Struggling with late night snacking? Try this instead.

I got a question from a reader named Rick this week:

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

When people join Nerd Fitness Coaching, it’s over 70% tell us they struggle with stress eating, emotional eating or night snacks.

I recorded a short video explaining why just “trying to stop snacking” usually backfires – and what tends to work best.

.WATCH: STRUGGLE WITH NIGHT SNACKS? Try this instead.

If you’d rather read than watch, here’s the short version:

1. Eating at night is not the problem.

If you really need more calories or nutrients for the day, eating at night is totally fine! (Contrary to popular belief.)

The challenge for most people is when they find themselves snacks even when they are not hungryoften as a way to decompress after a long day.

2. Going cold turkey rarely works.

If snacking at night has become your main way to relax or reward yourself at the end of the day, simply removing it often leaves a gap that is difficult to sustain.

3. Build a “decompression menu”.

Instead of trying to eliminate the habit immediately, come up with a few other things that you really enjoy that will help you relax at the end of the day.

Examples may include:

• make herbal tea
• reading
• stretching
• listening to music
• play a game
• newspaper

Even if you choose one of these alternatives some of the timethat alone can begin to change the habit.

The goal is not to forget to wake up at night, forever!

It is to understand the habit and expand your choices. 💪

4. Upgrade your Batcave to make the alternative choice easier.

At the end of the day, we are usually tired, and that is when we tend to default to the easiest and most familiar option.

A few changes to your environment can make a big difference.

Things like keeping your snacks out of immediate reach, or putting your book somewhere visible and easy to access.

Heck, you could even try putting your book IN the pantry where the snacks usually are!

The goal is confidence less willpower and more about an environment that gently nudges you in the direction you want to go.

—

So Rick, if you’re reading this, that’s where I started.

Instead of trying to eliminate night snacking during the night, experiment with adding a few other ways to decompress and adjust your environment so that the choices are the easiest.

Try it for a week or two and see what you see.

So we learn and adjust from there. 🔥

– Matt
.

P.S If you want send a question like Rick, you can!