Want to lose weight? Stop snacking in the middle of the night

Have you been trying to lose weight for a while but have not been able to keep those kilos from stacking up? Here's a probable explanation for your weight loss efforts going vain. A new study says that late night snacking can hamper your weight loss efforts.

This study was conducted on fruit flies and the researchers found that after feeding the flies for 12 hours a day, the flies slept better, gained less weight and had healthier circulatory systems, when compared to flies that had no dietary restrictions. This effect is thought to be linked to body clock genes that exist in humans too. This experiment was repeated many times until the scientist could prove that the group of flies which fed for only half the day were much healthier. (Read: 10 superfoods for super weight loss!)

The study published in the journal Science, was conducted at the State University of San Diego. Dr Girish Melkani said that eating should be restricted to particular times throughout the day and cutting down on late night snacks would be ideal for weight loss. (Read: 10 diet habits that guarantee weight loss)

If you often feel hungry in the middle of the night, achieving your weight loss goals and leading a healthy lifestyle can be very difficult.

Here are some tipsto prevent hunger pangs and midnight cravings:

1. Have healthy and filling breakfast and lunch, they should include a minimum of 400 food-based calories.
2. Snack in between meals. Ensure you eat solid food with enough protein content.
3. According to a research, chewing gum for at least 45 minutes promotes fullness and significantly suppressed hunger, appetite and cravings for snacks.

Many people also have sugar cravings in the middle of the night. By giving into those, you are adding many calories at one go. Even a cupcake has around 130 calories. (Read: 10 ways to beat sugar cravings)