I decided to chronicle my trial of no eating after 9pm for 45 days. To summarize, after about 15 days I was already noticing:

• More Energy
• Better Sleep
• Reduced Hunger
• Weight Loss

... and of course a vast deduction in my junk food consumption. I found that eating after 9pm provided no real benefits to my body, as most of the actual nutrients I got were from my three core meals, not late night snacking.

There’s always been this myth that eating after 9pm is “bad for you.” That it can lead to instant weight gain and cause you to really pack on the pounds. Regardless, I generally try and not eat after 9pm not because I’m dieting, but because I find that I usually don’t need to consume any additional food after dinner to begin with. That being said, lately I’ve been developing a habit of snacking at night, and I find that this not only makes sleeping more difficult, but also seems to self-reinforce itself each and every night.

For example, if I eat a late night snack tonight, then I can almost guarantee that come tomorrow, my body is going to be craving food at the exact same time again. Not only that, I occasionally find myself getting carried away and making a “snack” more than a mere snack. A snack suddenly becomes a late night meal, and I end up going to bed feeling stuffed. I’m 6’2 and currently weigh 175 pounds; I maintain a healthy vegetarian diet and stay active throughout the week. I participate in yoga, weight training, and cardio activity on a regular basis, so I think I’m at a pretty healthy fit. Even with that in my favor, I still don't want to add any unnecessary burden to my body if it can be prevented.

I’ll be curious to see if my physique changes or if I feel a bit more energized in the morning. What’s funny is, when I eat before I go to bed, I actually wake up starving. My body never has a chance to stop digesting and enter into that restful period, so instead of realizing it’s time to shut down, it begins craving more food. I also think eating after 9pm is a bit wasteful. I already ate dinner; my body doesn’t need any more food, so why am I stuffing it with additional food anyways? When I actually step away from what I’m doing, I can see that logically there’s no real point to my late night snacking. It’s more an issue of what I find enjoyable, that is, I’m eating solely because I like the taste of the food, not because I actually need it.

So as of today, June 06, 2009, I’m going to go 45 days without eating after 9pm and see where it leads me. I HOPE that it leads to a permanent restructuring of my behavior, down a path where late night snacking is a thing of the past completely. If nothing else, I’ll be saving food for when I actually need it, not munching on it just for the taste.

After 10 days of not eating after 9pm, I can truly say I'm already noticing the benefits. I don't wake up feeling hungry and I actually feel a lot more energized at night. Since healthy, nutritious food rarely enters the equation when it comes to late night snacking, my junk food consumption has dropped considerably. I've also noticed it's much easier to sleep when I don't eat late at night.

There were a few bumps and bruises along the way, especially the first week, where my body began to crave late night food. Of course, I knew I wasn't actually going hungry, but it was still a minor annoyance to have to work around. All in all, just knowing I've cut the late night junk food out is reward enough for my actions.

Tip: Thirst is often mistaken as hunger, especially at night, which is why so many people are inclined to munch on junk food before they go to bed. Drinking a big glass of water 2 hours before you go to sleep will greatly reduce hunger pangs.

After 20 days of no late night snacking, I definitely feel much better than I previously did. Junk food consumption is almost non-existent now, and my sleep cycle has improved considerably. I'm able to fall asleep right when I hop into bed and wake up at my desired time.

Even though I've set 9pm to be my cutoff point, I've noticed that if I eat a fulfilling dinner between 6-7pm, then that's generally the last time I eat for the day. That easily carries me throughout the night and into the morning. Some of you may be skeptical about this, especially those who stay up late, as I certainly was too. With that being said though, after about the 15 day mark my body stopped craving food late at night almost completely. Not only are the pangs of hunger gone, but so is the sluggishness that usually accompanied it.

Before, if I didn't satiate that hunger then I'd begin to feel lethargic and lazy, yet now that's a thing of the past. If you're a late night snacker, I'd definitely recommend cutting it off for 2 weeks and seeing how you feel.

After 27 days I've gone from weighing 175 pounds to 169, just by cutting back on my late night snacking. I've still kept up my workout routine and I feel much more lean and toned than I did before. Sleeping is a breeze too because my body isn't having to digest food, a process that often kept me awake before.

I have learned a few tips though that have helped me in the process. First of all, if you think you're going to have a problem going that night without snacking, make sure you eat a large enough dinner to fill you up. Also, if you DO begin getting hungry, drink a full glass of water every hour to help deal with that. More than likely if you ate a filling dinner there's no reason for your body to be hungry, and you're likely mistaking thirst for hunger. Putting plenty of water into your system should help that problem right away, and you won't have to feel guilty about eating any late night snacks.

Secondly, if you do have any junk food laying around then keep it out of site. If there's one thing people crave late at night more than anything else it's junk food, and chances are high that if you find yourself reaching for something to munch on it's not going to be the most nutritious item in the household. Maybe you're different, but this is coming from personal experience when reflecting on my late night snacking habits.

Things I've learned about late night snacking:

-It makes you fat
-You feel guilty when you do it
-It's rough on the digestive system

Three simple points, but do you really need any more? A few people have asked me how I've kept up the motivation to go so long without any late night snacks, and I have to look no farther than those three points to get my inspiration to keep going. For anyone setting up a goal such as this, you don't have to make it overly complex or detailed, just decide on a few key objectives and go at it from there.

For me, I realized that late night snacking was just a bunch of unneeded junk food (calories, sugar) that I didn't need in my system. Whenever I get the urge to snack late at night, I just remind myself of these three key points and that provides a boost of motivation for me.

Why do YOU want to give up eating after 9pm? Trying to manage your weight better? Setup a more nutritious diet? Whatever the reason, find it and stick to it; if you do it'll guide you all the way through whatever trials lay ahead.

I must say, it certainly feels good to have gone 45 days without any late night snacking! These past 6-7 days have been tough though, as the weather's getting nicer and more and more people are getting together and doing things. It's tough when everybody is hanging out and eating and you're the only one who has to pass it up, yet the rewards for doing so have been more than worth it.

I haven't learned anything new these past 10 days that I haven't already discussed, but if you're even a LITTLE BIT on the fence about whether you should give up late night snacking, then my advice is to JUST DO IT. It's is COMPLETELY worth the effort, and you'll wake up feeling MUCH better about yourself, even just knowing that you didn't consume a bunch of junk food before bed. I may be tempted to grab something here and there, but eating after 9pm certainly isn't going to be a regular thing for me anymore. I just feel too good now that I've removed it, and I look forward to what the next 45 days will bring me.

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