This One Hygiene Habit Will Stop Your Late-Night Snack Cravings- Fitness Enthusiast Reveals
Late-night snack cravings can be the tip of an iceberg of several underlying issues. But a fitness enthusiast has enlightened the internet with a piece of simple but effective advice worth trying. Reddit user u/Simondo88 shared their wisdom with people trying to avoid the unhealthy habit of snacking late at night. “Clean your teeth early evening,” the expert wrote, suggesting the premise of their tip.
Not only for the followers, the Reddit user claimed to have tried out the method for themself in an attempt to cut down on their weight gains. The post revealed that the enthusiast often eats until falling asleep. “I'm trying to lose weight, and I sometimes eat up until sleep, and occasionally I used to go straight to bed without brushing,” the message stated. However, they were determined to find a solution and realized that brushing their teeth restricted them from eating anything late on. The fitness enthusiast, although, did not have an idea why the trick seemed to work.
“Now I clean my teeth early evening and only sip water for the rest of the night. I don't know why it works,” the post continued. In a bid to explain the act, the user, whose post went viral on the platform, hinted that they limited their snacking since they had already brushed their teeth. Thus, adding in the message, “Because I've cleaned my teeth, I don't want to ruin it, so I avoid eating. It's amazing this is actually working for me.” The post received around 440 upvotes and plenty of comments from other internet users.
The fitness enthusiast’s advice seemed to resonate with a few as most netizens shared their failed experiences with the pro tip. “You underestimate my ability to eat after brushing my teeth,” one person u/andromediea wrote. Echoing their sentiment, another user u/Ok-Palpitation2401 hilariously chimed in, “Yeah. I also tried this trick and all I accomplished was having my teeth brushed twice in the evening.” Other people in the comments were also convinced that the brush trick hardly worked to prevent them from snacking at night.
Nevertheless, a few other Reddit users attested to the results. One netizen u/dozerdude1995 wrote, “This works for me as well. Some 10 pm ice cream? I already brushed my teeth.” A second supporter u/karmagirl314 informed me that “mint scent or flavor” seems to work as an “appetite suppressant” while someone else claimed baking soda toothpaste did the work too.
Certified dietician and nutritionist, Toby Amidor offered some insights into the growing problem of late-night snacking, especially with the current trends of sedentary lifestyles, per a 2023 report by Health. She encouraged victims to analyze the root cause of their cravings, which can range from behavioral habits to disordered eating, inadequate sleep, stress, anxiety, or skipping meals. She advised anyone with the said symptoms to try and administer changes to their lifestyle by altering night routines or even keeping a food diary. Finally, if the problem persists and remains out of control, Amidor suggested seeing a healthcare professional for the best solution.
Meanwhile, family nutrition expert, Sarah Pflugradt, Ph.D, RD, said it is best to eat when hungry at night, per EatingWell. “Eating at night will not slow down your metabolism, and if you're smart about snacking, you won't gain weight either,” she noted. Keeping a mental inventory of all the foods consumed during the day will allow people to shortlist their snacking list and replenish the nutrition that had been missed.