Myth or Truth? Not eating before sleep

sueceeq

There's another issue to consider. A light snack isn't a problem but if you eat too much you can start having acid reflux problems. Not fun, I can tell you from personal experience.

This is definitely a problem for me. I have to eat a couple of hours before going to bed or I end up sleeping sitting up. Not fun!

juliesummers

when you go to sleep your body's metabolism slows down while sleeping because your not doing much of anything, your energy requirements are low. eating carbs before bed will cause your blood sugar levels to go up. since your energy requirements will be far below your current energy reserves, your body will process almost the entirety of those calories into fat storage. if you need to eat before bed, you should eat primarily slow digesting proteins.

I agree with this ^

It is incorrect.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390149-should-i-eat-at-night <==lots of reference material in this thread.

That's fine. I just know that it is true for me and my body. If I go to bed full (even just on big salads, carrots, beans, etc), I don't lose weight and I wake up the in the morning feeling slugging and bloated..

tigersword

Ok, I'll keep this as simple as I can. It doesn't matter what time you eat food as far as fat storage is concerned. If you eat breakfast and don't need those 300 calories for immediate energy replenishment, it will be stored as fat until it is needed. That happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, your body replenishes and uses glycogen for energy as needed. It doesn't matter if you are sleeping, working, watching TV, driving, whatever. Once your glycogen stores are full, your body stores the rest as fat until needed. Once it's needed, it retrieves the fat and turns it back into glycogen.

Timing makes no difference, as your TDEE and daily calorie goals are FOR 24 HOURS, WHICH INCLUDES THE TIME YOU ARE SLEEPING.

kittyninja

I don't care if it effects my weight. Personally, I never eat after 8 pm because if I do, I can't get to sleep or stay asleep well, and in the morning my stomach feels very full and uncomfortable, usually causing me to skip breakfast, which begins a cycle of badness.