Eating Mistakes Of Night Owls

[caption id="attachment_830773" align="alignleft" width="1068"] Bigstockphoto.com/black young woman eat icecream on a pink[/caption] If you’re a night owl then you know eating can be tricky. Your friends want to have dinner at 7 pm but you’re thinking, “I’m going to be up until 2 am! I’ll need another snack at midnight if we have dinner that early.” If you’re a night owl then you sleep through breakfast (and possibly lunch) and you do most of your operating when everybody else has gone to bed. So you need a way to sustain yourself during those late hours, but you also get dragged into some regular, daytime eating routines. It can leave you eating too much. You also don’t want to feel left out of “normal life”, so you say yes to some meal invitations when you’re not quite hungry. It’s tough living those vampire hours. Here are eating mistakes of night owls. [caption id="attachment_706179" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Trying to be quiet in the kitchen

If you live with people but you’re a night owl, then you probably try to keep quiet while making your 11 pm meal. That could mean you forego chopping vegetables and using pots and pans, and instead make a frozen meal. Do your prep work while people are awake so you can still eat healthily and be quiet while they’re asleep.         [caption id="attachment_722647" align="alignleft" width="414"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Feeling like the calories don’t count

Something about eating at night, when the rest of the world is asleep, feels as if those calories don’t count. It’s like that meal is your little secret. But this sense of secrecy could cause you to make unhealthy choices. Watch out for this mentality.           [caption id="attachment_701552" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Eating big before bed time

Night owls don’t tend to keep as consistent of a schedule as day birds do. They may go to bed at 1 am, or 3 am, or 4 am! So it’s hard to time out meals to make sure they don’t eat a lot right before hitting the hay. But try; even if you eat at 11 pm and it turns out this will be one of those 4 am bedtimes, you can always have a small snack at 3 am.           [caption id="attachment_704165" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Skipping the carbs

If you think you should skip carbs at night, think again. Research has actually found you may digest your carbs more efficiently if you have them before getting your eight hours of rest, rather than scattered throughout the day.             [caption id="attachment_707621" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Skipping “breakfast”

If you wake up at 11 am or noon, you may think, “I’ll just wait until lunch to eat—it’s right around the corner.” But you should have a little something to eat the moment you wake up, whenever that may be, to rev up your metabolism.             [caption id="attachment_829313" align="alignleft" width="420"] Bigstockphoto.com/A lamp with mounted propeller on white background.[/caption]

Keeping the room warm

Night owls may keep the temperature warm in their home while they do their midnight work. But lowering the temperature can help you lose body fat. Around 66 degrees is just right.               [caption id="attachment_707005" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Ordering delivery

Since most grocery stores are no longer open by the time night owls are ready to eat, many find themselves with an empty fridge and no options. Well, there’s always delivery or drive-thru’s! Which aren’t the best options. Night owls, more than anybody, need to keep a stocked fridge.             [caption id="attachment_624907" align="alignleft" width="460"] Corbis[/caption]

Cutting water early

People who keep regular schedules should cut out water in the early evening, so their bladder doesn’t keep them up at night. But night owls—for whom 7pm is practically the afternoon—should continue having water up until a few hours before bedtime. Otherwise, they could end up dehydrated, and mistake thirst for hunger. [caption id="attachment_696362" align="alignleft" width="420"] Shutterstock[/caption]

Not eating all day

Some night owls are, in fact, up for part of the day, but they wait to do all of their eating at night. This just leads to overeating and binging, because you’re starving. Have a little food during those few hours of daylight during which you’re awake.             [caption id="attachment_712871" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Turning your bed into the kitchen

Night owls like to eat in bed! But what happens when you eat in bed? You want to cut down on trips to the kitchen, so you bring too much food to bed. Plus, the relaxed mindset you get in while in bed could cause you to be less strict on your eating.           [caption id="attachment_728347" align="alignleft" width="500"] Credit: Shutterstock[/caption]

Having two dinners

You want to have dinner with friends, but they’re having dinner at 7 pm. You’re hungry again by midnight, so you have two dinners. If you know you’re going to do this, then you need to split up your dinner into those two—rather than have double the portions.              

Napping during the day

If your current schedule has you getting up in the morning, doing a little daytime work and then taking a nap before getting up to be a night owl, try to switch that. Breaking up sleep time into several sections throughout the day can mess up your metabolism. Just sleep late in the morning like other night owls, and skip the nap.           [caption id="attachment_716511" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Eating alone

Night owls don’t usually have friends around to eat with, but try to find some. Eating with people allows you to chat, which means you eat slower. It also could encourage you to make healthier choices out of peer pressure.               [caption id="attachment_614099" align="alignleft" width="500"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Pounding coffee

Night owls love their coffee, but unless they’re having simple black coffee (which you probably aren’t) they’re adding a lot of calories to their diet with those frappucinos and cappuccinos. If you need caffeine to fuel your evening habits, stick to green tea. It aids digestion, too.       [caption id="attachment_713130" align="alignleft" width="420"] Image Source: Shutterstock[/caption]

Drinking more alcohol

Night owls can feel that work time is a bit more casual, so they may keep a bottle of wine next to their laptop. Keep drinking as a social activity, even if you’re a night owl.

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