After a long day of answering emails, wrangling kids, and several loads of laundry, a late night snack while you watch your favorite show seems to be exactly what you need to relax. But isn’t midnight munching going to ruin your progress?

The good news is, late night snacking doesn’t have to get in the way of your weight loss goals! I’m going to share with you some healthy late night snacks that are tasty and won’t cause setbacks to your weight loss goals.

Before you grab your grocery list, let’s talk about why the wrong type of late night snacking can be bad for your weight loss goals.

Late night snacking can cause trouble for reaching your weight loss goals for these

2 reasons:

1. High Calories Lead to Weight Gain

Our bodies need calories to fuel the tasks that we carry out during the day. However, you don’t need tons of calories to prepare you for an activity that doesn’t burn a lot calories – Sleep!

As a rule of thumb, I like to keep my late night snacking calories somewhere around 100 calories.

When you snack on unhealthy foods, you’re not providing your body with any of the nutrients it needs and sugary and greasy foods can make it hard for you to get a good night’s sleep.

2. Large Portions Lead to Weight Gain

Maybe you aren’t snacking on unhealthy snacks, but you are eating the whole bag of trail mix. This can derail your weight loss goals and leave you feeling defeated. Why? It’s not like you’re eating French fries, right?

However, too much of a good thing can be a not so good thing when it comes to snacking. Too many calories, whether healthy or unhealthy, can cause weight gain. Especially at the wrong time of day.

Now, let’s get into some late-night snackin’ that won’t get in the way of your weight loss!

Sweet Snackin’

From cookies, cookies & cream, and everything in between, like a vampire, your sweet tooth seems to grow at night. However, some of our most favorite sweet snacks are loaded with calories and not one ounce of nutritional value. Here are a few snacks that will satisfy your sweet tooth and the scale:

1. Berries and Cream

If you’re craving a late night snack that is fruity, creamy, and low-calorie, toss that bag of Skittles!

Berries like, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are packed with Vitamins C, B5, potassium, and water. Berries are low in sugar which makes them a great choice for late night snacking, even for diabetics or the keto dieters.

The water content in berries can help you avoid over-eating and keep your portion size in check. Well, how many berries should you eat?

Strawberries (1 cup, halves)

- 49 calories

- 8 net carbs

Blueberries (1 cup)

- 84 calories

- 15 net carbs

Blackberries (1 cup)

- 62 calories!

- 6 net carbs

Raspberries (1 cup)

- 65 calories

- 7 net carbs

Even if you wanted to splurge and eat a larger portion (a cup and half), your late night snack would still be around 100 calories.

Now that you’ve got your berries in a bowl (fresh or frozen) it’s time to top them with whipped cream!

Whipped cream has gotten a bad rep because we tend to use wayyyy too much of it. However, whipped cream won’t damage your weight loss success if you eat a serving size. Let’s check out some of our favorites:

Kraft Cool Whip Lite

Serving size: 2 TBSP

- 20 calories

- 3 carbs

Kraft Cool Whip Original

Serving size: 2 TBSP

- 22 calories

- 2 carbs

Reddi Whip Extra Creamy

Serving size: 2 TBSP

- 15 calories

- 1 carb

2. Frozen Yogurt

Ice cream is one of the most popular late night snacks, especially during stressful times. The problem with eating ice cream as a late night snack is it is high in calories and our portions tend to match our stress levels.

Frozen yogurt is a better option for your late night sweet tooth because it contains live bacteria (good bacteria) that can help with digestion and promote weight loss.

Here is the scoop on some the best frozen yogurt options:

Kemps Fat Free Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Serving size: 1 cup

- 145 calories

Kemps Chocolate Frozen Yogurt

Serving size: 2/3 cup

- 150 calories

Mayfield Creamery Low, Fat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Serving size: 2/3 cup

- 130 calories

Mayfield Creamery Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Serving size: 2/3 cup

- 130 calories

Yasso Mint Chocolate Chip Greek Yogurt Bars

Serving size: 1 bar

- 100 calories

Salty Snackin’

Maybe your late night snacks involve the salt shaker instead of the sugar bowl. Late night salty snacks can cause water retention which will give you an unwanted bloated look and feeling.

Consuming high amounts of sodium in your diet can elevate your blood pressure and lead to heart disease and stroke. Here’s what you can snack on to keep your weight loss on target:

1. Popcorn!

If you didn’t know, popcorn is my FAVORITE salty snack! Popcorn gets a bad rep because of all of the additional toppings that usually come along with it like butter, salt, and cheese.

However, popcorn is actually healthy when it’s prepared in a healthy way.

To keep popcorn it it’s healthiest state, use an air popper.

An air popper eliminates all of the calories you get from popcorn that is popped with oil. All you have to add are a few dashes of sea salt for a little salty flavor!

Two tablespoons of popcorn kernels gets you 4.5 cups of delicious popcorn AND it's only 80 CALORIES!

If you don’t have an air popper or you don’t feel like measuring kernels, you can microwave a 100-calorie popcorn bag or grab a bag of Skinny Pop for 150 calories.

2. Almonds

If you’re nuts about nuts, almonds are a great option to keep the calories low and the nutrition high! Can you really enjoy almonds and stay on track with your weight loss goals? You sure can!

Lightly Salted Dry Roasted Almonds

Serving: 20 almonds

- 125 calories

- 40 mg of sodium

Roasted and Sea Salted Almonds

Serving: 20 almonds

- 121 calories

- 53 mg of sodium

If you want to avoid counting almonds, Blue Diamond has a 100-calorie pack option.

3. Baked Chips

If you like to crunch when you munch, then baked chips are the way to go! You get the crunchiness that you love without all of the extra calories.

The sodium may be a little higher than some of the other snack options, but you can make adjustments to your other meals. Let’s take a look at some of most popular brands:

Lay’s Baked Original

Serving: 18 chips

- 120 calories

- 135 mg of sodium

Cheetos Baked

Serving: 34 chips

- 140 calories

- 240 mg of sodium

Doritos Baked

Serving: 15 chips

- 120 calories

- 230 mg of sodium

Late night snacking doesn’t have to be a hurdle to your weight loss and health.

If fact, having healthy late night snack my help you stay on track and avoid overeating on the next day. So, instead of giving up late snacking, munch on these low calorie and healthy options.