredom unsuspectingly creeps in.

Boredom causes you to want something pleasurable such as food. Also TV commercials, with their tempting images of food constantly coming at you, are notorious for triggering you to start eating again, especially treats that are not healthy.

Make Plans for Fun Projects - Write down projects that you always wanted to do. Using your spare time to do worthwhile chores will keep your mind off food. Projects can include helping your kids with homework, sewing, developing a business plan, family games, 30 minutes on the treadmill or stationary bike.

It's hard to believe, but very true that fun and productive projects can help you lose weight in a very healthy way.

Plans for Snacks - If you’re the type of person that just can’t avoid snacking late at night, then plan 1 or 2 low calorie snacks. Plan something like sugar free hot chocolate with light whip cream or 1/2 bag of light microwave popcorn at the time you're most vulnerable to eating snacks. This way, you consume only 70 to 100 calories, and do very little damage to your weight loss effort.