Is it Bad to Eat at Night?
How many times have you heard that if you eat at night, you will put on more weight? We hear about how the metabolism slows so that you don’t burn as many calories. Some say that the calories you eat late at night turn to fat.
The simple truth is, no matter when you eat, the calories you take in must equal the calories you expand.
The reason this myth is so wide spread is because of how people eat late at night. Most of the time, you have not eaten much during the day, so by the time evening rolls around you are starving and reach for, you guessed it, high calorie foods like potato chips, cookies or fast food. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, these foods are going to add on the pounds.
If you are watching your weight, it is more important to eat balanced meals several times per day. If you get the proper nutrients during the day, you will have no cravings at night or you will manage to control them.
No studies have been done on humans to prove this myth wrong. However, a study was done in Oregon on monkeys. Groups of monkeys were fed precise amounts of food at various times of the day. Those who ate mostly at night did not put on weight as long as their daily calories equaled the calories they were burning.
So go ahead and eat at night, just don’t overdo it.
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