Trying to get into the best shape of your life, you cannot forget about nutrient timing! One of the key concepts you need to understand is nutrient timing and the role this plays in shedding the most amount of fat as possible. Some people call it carbohydrate tapering which is the method of eating carbs at specific times during the day to maximize your “windows of opportunity”, i.e. first thing in the a.m. and pre/post workout and tapering off carbs as teh day continues, to gain lean muscle and shed body fat. To help us with our goals and carb tapering, it is important to get a handle on why we snack so much and what we can do about this problem which reeks havoc on your physique.
Snacking boils down to two main things, comfort and boredom. When you snuggle into the couch at night and pull the covers over you with a big bag of your favorite snack food, a warm sense of comfort rolls over you. A little r&r and flavorful snack, sounds like a great way to end the night right… NO!
Something to remember is that not only is insulin released and effected with food but serotonin, the feel good hormone, also has a powerful effect on why we crave carbohydrates at night. Eating carbs raises serotonin levels, just like insulin. You feel amazing when Serotonin is increased! Then a little later, your serotonin levels drop and your brain tells you to eat more carbs and sugar to spike your serotonin levels back up!
The other factor is simple boredom. Most people are just plain bored at night and there is really nothing else to do other than continuously snacking on junk food. If you feel yourself slipping into a boredom scenario, the first thing to do is understand what is happening and then get up off the couch and get moving. Go out for a quick walk, take a bath, read a book, listen to music, write in your journal or simply spend time with loved ones. Recognition is the first step to stopping these snacking habits.
Next, it simply comes down to overall mental toughness, Mind over matter!! Its called discipline and it’s the #1 factor which will separate you from all the others out there that want a lean physique. The truth is that it takes a lot of hard work and mental discipline to obtain the look you are striving for. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, remember that! The reality is hard and most people don’t want to hear about the amount of work it takes to really succeed. The question you have to ask yourself is how bad you really want it? You need to know what you want and more importantly, what it takes to get it. You have to have the mental toughness to stick to a program!
Now what about Tapering off carbs…
One of the issues with eating carbs at night has to do with insulin. As the day progresses, your insulin levels are less sensitive which means you have an easier time converting carbohydrates into fat stores. Later at night, your body is winding down from a long day and you usually spend time relaxing. Your body is not moving all too much and not much energy is being used. Add this insulin response to snacky foods and that is the first thing that is going to slowdown your success!
Now, let’s talk about what snacks are Gina Approved and acceptable… If you absolutely cannot pass up a snack later at night, the first thing you want to do is ask yourself, are you really hungry or is your mind playing games with you? If you are truly physically hungry, Here are some great high protein, low carb snack choices for late night:
LEAN PROTEIN SNACKS
* Low or Non Fat Cottage Cheese
* Grilled Chicken Breast or Lean Protein
* Egg Whites
* Fibrous Veggies (broccoli, mushrooms, romaine lettuce, etc.)
* Protein Shake (ideally casein protein since it’s a slower acting protein) OR remember Whey with a serving of Natural Fat (almonds, nut butter, flax, chia) to slow down absorption
*Carb Free pancake or muffins
*Protein Pudding
*VEGGIES! 🙂
BOTTOM LINE, IF YOU HAVE TO SNACK AT NIGHT, STICK TO LEAN PROTEIN SOURCES, VEGGIES OR A SMALL SINGLE SERVING OF HEALTHY FATS! 🙂
Happy and Healthy Snacking…. 🙂
Man oh man…..I cannot even tell you how difficult it was for me to break the habit of eating late at night. For YEARS I worked as a bartender through college so I got into the habit of eating WAY LATE at night. Then when I was a nurse I did flip flop night to day shifts every 2 weeks. My brain was constantly confused! Are we awake? Are we hungry? What is going on? LOL I think it totally set me up for the need to snack in the PM. Its taken me a really long time to UNLEARN those habits and RELEARN new and healthy eating.
I am a HUGE fan of all of the GA snacks you listed and have some protein pudding in my freezer waiting for me tonight when I finish my back work out. I love it! Its my faux ice cream in contest prep….lol. WE GET CREATIVE DON”T WE???? hahahahaha
xo eryn
Eryn, Oh my working late night, I could see how the late night munchies could be so easy and tempting! Then as a nurse, I could see how the timing and shift changes would be a challenge. I give so much credit to those of you who are nurses… I know we have several on the site! You are amazing, how you make it work, regardless of how challenging it is! I could see how you have to train your brain and more than anything train yourself to comprehend your brain! Time and patience but you have overcome the late night munchies or at least learned how to deal with them and what to have during those moments of hunger! good for you!! Nothing like replacing the old bad habits with new good/healthy ones!! Glad you have your GA snacks on hand and ready to go for when you need a little Faux fix.
Once again, so proud of you for all your success, mentally and physically! xo