How come the munchies hit at night and not in the morning?
How come the munchies hit at night and not in the morning?
Probably two mental states contribute to cravings at night — stress and boredom. Stress builds up during the day and peaks about the same time as your munchies hit. There are reasons for that, having to do with the stress hormones. You might try looking into stress reducing techniques (hot tub, meditation, massage, exercise, distraction)..
Boredom might be a factor in which case I recommend get busy with a project that captures your attention!
Biologically, if your diet has included carbohydrates that spike insulin, you will be hungrier. Study after study demonstrate that insulin makes you hungrier—up to 81% more food consumed at night when insulin has been high for breakfast and lunch. If this applies, look into how to lower insulin production. It will improve everything else, too!
That all said, dealing with the munchies is a biggie for my peer group. If you’ve addressed the above and still have occasional munchies, another strategy that helps is having munchy-appropriate food always prepared and ready. I recommend low calories veggies as number one choice. They are chewy, crunchy and not likely to blow your calories or nutrition. Try a ready to eat container of celery sticks, carrot sticks, dill pickles, crudités that appeal to you. If you have tricks that help, let us know!