#1 Worst Mistake After a Late-Night Binge by Joan Kent, PhD
#1 Worst Mistake After a Late-Night Binge
by Joan Kent, PhD
Maybe last night’s junk-out started with crackers and segued into a large bag of chips or cookies that you polished off completely.
What happens the next day is critical.
What many clients used to do was skip eating for half the day or more. That mistake has massive impact. It’s based on the “calorie-is-a-calorie” perspective. Calories do matter, but avoiding food for much of the day following a late-night binge can be a bad idea for many reasons.
A late-night binge usually involves junky foods – crackers, chips, cookies, and so on. They affect several factors.
Junk-outs impact blood sugar (glucose).
Bingeing on junky carbs can result in a reactive hypoglycemic response, making morning glucose lower than normal. Some people are more susceptible to this than others, of course, but it can be fairly common. Those who binge frequently may be among the susceptible ones.
Junk-outs impact brain chemistry.
Junky foods can have predictable effects on brain chemistry. I’ll address a few.
• For some, binge foods may trigger an addictive response. That virtually guarantees a repeat binge involving the same foods or others like them.
• Binge foods may trigger cravings the next day for the same foods or similar ones.
• The binge after-effect may be a drop in key brain chemicals. That leaves us feeling blah, cranky, or worse. “Low” emotional states often prompt the desire to self-medicate with more junk food the next day just to change the mood.
Junk-outs impact hormones.
These may include insulin, ghrelin, CCK and others. They influence appetite, food preferences, and even an emotional attachment to the foods.
Junk-outs delay breakfast.
Your desire to eat the next day might be pushed back by hours because of the calories consumed during the binge. That may be the only factor that calories control directly.
What’s wrong with a late breakfast?
Eating late in the day, even late in the morning, lets the effects of last night’s binge — on glucose, brain chemicals, hormones, appetite, food preferences, cravings, and mood — “run” you the next day.
What Should You Do Instead?
Take control. Wake up at your usual time, use the bathroom as usual, go directly to the kitchen, and eat. Don’t eat a full breakfast if you really don’t want it, but at least have protein.
Why protein? Protein addresses most of the problems above:
• It will help bring low glucose to a healthy level.
• It will boost metabolic rate.
• It will trigger brain production and release of mood-boosting chemicals.
• It will trigger release of CCK, a hormone that reduces appetite and the desire for carbs, especially junky ones.
• It will trigger release of glucagon, a hormone that opposes the effects of insulin. Protein is the only food type that will do this.
Eating first thing in the morning may also help to prevent shifting calories to late hours, where they may negatively impact weight management.
What About a Full Morning Meal?
A full meal is okay, but include 20 grams plus of protein. The problem is many late-night bingers don’t want an early morning meal and just put off eating till the afternoon or late morning. That bad habit has consequences. At least have protein first thing the next morning.
Which Foods Have Protein?
Eggs, chicken, fish, shrimp, beef, lamb, cottage cheese, plain Greek yogurt with 20 grams of protein per serving.
Yes, you can eat chicken or fish in the morning.
Vegans may want to use plant proteins. Hemp, pea or vegetable protein powders are a good choice.
Please note: Nuts are NOT protein; they’re fats. Quinoa is NOT protein; it’s a carb.
What About the Rest of the Day?
Build meals (and even snacks) that include protein, vegetables, healthful fats, and complex starches. The diagram illustrates this.
Bottom line: Don’t try to ‘starve off’ a late-night binge. Instead, take control of the next day immediately. Eat right after waking — within 30 minutes at most. Have protein by itself or within a solid meal as described above.
Bonus Tip
Now that you know what to do after a late-night junk-out, you’re invited to discover how to prevent those junk-outs in the first place – and even stop one when it happens. It’s easier than you may think! Just visit www.LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Empowered Eating Consult to find out how simple it can be to control your junk-outs.
Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar: 7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood and Transform Your Health.
