Mindless Snacking At Night

Heyyo!! How are things? I hope you all had a chocolate filled Valentine’s Day/weekend.

I wanted to talk a little today about snacking at night. I majorly associate night time with treat time. I honestly didn’t really grow up with desserts every night, it’s something I’ve picked up over the past few years.

I’ve noticed lately that I’m especially snacky after my kids go to bed. It’s like I feel the need to run to the kitchen and eat all the goodies I didn’t get to eat when they were awake because I was too busy. This is obviously a completely ludicrous thought. I eat plenty during the day. It’s not like my kids stop me from eating. Trust me, I make that a priority too.

I think at this point this behavior has become such a pattern or nightly ritual, that it’s hard to break. It must be somewhat emotional too. Something about nightly snacks makes me feel good. It’s like, my personal time when I can really enjoy myself and I choose to do that by eating some food.

I’ve been thinking about ways to break the habit or replace it with something else. Here are a couple things I came up with:

Instead of snacks/treats….

• Read a book! I rarely read anymore usually because I’m too tired at night. This is such a great way though to wind down. Get out of the kitchen, cuddle up, and read a book.
• Watch TV– This is essentially the opposite of read a book, but I watch so little TV I would have no problem with watching more. We pay for cable so why not? The problem sometimes with TV is snacks can be associated with it so I would probably watch it in my bedroom.
• Listen to Podcasts–  Anyone else loving Podcasts lately? I listent to them all the time on my drives (my poor kids). Lately I’ve been into health and business Podcasts. I am loving The Chalene Show, The James Altucher Show, and The Time Ferris Show. Yes, of course I’ve listened to Serial too and I miss it.
• Hang out with my husband– My husband and I both tend to do our own thing at night. Time for me to grab him and have some husband and wife time!

Don’t get me wrong, if I’m hungry, I will eat. I’m talkin’ mindless eating. I am not hungry, just bored.

If I feel like I really need a treat or something, maybe I’ll try some tea or warm lemon water? I’ve never been a huge tea drinker…any good night time tea suggestions?