“I eat so well during the day, but then I come home and undo it all because I’m snacking the entire night.”

Does this sound like you?

Trust me, you’re not alone.

Late night cravings and munchies are one of the most common concerns I hear from my clients. You can stop the eat-repent-repeat cycle! Here’s my step-to-step guide to breaking the habit once and for all.

1. Release the Guilt

Let’s start off by saying that there’s nothing wrong with eating at night. There is no magical witching hour where your metabolism shuts down, despite anything Oprah says. The only reason why eating late may be an issue is if you find that it disturbs your sleep; for example, if you have issues with acid reflux. But when it comes to night time snacking, what you eat matters much more than when you eat. So stop feeling bad about the time!

2. Are You Hungry?

When someone tells me that they are “good during the day”, that actually sets off alarm bells in my head. It might be a sign that they’re restricting too much and eating too little, leading to feeling hungry and eating more at night.

If it turns out that you are physically hungry, take a few steps back to my 4 Foundations of Healthy Eating. Specifically, are you eating every 3 to 5 hours? Are you including a variety of foods (particularly protein-rich foods) at every meal and snack? If not, you might not be eating enough during the day, but the hunger is showing up later at night. This might mean adding a snack during the day, or changing the type of food that you’re having at your meals and snacks to make sure that they last you until bed time.

If you tend to have supper early and go to bed late, you may just be hitting that 3 to 5 hour sweet spot where you are starting to get hungry. In that case, release the guilt around eating at night, and plan a healthy snack. Planning a snack gives you something to look forward to, as opposed to grabbing the first thing you see when the cravings hit.

3. What Are You Really Hungry For?

In many cases, you might not actually be physically hungry. Perhaps after a long, stressful day at work, you like to relax in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn. Perhaps the evenings are the time when everyone’s asleep and you can finally eat what you want. Maybe it’s still light out and you want to kill some time before going to bed. Maybe it’s just a habit to have something sweet after supper.

If you know you’ve eaten enough during the day, it’s only been an hour or so since supper, and you’re still craving something, challenge yourself to really zero in on the emotion that you’re trying to satisfy by eating. Is it to relax? Rebel? Is it because you’re bored? Procrastinating? Is it just automatic?

Next, challenge yourself again to think of things you can do instead of eating (or eating something that’s a better choice) that can satisfy that same emotion. Keep a running list so you can always refer back to it for ideas. This list from Women’s Health is a good start.

4. Try, Try Again.

Just because I’m saying crushing your cravings takes only 4 steps doesn’t mean it’s easy. You’re going to find some things work one day, and they won’t work the next, and that’s OK. Release the guilt. Give yourself credit for trying something new, even if it does mean you’re still grabbing that chocolate bar sometimes at the end of it all.

Do you struggle, or have you struggled, with night time cravings? What are your secrets for keeping them at bay? Please share your insights in the comments below!