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1.

Stay consistent with meals (& snacks) throughout the day

“The first thing I often recommend to keep evening cravings at bay is to remain consistent with other meals throughout the day,” says Maeson Temple, RDN, L.D., CNSC. “Making sure to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner (or even an afternoon snack) will prevent an increased appetite later in the evening.”

Days fill up quickly, and making time to eat a meal (let alone a balanced meal) can be challenging. Add on stressful situations, and those hormones may be enough to squash the desire for food1. Your appetite may tick up again once you’ve had a moment to breathe in the evening, which could have you reaching for convenient, but high-calorie foods.

“When meals are skipped early in the day, some people feel an instinctual need to ‘make up for’ nutrients or calories missed earlier in the day, creating more cravings at night that seem out of balance,” notes Temple. 

Hubert even warns, “Don’t try to eat as little as possible… it usually will lead to sabotaging you!” 

2.

Be intentional about your portion sizes — especially for protein

Not only is the consistency of meals important, but so is the makeup of those dishes. “A lot of times we end up overeating late at night because we simply just aren’t eating right earlier in the day,” emphasizes Lauren Hubert, M.S., R.D. That means eating balanced meals with plenty of protein and color on your plate.” 

And most people are consistently falling short on protein in particular. Protein has some powerfully satiating qualities2.  

The absolute minimum protein recommendation for healthy adults is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight a day. For someone weighing 150 pounds, that’s about 55 grams daily. 

But for optimal health and especially for building muscle that recommendation bumps up to about 1.4 to 2.0 grams per kilogram body weight a day (equaling 109-150 grams of protein for that 150-pound person).  

To simplify this math, Hubert recommends eating at least 20 grams of protein each meal while some folks may need closer to 30-40 grams depending on how much they exercise. 

Her favorite, easy protein sources include chicken breast, ground turkey, fish, greek yogurt, tofu/soy products, and eggs (with extra egg whites). 

3.

Bump up your fiber intake

Sometimes, cravings are also your body’s way of trying to tell you something and indicate a need for certain nutrients.

“Unfortunately, wires can get crossed and the body signaling a need for more glucose [sugar] can feel like a need to reach into the candy jar at night instead of trying some fruit or whole grain toast, and other whole food items that will provide glucose to the body,” says Temple. 

Carbohydrate foods still often have a bad rap for promoting cravings or weight gain, and that’s not the case—especially for complex, fiber-rich carbs. 

5.

Incorporate a sweet treat earlier in the day 

And lastly, just changing up the timing of your dessert can help.

“I notice people tend to crave foods they consider ‘bad’ and that they try to avoid,” says Hubert. “So when they get low blood sugar or they have that food in front of them, they cannot control themselves and end up overeating far more than if they mindfully included it in their diet consistently.”

The solution? Consider making your treat (it could be a salty or crunchy one) into your regular daytime routine. 

If you have dessert after lunch, the protein and fiber from your meal should help keep your blood sugar levels from spiking and leave you full and satisfied until your next meal. 

And the lack of hunger from eating consistent, balanced meals and snacks allows you to be more cognizant of the serving size of your treat—so you can have enough to please your taste buds while not overindulging.