We all love a late-night snack to go with our Netflix, but what you reach for could sabotage your weight loss goals. Certain pre-bedtime snacks can keep you tossing and turning, lead you to overeat the next day, and mess with your fat-burning hormones. And that’s no good! So here are five snacks you’ll want to avoid before bed when you’re trying to lose weight.
Dark chocolate - When it comes to satisfying your sweet tooth before bed, this seems like the healthy choice. But it’s actually exactly what you don’t want when you’re going to sleep: caffeine and sugar. And it’s the sweet stuff that could mess with your weight-loss plans. “Sleeping on a surge of quick-acting sugar is the perfect environment for fat storage,” says registered dietitian Betsy Opyt. Your body will use some of the sugar while you’re resting, but a lot of it will be stored as fat since you’re not active while you’re asleep.
Coconut oil and goat cheese - Foods with a lot of saturated fat can help you feel full and can push weight-loss progress, but the can affect sleep if you eat them close to bedtime. Fat takes a long time to digest, so it could creep back into your esophagus, keeping you up. And as yummy as goat cheese is, it’s not worth losing sleep over.
Spicy salsa - It’s the heartburn that you have to worry about here. Eating anything with a kick within an hour of hitting the sack just isn’t a good idea, because like fatty foods, they could sneak back up when you’re lying down in bed, Oypt says.
Red wine - While a glass of red wine does have health-boosting antioxidants, it’s still doesn’t make a good nightcap. You’ll probably fall asleep fine, but have a hard time reaching the deep, restorative sleep stages, explains registered dietitian Jim White. They say you should wait an hour before hitting the sheets for each glass of alcohol you drink.
Baked goods - When you’re trying to get in shape, your body definitely doesn’t need any sugar before bed. White says sugar works in your body as fuel, and when you’re going to sleep it’ll probably end up stored as fat. So save your treats for daylight hours.
Source: Women's Health