What to eat in the evening to lose weight? The plate that keeps you going until morning

Why dinner matters so much

For many people, the evening is where the day goes off track. Hunger built up since lunch, tiredness and the sofa make snacking easy. A proper dinner stops that. Skipping it rarely helps, as hunger comes back at 10pm.

Dinner also affects the night. A very heavy or very sugary meal can disturb sleep, and poor sleep makes hunger harder to manage the next day.

What to eat in the evening to lose weight, 3 dinners that work

Use the proportions of the NHS Eatwell Guide. Half the plate vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter starchy food.

• Baked cod and roasted vegetables. A fillet of cod or haddock, courgettes, peppers and red onion in the oven with a little rapeseed oil, plus a few new potatoes in their skins. Ready in 25 minutes.
• Omelette and a big salad. 2 or 3 eggs, a generous green salad, a slice of wholemeal toast. The emergency dinner when the fridge is nearly empty.
• Homemade vegetable soup and protein. Leek, carrot and lentil soup without cream, with a slice of lean ham or 2 boiled eggs. Soup alone will not last until morning. The protein changes that.

Starchy foods in the evening, worth keeping

Cutting out potatoes, rice or bread at dinner often leads to waking up hungry or raiding the cupboard later. The NHS page on starchy foods explains that they contain fewer than half the calories of fat, gram for gram. A fist-sized portion of brown rice, wholewheat pasta or potatoes is enough. More on this in our guide to starchy foods for weight loss.

What time to eat dinner, and what to avoid

Aim to eat 2 to 3 hours before bed. For an 11pm bedtime, dinner between 7pm and 8:30pm works well. If the day runs late, a light late dinner is better than a skipped meal followed by crisps.

3 habits often hold people back.

• Takeaways and ready meals, often high in salt and fat. The NHS 8 tips for healthy eating advise cutting down on both.
• Pre-dinner drinks and nibbles that turn into the meal.
• A pudding every night, which wakes the appetite up again.

Very hungry every evening? The cause is often earlier in the day. Start with a proper breakfast for weight loss.

At the club in Witney

On Tuesday, Witney Nutrition Club also opens in the evening from 6pm to 7:30pm. Your first assessment is free, and it looks at your evenings as well as your mornings.

This article does not replace advice from your GP or another health professional.