Your Toughest Diet Dilemmas Solved

Can I Eat at Night?

Physiologically speaking, no. Your body treats calories the same whether you're gobbling them up at 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. "Thanks to boredom and TV watching, however, we are more likely to overindulge in the evening hours," says Young. Plus, night nibbling is usually synonymous with mindless eating -- and that means scarfing down chips, ice cream, or other empty-calorie snacks. (Think about how easy it is to crunch your way through an entire bag of Cheetos while watching CSI.) If you've got the late-night munchies, try our favorite pre-bedtime bites: a handful of nuts (about 170 calories), 12 tortilla chips with one-fourth cup salsa (about 130 calories), or a 100-calorie Fudgsicle.