Myisha Nawar
There is no shame in giving into a snack attack late at night. We all do it! But if you don’t tread lightly, you could easily blow up your physique. That’s because the wrong post-sunset snack choices can easily end up padding your midriff with flab and even jeopardize your night of restful sleep, which is essential for building muscle like a pro. To avoid this pitfall, here are the five worst snacks you might reach for when the late-night hunger pangs strike which might induce a food hangover the next day. They are members of the late night NO-NO family.
1. Boxed Cereal: Who hasn’t dug into a bowl of comforting breakfast cereal when the late-night munchies strike? The problem with most boxed cereals is that they are chock-full of sugar, which can spike your blood sugar. Late in the day, when your metabolism starts to become more sloth-like than Usain Bolt-like, this sudden rise in blood sugar can trigger fat storage and ruin your buff-to-blubber ratio. Even some of the healthier options are on the bedtime-snacking naughty list.
2. Burgers: They tend to have a high fat content and, when compared to the other macronutrients, fat are denser calorically. Fat can trigger heartburn, so if you want to avoid a restless night, tossing and turning with stomach and chest pain, say no to burgers before bed.
3. Dark Chocolate: This dark delight is laced with body-friendly antioxidants shown to help fend off a range of maladies. A word of caution, though: Luxuriating in a chunk of dark chocolate should be a daytime activity rather than one you do in the wee hours. Chocolate is a natural source of stimulants such as caffeine and theobromine that can keep you tossing and turning for hours by charging up your nervous system.
4. Ice Cream: For the most part, ice cream contains a snacking double-whammy. For one, tubs of Igloo, Bellisimo and other ice cream varieties are often packed with sugar that can contribute to fat gain. The high amount of fat in the icy treat can also force your digestive system to kick into overdrive, which can lead to disturbances in sleep.
5. Fruit Yogurt: Drop your spoon into fruit-flavored yogurt and you could be getting an unwelcome surprise: plenty of sugar.
And we have already established that sugar is not supportive of a chiseled physique when consumed during the post-dinner hours.