2 Habits That Keep The Late-Night Munchies Away

Hunger used to hit me like a freight train each evening. Not anymore.

Published February 16, 2024

illustration gif of woman eating cookies and drinking coffee at midnight, munchies, midnight snacks

Marta Sevilla

Hunger used to hit me like a freight train every night around 8 p.m.

I never understood how I could float through my day with a regular appetite — wanting something to eat a few hours after I woke up and then lunch in the afternoon — and then feel like a crazed bear hunting for food after the sun went down.

Almost every night around dinner time, my hunger would be at an all-time high. As soon as I scraped my plate clean, I wanted more food. I’d usually end up eating more than an entire meal around 8 p.m., which affected my sleep and made me feel horrible the next day.

This vicious cycle went on for a while, and not only did the pounds pile on, but I was also constantly sluggish and irritable.

Until I talked to a health and fitness coach, I had no idea my late-night hunger could be fixed so easily. I always assumed I was someone who was just hungrier at night and that I’d never be able to get it under control.

But I was wrong.

My health coach had me journal about my food intake, and right away, she noticed the problem: I wasn’t eating enough during the day when I was busy with work and running around taking care of my kids.

I didn’t feel hungry because I was so crazed. Instead of sitting down to a well-balanced meal with one serving of protein, one serving of carbs, and one serving of fat, I’d grab something quick like a bag of low-fat chips and a banana or a veggie sub.

I thought I was being healthy. In reality, I was missing essential fuel to keep my hunger level down at the end of the day when I was slowing down, and my body was like, “Hey! You haven’t fed me enough today.”

Instead of a veggie sub, she suggested a salad with protein and fat, like guacamole. If I was in a hurry during lunch or breakfast and thought I only had the time and appetite to grab a banana, she suggested two bananas and a serving of nuts or nut butter.

I thought I was doing myself a favor by only eating what I was hungry for, but each night, my stomach and brain proved me wrong. The first time I ate as much as she suggested, I was full and felt like I’d overeaten. I was also afraid I’d still eat as much as I normally do at night, defeating the purpose.

However, I noticed something right away. I no longer wanted to snack at night. And when it was dinner time, I was no longer starving, shoveling in food to make up for the nutrients I hadn’t given myself during the day.

The second piece of the puzzle was that I was staying up too late, so even if I had a day when my hunger didn’t sneak up on me, it eventually would because I was relaxed, usually reading or watching television without as many distractions. I would think I was hungry even if I wasn’t.

Normally, I’d get tired around 9 p.m. but then fight through it. Not only did that mess up my regular sleep cycle so that it was harder to fall asleep when I finally did go to bed, but there also were times I’d eat out of pure boredom.

Now, right after a satisfying dinner, I brush my teeth and get ready for bed so that as soon as I’m tired, no matter what time it is, I go to bed without any excuses.

Getting the right amount of sleep and food by bulking up my breakfast and lunch (then grabbing a bigger snack in the afternoon if I wanted one) changed everything. The best part about these two changes is that they weren’t hard — I was getting more sleep, and I wasn’t going hungry.

Another wonderful benefit was that I was no longer crabby, sluggish and irritable during the day, something my entire family appreciated.

If you feel like you can’t beat the late-night munchies, I can’t recommend the above enough.

How many of YOU get the late-night munchies? What do you do about it? Let us know in the comments below.

Katie Bingham-Smith is a longtime lifestyle, health, relationships, and parenting writer who’s spent the past seven years connecting with readers through her work at Scary Mommy. A regular contributor to AARP The Girlfriend Letter and Grown & Flown, she holds a BA in English Literature with a minor in creative writing from Green Mountain College. Her writing has appeared in multiple anthologies, Woman’s World, and Bangor Metro Magazine, and she’s currently finishing her first romance novel. Katie lives in Maine with her three kids, two ducks, and a Goldendoodle—and when she’s not writing, she’s reading, at the gym, redecorating, or doing a little too much online shopping.