Eating after 6PM
Article contributed by Reid Beloni
Well the truth is eating at night tends to lead to eating foods that are higher in calories such as potato chips and ice cream because you are at home and you are most likely sitting in front of the T.V., near the refrigerator and relaxed. Have you ever noticed what most of the commercials feature? The majority of commercials are about food. If it’s late night you can pretty much guarantee you will see a commercial featuring the late night windows at Taco Bell or Wendy’s. If you aren’t at home you are most likely eating out at a restaurant or at a party where you tend to eater higher fat foods and calories and larger portions. It doesn’t matter when you consume the calories, fat and carbohydrates. Calories are the same at any hour of the day.
One important fact of metabolism is that our bodies do not stop working when we are sleeping. Our hearts are still beating, our blood is still circulating, our lungs are functioning and our brains keep on working. All of these processes take energy, which means we are still burning calories as we sleep.
There is no magic time of the day when our bodies burn more calories or our body stores more fat. For example, if you eat the same exact meal at 5 PM or 9PM, is one more caloric than the other? Well that answer should be pretty obvious, of course not. What really matters is the amount of food or drink you consume over a week, a month or longer and how much energy you expend. Basically it comes down to calories consumed versus calories expended. Regardless of whether you take in the calories at night or during the day, excess calories if not burnt off, will lead to weight gain over time.
Not to say that there aren’t problems with eating late at night. A lot of people who eat late haven’t had anything to eat in a long time and they often eat larger portion sizes, grab the first thing they see, and tend to overeat. For people who are super hungry, a few slices of pizza or fast food will typically win out over broiled tuna and steamed broccoli!
The best idea is to consume enough meals and snacks during the day so that overeating doesn’t occur at night.