Is it ok to eat late at night? - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

nec41 · 03-04-2003, 09:02 PM

I have always heard that you should not eat at night because the food gets turned into fat. Is this true because I am already overweight and don't want to get fatter.

rita · 03-04-2003, 11:01 PM

Yes, it is definitely unhealthy to eat at night for several reasons. First of all, if you eat before going to bed your body has to go to work to digest the food and night time should be rest time for you and your body. You may have a hard time falling asleep or getting refreshing sleep. Secondly, if you eat at night, close to your bedtime then the food you eat has no time to be used for fuel and it is indeed stored and becomes fat. Therefore, if you want to avoid gaining more weight you should not eat within 3-4 hours of your bedtime.

CAPiTUH · 03-04-2003, 11:11 PM

disagree, about the fat storage at least. while carbs will store as fat, protein will not. all of the bodybuilding information recommends eating a large serving of protein before bed to keep muscles from catabolizing.

rita · 03-04-2003, 11:26 PM

I also disagree. ALL unused food, regardless of its source (carb,protein, etc.,) will be stored as fat if not used for fuel. The muscles will not "catabolize" themselves at night by not having a large amount of protein to use. At night almost all internal activity slows down to allow the body to rest. Unless a person is seriously malnutritioned, the body will not need additional protein at night to maintain itself in good form.

[This message has been edited by rita (edited 03-05-2003).]

Endorphin Junky · 03-05-2003, 02:44 AM

I'd say it depends on how you're training and how your own body works. If you have a high BMR (eg some one with a high muscle mass) your body will enter a catabolic state at some point during the night when it runs out of fuel since even at a slower rate, it'll still be burning more cals than someone with a lower BMR, in which case I think it's important to get some slow digesting protein about an hour before bed. I do and I don't have a problem maintaining a low bf% even when bulking. The most I'll ever get to at the end of a bulk is about 13% bf and I'll usually have about 50g of protein before bed. Infact, I do this while I'm cutting too and don't find it hinders fat loss either. Definately avoid too many carbs late on though.