A Common Concern Among Many
The old late night eating myth.
Client: “coach, I think I am not losing weight because I eat too late. Should I stop eating passed dinner time?
Me: There is no exact time to eat, it’s dependent on what works for you and your schedule.
Client: I’ve heard it’s not good to eat late because you can’t digest it and instead the food gets stored as fat.”
Me: Are you still eating in a deficit?
Client: Yes
Me: Time of day does not affect weight gain?
Client: How?
Me: Because you’re eating in a deficit
You see my friend, it really doesn’t matter what time of day you eat, so long as caloric restriction is maintained you will continue to lose weight.
Calories matter.
A whole lot.
Energy Balance
My answer to this common question isn’t an opinion, there facts. Let me explain how.
There is something called an energy balance equation. It pretty much showcases the relationship between how much calories you eat vs how many calories you burn.
To lose weight you have to eat less than the amount you burn
To gain weight you have to eat more than the amount you burn
To maintain your weight how much you eat and how much you burn remains the same
You’re probably asking:
How do you know how many calories you burn?
You don’t.
Don’t mind the laughter. It’s not aimed at you.
Am laughing with you
You probably don’t believe me
I wouldn’t believe me
Anyway……
Oh yes, there is no way of exactly measuring the number of calories you burn.
Your apple watch, fit-bit or some equation you found online are far off estimates.
I don’t want you to rely on it as a justification to over-eat because “you’ve burned it off during your work-out.”
That almost never works and so you are better off trying to figure out how much you actually eat.
I think Friends is over-rated.
Waiting for the mobsters to comment down below
A Relatable Story
Client: Wait let me get this straight. So, your saying, as long as I am eating in a deficit, I can eat at whatever time I want. Even at midnight?
Me: Not me saying it, science.
Client: I don’t know coach, that sounds too good to be true.
Me: Let me give you a practical example
Let’s say your eating at 1800 calories to lose weight. If you’re wondering how much you should eat to lose weight > click here.
You decide to eat 1400 calories.
It’s been a very busy day and you don’t seem all that hungry
Midnight looms in, and your stomach can’t stop growling
You twist and turn and do everything you can to fight off the hunger
You even start dancing as a way to mentally distract yourself
Can you imagine?
You’re probably not dancing, but you get my point.
You’re doing everything you can to fight off the hunger because you’re afraid to eat passed a “certain time.”
Why?
Well because the internet and social and mainstream media told you
Back to the story
Hunger eventually takes over; you give in and just go ham on everything in sight
Those pringles… gone
That chocolate cake…. gone
The pint of ice-cream… gone
You’re now full, satisfied, but yet disgusted at yourself for doing that.
Don’t be, it’s quite normal.
What You Could Have Done Instead
Remember those 1400 calories out of the 1800 total calories you ate. That left you with 400 calories to play with.
So, instead of trying to fight off hunger, you could have been more strategic with your food choice to still stay in a deficit.
A high protein/fiber food option would have been sufficed for satiety.
The same fridge that had chocolate cake and a pint of ice-cream, which I wouldn’t recommend keeping at the house for obvious reasons, but stick with my hypothetical scenario.
That fridge also had Greek yogurt, raspberries, watermelon, hard boiled eggs
The same cabinet that had pringles also had almonds and few protein bars
Those 400 remaining calories could have been used from any of those alternative food choices to keep you in check.
Although this is a hypothetical scenario, it is very much real and I am certain you or someone you know can relate.
A long dragged-out story just to say:
Eat in a deficit and you will be just fine
Time of day has no impact on how much weight you gain
Eating excess calories does
Your Next Encounter
The next time someone tells you that eating late at night will make you fat
You have one of two options, either roll your eyes and walk away
You know what, don’t actually roll your eyes. It’s a bit rude and unnecessary
Don’t walk away either
Nod your head, smile (if you want) and go about your day or better yet, you can just direct them to this blog.
Bye!
Not a bad closing statement huh
Don’t answer that
Hope this helped
Take care