Many of us have heard that eating late at night is bad for you. That if you eat late at night, you will surely hold onto fat more as your body systems shut down for the “fast” of sleep. Today we blow this fitness myth out of the water! For the truth isn’t about when you eat necessarily; it is all about why you are eating!
The name of the game is your metabolism, the body process which converts food and drink into energy, and the amount of energy that you burn off throughout the day which is measured in calories. Yes, I understand how much keeping track of all the math that goes into your body can be stressful when you are trying to meet your health goals.
However, only a simple understanding of whereabouts how much you need to eat in the day to meet your daily calorie intake combined with your activity level will tell you how you can equally distribute your calorie intake to meet your needs. Today “late-night snacking” will see the light of day!
Metabolism 101: Your body needs a certain amount of fuel in a day!
Simply, you need to eat about every 4-5 hours once you wake up in the day. Therefore if your day, starts noon-ish and ends around 2am, and this is your consistent cycle mind you, your dinner may be at 8pm, and you may go for a run at 9pm with a filling, easily digestible snack around 11pm.
Going to bed hungry with your stomach growling is just as bad as over-eating at night due to boredom, anxiety, depression, or a number of other behavioral or psychological problems. This will cause you to want to binge that same night to get over that feeling or cause you to overeat the next day. The goal would be to have your body constantly burning fuel (thus wanting to burn fat) throughout your “day”.
Be weary of snacking too much, as i said before, because when your body rests for the night it should be using its energy for repair and maintenance over digestion. Therefore, when snacking late at night ask yourself if you are truly hungry, and then drink a glass of water to ensure you aren’t just thirsty. Afterward if you are indeed hungry go for a sensible snack.
Late night munchies? Go for protein, low-fat, or fiber-rich (filling, but still light on the stomach)
So we have come to the conclusion that late-night snacking can be worked into your daily routine and not have adverse effects on your health. Of course, the quality of the things that you choose certainly plays a role just as they would at any other time of day!
Try:
- Apple slices with peanut butter (or other nut butters)
- Carrots and hummus
- One string-cheese stick (It may be processe, but the fat and protein content may tide you over)
- A bowl of oats with low-fat milk
- Two slices of white-meat turkey with some low-fat cheese imbetween
- A banana
Now you can go about your late-night eating with strategy rather than simply “noshing”! Go forth without guilt over how you may choose to consume your calories throughout the day over another person’s preferences! The night is yours!
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