I posted this on the Diet and Nurtition board, but was looking for some other opinions.

During the week, I have very busy, long days. I work 7 - 5 and workout in the evenings. I eat very healthy during the day, but don't like to eat before I go workout. M-Th I don't get home until 9:30pm. Wednesdays it's 11:30pm because after working out, I play soccer on a women's league. Anway, my question is that how late is too late to eat? When I get home at 9:30, I am absolutely starving because I hadn't eaten anything since my mid-afternoon snack. I try drinking water to make the hunger go away, but it doesn't work. As of late, I have been allowing myself to eat a 3oz. can of tuna when I get home that late.
Stats are 5'3" and 113 lbs. I'm not trying to lose weight, but just maintain healthy eating.

Workout is M-Thur: 45 minutes on elliptical trainer and 45 minutes of water aerobics. Wed night adds 1 40 minutes of soccer.

Breakfast is cottage cheese and yogurt mixed together.
Mid-morning snack is a granola bar, apple, or hard boiled egg.
Lunch is a salad or a Sub sandwich w/baked lays.
Afternoon snack is a banana.
Then dinner - there is none until really late. It's usually 3oz of tuna with a little vinagrette dressing and a slice of swiss cheese.

So is it okay (healthy) to eat late at night and then go to bed?

Thanks for any opinions,
Trooper

As long as you keep carbs low or none, eating a little before bed is ok. Tuna is good protein and it will digest slowly and be less likely to be stored as fat. In fact it will help stop breakdown of muscle. So I wouldn't worry about it. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Keep your body lean, your blood clean and your mind sharp. -Rollins

I agree completely! Keep the carb intake low before going to bed. High protein is the way to go and tuna is excellent.

Thanks for the replies.

Just one more quick question... can you eat too much tuna? I have been eating a tuna sandwich and tuna for my late dinner for a while now. It would be a total of 6oz. a day. Can I eat all the tuna I want?

Just cause something is good for you to eat doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want. You still want to watch your caloric intake and simply not eat more than what your body needs whether it's in the form of protein, fat, carb, or whatever.

Someone posted on the weight loss board that there is a worry about the mercury levels in tuna, but I'm assuming yu're a man so thats not as big a deal for you as it would be a woman of child-bearing age.

There are other canned fishes if you'd like to get a little variety. Like salmon and whatnot.

First, I only eat 6 oz of tuna a day, which to me isn't that much. And each 3 oz serving only has 80 calories. So I'm not really too worried about my calorie intake. I do workout every night too. And I don't eat as much of it as I can just because it's good for me. I like the taste of it and it's very convenient. If you read above, I only weigh 113 lbs.

Second, I am female, and child bearing age (plan to have children in 2 more years). The mercury in the tuna does have me concerned.

Thanks for the replies. I will look more into the mercury in tuna and maybe find a substitute.

Trooper

from the bit of research i have done;
mercury level warnings dont apply to canned tuna. the species used are far smaller than fresh and frozen tuna, so mercury hasnt had a chance to buildup in their bodies like the larger fish. I dont believe the FDA has a reccomended intake of canned tuna, but the recommendation for other fish is about 32oz/week, which is like 6 cans. That number is most likely on the conservative side, but at least its some sort of guidline to go by.
however, health canada says that mercury isnt a problem in canned tuna, and offers no guidlines, making it seem like there is no limit really.

H8CC