What Should I eat if I get hungry at Night When Dieting?

Weight loss is a daunting journey, one must always monitor calorie intake in order to keep weight gain under check. While the mission is to eat food items that are quick to make and less in calories, the focus must be laid on nutritional benefits also. And if it’s midnight, when you are watching your favourite show, resting on the couch, chances are high that hunger pangs would come to haunt us. Even though having ice-creams, cakes and wafers is an easy way to stop the cravings, do you know this pattern of snacking would put a road break on your weight loss journey? Late night snacking leads to piling up of calories and obesity, so whenever you eat at night, the target should always be to eat something that’s healthy. Having the wrong type of food items late at night can disturb your sleep cycle, which can actually hurt your weight loss effort. In this article, we will talk about how you can slim down easily by staying away from high-calorie junk food. We have laid stress on having yummy and healthy late-night snacks that will help you get good sleep and go to bed with a satisfied stomach. So, here comes our list of 14 best foods that you can have at night while being on a weight loss diet. Let’s get started and we will tell you what food items to eat at night.

What food items to eat at night

1. Almonds: If you get slightly hungry before bedtime, an ideal way to cut down hunger is to snack on almonds. Not only are almonds tasty, they are also a great source of healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Almonds also give a feeling of satiety and help reduce hunger. Along with that, it meets the nutrient requirements of the body.

2. Apple Slices with Peanut Butter: Can’t think of any healthy late-night snack? We will make your job easy. Just cut an apple into slices and put one or two teaspoons of peanut butter on top, simply yummylicious!, right? While adding peanut butter, you should keep in mind that it has to be natural peanut butter, it shouldn’t contain any palm oil, sugar or other additives.

3. Avocado with Cottage Cheese: Avocado with cottage cheese makes the best bedtime snack, and we will tell you why. Cottage cheese is a rich source of casein protein, a slow-releasing protein that keeps you full overnight and will help you repair muscles while you get your beauty rest. It also releases sleep-inducing tryptophan to help you fall asleep faster. If you want to lose weight easily, you must not miss out on your sleep routine and hence cottage cheese helps you fulfil sleep requirement easily. You can make it more healthy by adding avocado pieces to your cottage cheese. This provides your body with high-quality fatty acids which are good for your cholesterol levels and cardiovascular system.

4. Greek Yoghurt with blueberries: Here comes another healthy option for a delicious late-night snack. Greek yogurt is an excellent source of calcium. It improves blood and bone health; and also helps in promoting good sleep. It is also low calorifically which is what we need while being on a weight-loss diet. Blueberries, on the other hand is extremely high in nutrients and is an antioxidants-rich snack. It promotes a positive effect on your immune system. The best thing about this snack is its high-protein and high-nutrient content which works well for the body.

5. Dark Chocolate: Yes, you can gorge on chocolate, but mind you, only on dark chocolate, not milky ones. If you have a sweet tooth, then dark chocolate is a good option without having huge amounts of sugar. In order to reap maximum benefits, you must consume 75-80% dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is healthier because it has a higher satiety index and reduces calorie intake by the body. It supplies the body with essential anti-oxidants, fibres and also cuts down the sugar intake.

6. Tart Cherries: It’s time to show some love to tart cherries if you are on a weight-loss diet. They make the perfect meal for bedtime snacking as they are low in calories and are marked as nutritionally dense fruits. From fighting cancer to aiding weight loss, tart cherries have innumerable health benefits. Surprisingly, they contain a significant amount of dietary fibre which helps you to feel full, thereby reducing frequent hunger cravings. They are also high in melatonin, which helps improve sleep quality.

7. Banana: How good is the idea of having a ripened banana at midnight? Bananas have high satiety index and can keep you feel hunger-free for long. They are sweet, flavourful and also feel tasty to eat. We will tell you the reason of why you can have this as a midnight snack. They are low in fat and high in complex carbs that take longer to get digested and absorbed. As a result, you will binge eat less and keep your calorie intake under check.

8. Crackers: Crackers are easily available and offer a lot of benefits as a midnight snack, but you must know what type of crackers help in promoting weight loss. During any weight loss journey, have more of wholesome foods and cereals, so the idea is to have some kind of whole grain cracker. They are a rich source of fibre and are good to clear your gut. On the other hand, if you want to feel fresh the next day, multi-grain crackers are the key for your goal. They have huge amounts of iron which play a key role in energy production. It helps in reducing sluggishness and makes you energetic throughout.

9. Goji Berries: Have you heard of goji berries as an ingredient in skincare products? Then, you must also know that they work great if you are on a weight-loss journey. The red-orange colour of these sweet-tart berries are rich in anti-oxidants, including carotenoids. They are also a rich source of melatonin that induces good amount of sleep. Studies say that most of the people who have had goji berry juice had improved sleep quality and found it easy to wake up. If you don’t like having it separately, add them to trail mix or cereal. It is a highly nutrient rich snack that you can have at night.

10. Peanut Butter on Whole Grain bread: Peanut butter toast is a delicious and filling snack that we basically reserve for breakfast. But do you know that this healthy snack is also perfect to reduce your midnight cravings? Peanut butter contains tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps put you to sleep, and the B vitamins in whole grain bread will help you absorb it. Peanut butter also helps in weight loss as it’s a great source of plant-based protein. It improves muscle health while the healthy monounsaturated fats present in it help to remain full for long. One thing that you must remember is that should have whole grain bread to get benefits from this snack.

11. Pistachios: Nuts happen to be a safe option if you feel slightly hungry at night, but not all nuts are low in calories. In order to promote weight loss, you must know what type of nuts you must consume. Pistachios are the best nuts that you can have at night. They are lower in calorie per ounce, so if weight loss is your concern, this is a safe option. It also contains high levels of sleep-promoting melatonin. Pistachios have high protein content as well, having about 6 grams per ounce. Not to forget its greatest benefit, it has the lowest fat content among all types of nuts.

12. Oatmeal: Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast; it is also a great way to reduce hunger at night. Hot, whole-grain cereals like oatmeal are good sources of fibre are always better to have than processed cereals. You can have a cup of oatmeal with whole milk and a pinch of salt. The taste is amazing and it fills you up faster. If you want to make it sweet, add brown sugar. How does it keep you hungry for long? The fiber in the oatmeal forms a gel-like layer in the stomach and takes a lot of time to get digested properly. This keeps your hunger cravings under check.

13. Hard Boiled Eggs: We have read articles on why you should have eggs on a low-fat diet. Here, we are emphasizing on its usefulness one more time. Hard-boiled eggs have high-protein content and takes a lot of time to get digested well. This keeps you full for long and curbs your hunger. Also, hard-boiled eggs are low in calories and helps to increase the metabolism rate. Binge on hard-boiled eggs if you get hungry at night.

14. Fresh Vegetables with Cottage Cheese: What better way is there to lose weight other than having vegetables? If you want to keep it a low calorie snack, fresh veggies are the best way to lose weight. A rich and nutritious bowl of raw carrots, broccoli, cucumber slices, celery, zucchini, peppers, and grape tomatoes will do nicely to calm the hunger in your stomach. You can make this tastier by adding a dip made from low-fat cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. This provides good taste and fewer calories.

Hope you will now keep a check on what you should eat at night and start munching on these delicious and healthy snacks.

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