You more than likely heard this before or something of some sort.
- If you eat after 7pm, most of it turns to fat
Here is the fact, calories are calories – no matter what time you eat them. The two worst ways of going to sleep are 1) angry and 2) hungry. It’s a guaranteed way for a restless night. Let’s make this clear, there is no magic hour which your body will choose to store the food you consume as fat.
Now if you eat like crap and overindulge at night, then that’s the problem. It’s not the hour you decide to eat. Some people use the time cut off as a way to keep them from indulging in that late night scavenger hunt through the fridge.
But what if dinner runs late or you know you haven’t eaten anything all day and starving? Then frickin eat.
Because at the end of the day, it comes down to how much calories did you take in. Yes, there are a bunch of different factors that can play a role but let’s keep it simple first.
And if you can only make time to train in the evening, then you better get a solid meal in. It’s not optional. After exercise, your body is primed to absorb nutrients. So hydrate and replenish nutrients to assist in recovery and building lean muscle mass.
What you eat and how much you eat is by far more important than when you eat.
WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE SAY?
A six month study done in Israel compared people who ate their largest meals at breakfast to a group who at their largest meals for dinner (8 p.m or after). What they found will interest you and put the nail in the coffin of this myth.
The group that ate their largest meals in the evening actually loss more fat and experience more fullness throughout the 6 month study which probably made them less likely of cravings. Here are a few findings between the two groups.
Those who ate at night:
- Lost 11 percent more weight
- Had a 10 percent greater change in abdominal circumference
- Lost a whopping 10.5 percent more body fat
That’s crazy results. But the problem with these findings is that people take things to the extreme and feel like now they have to eat huge meals at night. No. This study just showed that ‘Eating late at night will make you fat’ is bullshit.
ARE LATE NIGHT MEALS FOR YOU?
Most people eat late at night straight out of boredom or for emotional reasons which is where the problem roots from. It’s very likely meals eaten during those times are a bunch of junk food like cookies, cupcakes, ice cream, or maybe a late night run for burgers and fries.
When it comes to nutrition, calories are important but understanding your behaviors, habits, and triggers are just as important.
Here are a few options:
- If you are in control of your nutrition and can stay away from indulging at late night snacks, then by all means eat away and relax.
- If you find yourself eating a late night meal, grinding food throughout the night, and becoming the fuckin cookie monster, then you need to pump the brakes tiger and keep to smaller meals at night.
- If you still think that eating after 7pm will make you fat and you read this article all the way to here, then you just wasted your damn time.
There is no cookie cutter way for fat loss. As we mentioned here before, it comes down to your lifestyle, habits, and behaviors.
Get a hold of those areas, and everything else becomes stronger.
