By Erin Wickersham, RD, Registered Dietitian, Virtua Nutrition & Diabetes Care

It's 9 pm, and you’re settled on the sofa to watch your favorite series. As the theme music starts, you instantly crave something sweet, salty, or crunchy. By the time the second commercial break ends, you’ve downed a bag of potato chips or a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and probably feel pretty defeated in your healthy eating efforts.

The timing of your nighttime binge isn't sabotaging your diet—it’s the overall number of calories you consume and burn throughout the day.

Typically, nighttime snacking is associated with mindlessly eating potato chips, candy, cake, and other high-calorie snacks. That usually means you're eating more calories than your body needs. Those extra calories add up quickly and lead to weight gain over time.

Tips to curb nighttime snack cravings

Try the following to avoid overeating unhealthy snacks while watching TV at night:

• Don’t skip meals
  Eat three square meals and one or two healthy snacks per day. Skipping a meal leads to late-night hunger and unhealthy snacking, slowing your metabolism.
• Drink plenty of water
  Did you know your body can mix up hunger and thirst cues? If you feel hungry at night, drink 8-16 ounces of water for instant hydration and relief from hunger pangs. Dietitians recommend drinking eight glasses of water each day.
• Plan a healthy evening snack
  Plan to eat a healthy snack about an hour after dinner to reduce cravings later at night. Don’t always wait until you feel hunger pangs. That’s when people tend to overeat.
• Keep unhealthy snacks out of sight
  The concept of “out of sight, out of mind” can curb the desire to eat junk food. If you crave a specific unhealthy snack, take it off your grocery list and keep it out of the house.
• Drink herbal tea
  A cup of hot herbal tea will help you feel full and pass the time. Since it takes a while to finish a hot cup of tea, it may satisfy your hunger and help prevent the urge to snack.
• Brush your teeth
  If you feel an impulse to grab an unhealthy snack at night, brush your teeth. This sends a psychological signal to your brain that you're finished eating and are preparing for bed. Also, food doesn’t taste as good after brushing your teeth. Most people eat because of boredom at night, so brushing your teeth after dinner can prevent mindless eating.
• Keep a food journal 
  Document your calorie intake and eating behavior to avoid falling into a nighttime snacking trap. A journal will help you be accountable for the foods you choose. It will also help identify unhealthy patterns you can adjust and fix.
• Meditate
  Emotional eating is a common cause of late-night snacking or overconsumption. Implementing a short meditation or a few simple deep breaths can help you regulate your system and decide if you're eating because you're hungry or being influenced by your emotions.

Try these healthier nighttime snack options

If you can’t watch television without eating a snack, we suggest building a balanced snack to help make it more filling and satisfying. This can sometimes make it easier to stop when you feel full and eliminate the mindless aspect of nighttime snacking, while helping to incorporate typical snack foods. Some of our favorite healthy alternatives are:

• 1 to 2 cups of air-popped popcorn sprinkled with some chili powder, cayenne pepper, or Parmesan cheese for added taste
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, eaten alone or used as a dipping sauce for fruit
• 1 small sliced apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter
• Nuts, such as 1/4 cup of almonds, pecans, walnuts, or pistachios
• A few whole-grain crackers and one slice of cheese cut into squares, with or without a few apple slices
• ½ serving of pretzels with 1-2 tablespoons of hummus, balanced with a handful of baby carrots
• Banana "nice" cream: If you crave ice cream, make banana "nice" cream. Start by freezing some banana slices. Place the frozen banana slices in a blender along with some skim milk (or almond milk) and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It will have the same consistency as a smoothie or milkshake with fewer calories.

Get help with your healthy eating goals

Schedule an appointment with a Virtua registered dietitian to build a personalized, sustainable eating plan tailored to your lifestyle and goals. Virtua registered dietitians offer in-person and telehealth appointments for a range of weight-loss and nutrition services.

Check out more healthy eating tips from Virtua experts

• Forget Dieting: Find Your Eating Pattern
• What Causes Food Addiction and What Are The Signs
• What Is the 80/20 Diet Rule?