Healthy Woman: What’s in your midnight snack?

Cynthia Umwanankabandi, 27, is a Private Advocate who cannot contain her craving for a midnight snack. Inadvertently, she habitually finds herself (every midnight hour) grabbing some cake, yoghurt or ice-cream from her always fully stocked refrigerator. However, Cynthia still claims that she wants to keep in shape and doesn’t want to gain any extra kilos. The same applies to so many women who love their midnight snack but are also trying to keep in shape. They hold on to the thought of being slim like it was the only, lifeline they depended on. Given their busy work schedules and after-work commitments such as wedding meetings and hanging with friends, it might be almost impossible to avoid midnight snacks. So the worry shouldn’t be focused on halting the habit of snaking late at night, but rather, the kind of snack eaten. According to Harvard Scientists, people who slept for five hours or less a night were 32 percent more likely to put on 33 extra pounds over the course of a year than those who slept a full seven hours. Certainly, sleep is important for maintaining a healthy weight and therefore what you eat before you go to bed can affect the quality of your sleep as well. There is a common myth that, ‘anything one eats right before bed will straight away turn into fat.’ Let’s gets practical about weight gain. As long as the total amount of calories you burn is more than the calories you eat, you will not gain weight. The reverse is true. It also helps to eat consistently throughout the day rather than eating very little in the morning and then a lot later in the day. Usually, if you starve yourself during the day, chances are, you’ll heap up your plate to make up for the missed meals. This unhealthy trend is what leads to crazy eating habits that lead to weight gain. If the craving to eat before bedtime is impossible to beat, then employ smart bedtime snacking. Strangely, foods that neither disrupt sleeping patterns nor add kilos to your weight actually exist. It’s advisable and healthier to eat foods that are low in fat and protein, such as cereal, bananas, popcorn and a slice of whole wheat bread among others. Drinking lots of water, tea and juice can help avoid the temptation of having a heavy meal in the night. This is because, drinking (not alcohol) curbs hunger pangs. Foods with high fat content must be avoided at bedtime. Every woman loves to have a striking body that perfectly fits in any designer dress. m.kaitesi@yahoo.com