Midterms are approaching, which can only mean one thing: every student is stocking up on their late-night studying essentials of coffee (or any other caffeinated drink of their choice) and snacks.

The best study break is munching on those M&M’s you saved or your favorite chips while letting your brain relax a little. Unfortunately, for most of us, this snacking becomes a habit to avoid studying. After a hard day of studying, treating ourselves to sweet, savory food can be very tempting. Our hormones can go a little crazy if we’re sleep deprived or stressed and may lead us to crave foods that won’t help us ace our exams. These late nights are where we students pick up many unnecessary and unhealthy calories. If you are trying to lose weight or maintain your health, these cravings might ruin your plans. We’re also not the wisest at this time of night, so the decisions we make about what we’re putting into our body aren’t exactly the greatest.

By preparing our minds and bodies beforehand against these cravings, we don’t have to give in to these impulses. There are a couple strategies you can use to curb these late-night cravings.

Figure out why you really want to eat. It may be because you are just sick of studying. I mean, let’s be real. Most of us tend to eat when we’re either bored or stressed. Eating lets us focus on something other than the realities of our life and lets us unwind and relax for a bit. If this is the case for you, there are other alternatives.

Distract yourself. If all you need is a simple study break, keep your body occupied by doing something else, such as walking around your building or up and down the stairs, dancing around your room to your favorite song (guilty), or solving a quick Sudoku puzzle. Keep your mind and body busy and away from food.

Fill yourself with fiber. Eating a fiber-rich dinner will keep your body full for a longer period of time. According to health.com, women should get around 25 grams of fiber a day, while men should get around 35. But we typically only get around 15 grams of fiber a day. So not only will this keep you full, it’ll keep you healthy. This means pasta, beans, brown rice, whole-wheat bread – whatever works for you.

Study smarter. I’d personally love to eat a brownie after hard-core studying for biology, but that sugar high will only leave me more tired than ever. If you really are hungry, try eating nuts, raisins, fruits, or nutrition bars – foods that will actually help you concentrate more on your studying. Sadly, these foods will not satisfy your cravings (who would choose nuts and raisins over ice cream and candy?), but they will help your concentration and attention span rather than wear your body out.

Plan ahead. If you know you are going to be up late studying, eat dinner a little later and make sure you don’t have any unhealthy food around you that could potentially lead to submission. If it’s out of your sight, you won’t think about it as much and you won’t be tempted to reach over and put it in your mouth. Also, eating breakfast in the morning kicks your metabolism into gear and helps you burn more calories throughout the day, and following through with consistent meals will help you feel less hungry at night.

Giving in to cravings only leads to regret the next day. Controlling yourself will not only keep those extra pounds off but hopefully give you a boost to help you ace your exams.