If afternoon cravings are destroying your efforts to maintain a healthy eating plan then read on to find out how eating at this time of day can actually help you lose weight.
It always seems to be the case that no matter how well you eat during the day, when the clock ticks over at around 3-4 o’clock in the afternoon the hunger pangs kick in, your concentration drops and you feel like demolishing a packet of Tim Tams.
The mid to late afternoon craving is the downfall of many people’s good intentions to clean up their diet and control their portions. If this is happening to you then I strongly recommend you use this period to actually eat food instead of trying to cut out food completely through sheer determination.
Will power alone is not enough.
So why should you eat at this time of day and what exactly should you eat?
The afternoon and evening periods are the most crucial times of the day to get your food selection portion sizes right. Remember “The Funnel?” Towards the end of the day is usually when you should be tapering off your food intake and only eating for your body, not for convenience. Usually when you give in to afternoon cravings it is hard to stop and this binge leads into the night.
So if this situation sounds familiar to you there is a simple solution: instead of trying to stop eating in the afternoon, try making an effort to eat something!
This may sound ridiculous but think about it. By actually preparing a healthy, substantial yet calorie controlled snack to eat in the afternoon you are giving yourself every opportunity to avoid cravings and binges later on. By allowing yourself to eat something at, say 4pm, you are going to take the edge off your cravings and reduce your appetite for the evening meal.
Think about it. Doesn’t it make sense to have a snack in the afternoon so that you are less likely to overeat at dinner than to try to skimp on food only to develop ravenous cravings that can lead to a binge of hundreds, even thousands of calories?
Some great snack ideas include:
1-2 Ryvita’s or rice cakes with avocado
1 slice of soy and linseed bread with sliced tomato
Protein powder blended with milk and strawberries
1 handful of almonds and 1 apple
200g tub of yogurt and 1 banana
1 can tuna on 1-2 rice cakes
These are very nutritious and quite substantial snacks that will help satisfy your hunger and reduce your appetite.
Another area you should address is your food intake throughout the day. It is often a lack of food eaten earlier in the day that leads to cravings. When you restrict your food intake too much your blood sugar levels are going to crash and this is what cravings are: that feeling of needing a quick hit of energy (sugar) to keep you going.
Many people restrict breakfast too much, if they actually eat it at all. You must eat a substantial breakfast. This means preparing and making time for breakfast in the morning instead of eating it on the run. Eating breakfast will replenish your depleted energy levels after sleeping so that you can get through the day with more energy and alertness. It also promotes a faster metabolism because you have food to digest and utilise for energy instead of burning up important lean muscle tissue.
So a typical day free of cravings and binges would look like this:
7am Breakfast Muesli with skim milk. Water.
10am Snack 1 banana. 200g tub of yogurt.
1pm Lunch 1 sandwich with salad and tuna
4pm Snack 8-10 almonds. 1 apple.
7pm Dinner Grilled salmon or chicken with salad and steamed vegetables.
On paper this meal plan may look pretty boring but if you actually tried eating this way you will find the food tastes great, you will have consistent and sustained energy levels all day and you will not feel like scoffing that packet of Tim Tams while watching Deal or No Deal!
About the Author
Ryan Mitchell is the owner of Evolution Fitness Centre and is a qualified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach. Ryan is dedicated to helping people achieve their health and fitness goals and draws on his experience and knowledge gained from training people of all ages and fitness levels. Ryan is a former Australian Powerlifiting Champion and Australian team member.
