Do you enjoy your healthy eating dinner but then find yourself scavenging around the kitchen looking for more snacks around an hour later? If so, you’re not alone.
After dinner snacking is a very common issue when you are trying to lose pregnancy weight, and today we explain what you can do to stop overeating

You could try eating more dinner

Bulk out all of your meals with salad or leafy greens.
So if you are serving up pasta, always have a side salad with it. If you are having a casserole, throw some steamed broccoli on the plate too.
This way you can fill up on good quality foods that will keep you feeling satisfied for longer.

Try protein and good fats at dinner

Both of these will keep you fuller for longer, and they don’t encourage your body to crave sweets afterwards.
This could be lean meats such as chicken or lamb, fish, a sprinkling of crushed almonds on your green beans, a chopped boiled egg or some avocado in your salad, good quality olive oil as part of your salad dressing, or even some grilled haloumi.

You might avoid keeping unhealthy food in the house

If the chocolate biscuits aren’t in the house and you have to get in the car to get them, the likelihood is that you won’t eat them. Willpower is much easier to manage when the treats aren’t within arm’s reach.
If other people in your house bring the less than healthy options in, try keeping them in a cupboard up high or out of reach so that they aren’t in sight.

Stock up on healthy options

If you are actually hungry you should eat something. This is especially true if you are breastfeeding as you may need the extra calories in your day. Some of our favourite healthy night time snacks include:

• Natural yoghurt with berries and a sprinkling of LSA
• A small serve of porridge
• A handful of cashews and a mandarin
• A Ryvita with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter

You could try to make a new habit

If you are in a habit of snacking on the couch when the kids have gone to bed, why not create a new habit that won’t derail your weight loss.
You could:

• Enjoy a herbal tea or a sparkling mineral water with fresh lime in it
• Take a bath
• Phone a friend for a chat
• Knit (seriously!)
• Do a 15 minute segment from the Healthy Mummy Exercise DVD

Often we are actually just a little bit bored when we reach for a biscuit, so by distracting yourself with other tasks you can kick the craving.

Remember to eat during the day

Sometimes you might find yourself hungry at night because you have not eaten enough throughout the day.
As part of our 28 Day Challenge, we recommend you eat 3 main meals and 2 snacks per day.
Snacking is important as it keeps your energy levels up and your cravings for unhealthy food at bay.
Need more snacking suggestions? Click here.

Go for healthy snacks after dinner

Make sure that if you are snacking in the evening that they are healthy snacks and are the right food choices – see some sweet after dinner snack ideas here
 
Need to stock up on Healthy Mummy Smoothies? Then see our shop here
And join our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenges here