I don’t know if it’s out of boredom or out of habit, but why is it that overeating late at night occurs one too many times in our diets?

It’s tough work going through the day, rejecting the cookies a co-worker brought in, denying the cake at the birthday party, opting out of the french fries at dinner, but some how we do it. For some reason staying on track with food can be right on. . . until about 9 or 10pm rolls around and then it’s just all down hill from there.

By no means am I talking about an apple or scoop of ice cream… I am talking about a full blown meal. For the amount of calories consumed that evening, you might as well have had the cookies, cake and fries!

So how do you prevent your self from sabotaging your diet from late night binge eating?

The answer is simple, stop eating! Ha… If only it were that easy, right? Because this task can be so hard to do for many of us, here are some tips to break the old habit and toss it out the window!

* Distract yourself. Go for a walk with your dog. Find a great book to read. Do some of your blogging during this time.

* Instead of brush your teeth right before bed, do it right after dinner. Brushing your teeth has been proven to decrease one’s appetite.

* Have a high fiber dinner, which will keep you full longer

* Keep that cup full and glued to your side, keeping your hands and mouth busy!

* Make a list of healthy low calorie snacks that you can eat at night and nothing else. I always know around 9pm that I will eat a sugar-free pudding cup. I know that if I can just hold out a few hours that I will get to enjoy this and then it’s back to the water!

* Go somewhere in the house where you can’t see the kitchen. For some reason when I see the kitchen, I gravitate towards it… weird, I know!

* Suck on a hard candy. This keeps your mouth busy and will last longer than chowing down on several bowls of cereal.

* Work on your food journal during the evening

* Ask your roommate or spouse to hold you accountable to only a small snack and nothing more at night

* Make sure you are getting enough calories in during the day, so you aren’t starving late at night.

QUESTION: What is your favorite night-time dessert or snack?

Mine is chocolate pudding with cool whip or a bowl of cereal.