How to Eat After 6 p.m. to Help Lose Weight

Eating a large meal for dinner and then snacking on candy, nuts, popcorn or other high-carb foods while watching television can really pack on the pounds. If you go to bed with a stomach full of high-calorie foods, your body will not completely digest the food. Instead, snack on veggies, low-carb chips or low-calorie yogurt to melt pounds after 6 p.m. The evening is when the body is winding down from a day at work or school. Unless you work the night shift and your hours are reversed, stay away from high-calorie foods at night and stick with light snacks.

Things You'll Need

• Salad
• Lean meat
• Low-sugar dressing
• Diet fruit drink or water

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Instructions

• 1

  Avoid eating a high-calorie meal containing starchy foods, such as potatoes, rice or pasta, after 6 p.m. After 6 p.m., the body starts a chain of events that can set anyone's diet into a tailspin. When a high-carb meal is ingested, insulin is released to counteract the sugar and is then stored as fat. To bypass storing fat in the evenings, eat a dinner after 6 p.m. that includes a salad with low-sugar dressing and a lean meat like chicken. This type of meal will quell hunger and metabolize better than starchy foods while the body sleeps. If you prefer to eat dinner before 6 p.m. but enjoy snacking later at night, choose snacks like carrot sticks, diet hard candy or a hard-boiled egg.

• 2

  Eat a breakfast of fruit, grains and protein. Try an egg, peach slices and a side of wheat toast. For lunch, eat lean protein, fruit, vegetables and a diet fruit drink. Choose foods that satisfy during the day, so that dinner or snacking after 6 p.m. do not contain a large number of calories.

• 3

  Set a calorie limit after 6 p.m., or fill a small plate once with allowable foods. The body will be able to digest healthy foods overnight, and you will feel hungry in the morning. Do not skip breakfast as this leads to poor food choices and added calories as the day progresses.

• 4

  Use caution when eating close to bedtime. Eating high-calorie, sugar-filled foods after 6 p.m. could lead to sleepless nights. Some high-fat foods and alcohol could cause indigestion, restlessness and nightmares. Your body needs time to digest food before it can allow complete rest.