Fact or Fiction: If you eat right before bedtime the food gets converted into fat while you sleep

jjejjtu
jjejjtu Posts: 1,324 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
I don't know if there is any science behind this, or if it is urban legend, but I somehow, somewhere learned that if you eat right before you go to bed, the food will get converted into fat overnight.

Is this true? I would love for this to not be true. Does sleeping with a stomach full of food actually affect digestion and assimilation of nutrients? Does the fact that the food may not be getting burned off as energy actually mean your body is converting it and shoving it into your fat cells?

Does anyone know, for a fact? There are so many conflicting thoughts on this, I was wondering if there is any hard evidence one way or another. I eat pretty late, so I am not looking to sabatoge myself, however I am also not wanting to worry over something that's no more than a myth.

Anyone know?

Replies

  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    Fiction.

    Only excess calories become fat. Timing is irrelevant.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited February 2015
    It's false. There have been a couple of other threads about this in the last few days.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10082073/i-dont-eat-past/p1
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084463/eating-at-night
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    edited February 2015
    Urban legend...assuming those calories fit into your daily goal and don't put you into a surplus.
  • pap3rw1ngs
    pap3rw1ngs Posts: 58 Member
    I eat my "lunch" within an hour of going to sleep and I've lost 64lbs so I'm going to say no.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    false

    eat when you want and focus on your calorie goals

    There are alot of things going on while you sleep that use energy (you are still alive afterall).
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Iron_Feline wrote: »
    Fiction.

    Only excess calories become fat. Timing is irrelevant.
    This. Eat your food when you want to eat it.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    False- only a surplus of calories will be stored as fat
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    No it is not true.

    Your metabolism slows down when you sleep (just like all of your body systems) but that doesn't mean that you put on fat, it just means that your basal metabolic rate is lower than when you are awake. Your brain sends signals to your metabolism to start speeding up before you even wake up so in the early morning you are actually burning more before you start moving. It is all about averages. The body is constantly storing energy and then using those stores so, as long as you average out at a deficit, you will burn fat.

    All that sleeping with a stomach full of food can do is make you feel uncomfortable or cause acid reflux, and this is different for everyone. Some can go to bed with a full stomach, some can go to bed with an empty stomach, some (like me) need a light snack before going to sleep.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    You're fasting while you sleep and yet your body still requires energy to keep running, so if anything, you're burning some form of stored energy while you sleep.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    well, let's look at this from a purely common sense point of view...you need XXXX calories per day to maintain the status quo...if you consume less energy than that, your fat stores must be used to make up the difference....so If I need 2800 calories to maintain the status quo and I eat 2200 calories...what difference would the timing make? Mathematically, how would I put on fat in a deficit of energy?

    When you understand the math, you understand how truly simple this all is and all of this other nonsense can go by the way side.
  • jjejjtu
    jjejjtu Posts: 1,324 Member
    Thanks everyone for the responses. I now have one less thing to worry about.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    If this were true, I'd weigh 500 pounds. I eat (usually something like Cheetos or chocolate or ice cream) right before bed every day. It's my little treat to myself.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Somewhat true. But fat is just one of the ways the body stores energy. When your activity level increases, the body will convert that fat to a usable form. Over a period of a week, it will work itself out.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    Somewhat true. But fat is just one of the ways the body stores energy. When your activity level increases, the body will convert that fat to a usable form. Over a period of a week, it will work itself out.

    Nope. Not true at all.
  • Jamiewooles_18
    Jamiewooles_18 Posts: 3 Member
    Food timing is irrelevant. Calories in vs calories out.
  • squirrlt
    squirrlt Posts: 106 Member
    edited February 2015
    Weeeelllll, there is something to be said for timing. I look at it this way...Your body will use the carbs as it's preferred energy source first. When it runs low, it will start using other forms of energy, ie breaking down fat. If I load up on carbs before I go to sleep, I'll have plenty of carbs to use up before I start burning fat. Why not go into a somewhat fasted state sooner and use up some of my "stored" energy while I am comfortably asleep? So my preference is to not eat a bunch of carbs before bed, when I don't need them. I'd rather eat carbs before a workout, when I can actually benefit from some readily available energy. And yes, it's calories in/out, but I also tend to wake up STARVING if I eat a bunch of carbs before bed too. That sets me up for a rough day. Fat or protein before bed does have the same effect on insulin/cravings.

    So yes, it's somewhat of a myth in its simplest terms, but it could be to some folk's advantage to avoid carbs before bed (as a strategy)

    But if it brings you great joy to eat a giant bowl of ice cream before bed, you have no problem meeting your daily calorie goals, and are losing fat, then by all means... go for it :-)
  • jjejjtu
    jjejjtu Posts: 1,324 Member
    djcrillz wrote: »
    Weeeelllll, there is something to be said for timing. I look at it this way...Your body will use the carbs as it's preferred energy source first. When it runs low, it will start using other forms of energy, ie breaking down fat. If I load up on carbs before I go to sleep, I'll have plenty of carbs to use up before I start burning fat. Why not go into a somewhat fasted state sooner and use up some of my "stored" energy while I am comfortably asleep? So my preference is to not eat a bunch of carbs before bed, when I don't need them. I'd rather eat carbs before a workout, when I can actually benefit from some readily available energy. And yes, it's calories in/out, but I also tend to wake up STARVING if I eat a bunch of carbs before bed too. That sets me up for a rough day. Fat or protein before bed does have the same effect on insulin/cravings.

    So yes, it's somewhat of a myth in its simplest terms, but it could be to some folk's advantage to avoid carbs before bed (as a strategy)

    But if it brings you great joy to eat a giant bowl of ice cream before bed, you have no problem meeting your daily calorie goals, and are losing fat, then by all means... go for it :-)

    Ha! djcrillz, it brings me great, incredible joy to eat a giant bowl of ice cream before bed. And for lunch. Not that I do it, just saying......

    But this makes sense. We won't necessarily gain weight if we eat immediately before bedtime, however, if we opt not to, then it may be possible to lose more while sleeping by burning our reserves. Hmmm, food for thought....no pun intended....
  • NikonPal
    NikonPal Posts: 1,346 Member
    I have after 6pm snacks every day for well over a year -- never had an issue...

    As one Mayo clinic article noted: "...Despite all the diet strategies out there, weight management still comes down to the calories you take in versus those you burn off. Fad diets may promise you that avoiding carbs or eating a mountain of grapefruit is the secret to weight loss, but it's really all about calories."

    73641431.png
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    If you eat enough, yes.

    But that'll be true any time of day.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited February 2015
    elphie754 wrote: »
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    Somewhat true. But fat is just one of the ways the body stores energy. When your activity level increases, the body will convert that fat to a usable form. Over a period of a week, it will work itself out.

    Nope. Not true at all.

    He's correct, it is somewhat true. For someone eating at a consistent deficit it won't make much difference anyway, but yes, if you eat enough right before going to sleep, the excess energy metabolized overnight will get stored, even if over a 24 hour period you are in a deficit.

  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    looking4better wrote: »
    djcrillz wrote: »
    Weeeelllll, there is something to be said for timing. I look at it this way...Your body will use the carbs as it's preferred energy source first. When it runs low, it will start using other forms of energy, ie breaking down fat. If I load up on carbs before I go to sleep, I'll have plenty of carbs to use up before I start burning fat. Why not go into a somewhat fasted state sooner and use up some of my "stored" energy while I am comfortably asleep? So my preference is to not eat a bunch of carbs before bed, when I don't need them. I'd rather eat carbs before a workout, when I can actually benefit from some readily available energy. And yes, it's calories in/out, but I also tend to wake up STARVING if I eat a bunch of carbs before bed too. That sets me up for a rough day. Fat or protein before bed does have the same effect on insulin/cravings.

    So yes, it's somewhat of a myth in its simplest terms, but it could be to some folk's advantage to avoid carbs before bed (as a strategy)

    But if it brings you great joy to eat a giant bowl of ice cream before bed, you have no problem meeting your daily calorie goals, and are losing fat, then by all means... go for it :-)

    Ha! djcrillz, it brings me great, incredible joy to eat a giant bowl of ice cream before bed. And for lunch. Not that I do it, just saying......

    But this makes sense. We won't necessarily gain weight if we eat immediately before bedtime, however, if we opt not to, then it may be possible to lose more while sleeping by burning our reserves. Hmmm, food for thought....no pun intended....

    No.

    You burn because you didn't have ice cream. Not because you didn't have it before bed.

    Wake up the next morning and eat it? Same weight gain as eating it the night before.

    It has nothing to do with timing and everything to do with abstaining from ice cream.

    Jeebus Cripes where does this horse hockey come from?

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