Eating Before Going To Bed

[Saint Ashlar]

Everyone says you're not supposed to do it because you gain weight. My questions are, what about eating before going to bed causes the weight gain? and how long before you go to bed should you not eat anymore?

[Distancekid388]

Your body slows down while you are sleeping so its not breaking down the food at a fast rate. this make you store the fat instead of burning it.

I believe it is 1-2 hours before you go to bed?

[CTsnapple]

Is this really a problem if you're active and are a runner?

I used to love falling asleep early, right after eating a big meal.

[sjm1368]

If you are a runner and very active, it's not a big deal at all.

calories in, calories out.

[bdaniels]

My questions are, what about eating before going to bed causes the weight gain?

I have a really trusted coach whom I overheard explaining all of this to someone else last week. I didn't pay as close attention to the explanation because it doesn't seem to apply to me that much. But, supposedly, it has a lot to do with the way the body's organs process and function during the evening hours.

and how long before you go to bed should you not eat anymore?

I'll have to ask my coach because I forgot his answer. But my take from it was that, for those who this would effect (i.e., those who gain weight more easily than the rest of us), just eat your last meal as early in the day possible.

If you are a runner and very active, it's not a big deal at all.

That's always been true for me. The only way I've ever been able to gain weight so far was if I tried really hard to. But I have a very fast metabolism, too. So, I guess that helps. But I eat at night quite a bit. My take is that there are many factors that lead to weight gain; many which I've been able to dodge for over two decades. :)

bd

[Salg70x7]

can we get the nutritionists to weigh in on this please? tag for pun but really I want an answer

[Derrick08]

It has to do with the fact that if you can only store a limited amount of food as glycogen and for a limited amount of time before it turns to fat. I think you can usually store it for about 4 hours but that depends on your particular metabolism. For people who can store glycogen for a longer time and burn more of it (i.e. people with a fast metabolism) eating a little before bed is not a big deal.

I hope this is right, I am reaching to the annals of my memory for this.

[jmk2031]

What if you work out before you go to bed and have a protein shake after? I tend to do this a lot...good or bad?

[Smitty]

What if you work out before you go to bed and have a protein shake after? I tend to do this a lot...good or bad?

Not only good, but if you don't have protein after working out, you are throwing away the results of your workout.

[unconscious]

Eating before bed does not cause weight gain. Consuming more energy than your body expends causes weight gain. That being said calories eaten early in the day are less likely to be stored because they increase your energy levels and cause you to be more active... even without you knowing. But again, eating before bed does not cause weight gain. If it means anything to you over the summer I ate a 1,000+ calorie meal every single day less than 30minutes before going to bed and I lost 6 lbs in 3 months without trying to.

[Orange you glad?]

Everyone says you're not supposed to do it because you gain weight. My questions are, what about eating before going to bed causes the weight gain? and how long before you go to bed should you not eat anymore?

This is more of a concern for sedentary individuals, as the issue lies with the fact that falling asleep soon after eating means you won't be up and actively burning calories. People usually aren't that active (ie walking around, or doing anything physical) at night, and people fear that eating too close to slumber correlates with limited metabolic/physical activity or weight gain.

A more scientific explanation is that your metabolism slows in your sleep, meaning that falling asleep after a big meal may not fully process what you've put into your body. Like Derrick mentioned, your metabolism also stores a higher percentage of calories into fat stores during sleep, which can lead to weight gain.

However, for most runners this shouldn't be too big of an issue. As long as you aren't eating an entire package of oreos in bed every night, you'll be fine. In fact, for people who eat smaller than average dinners (600-1000 kcal, assuming that an average American teenage runner's dinner will be around 1200-1500 kcal), it would be beneficial to eat a smaller meal/snack before bed because your body will most likely be finished processing your dinner. Think of it in terms of the "eating 6 small meals a day" idea. Your metabolism depends on the next small meal to keep itself running, and if it becomes stagnant during sleep (from a lack of calories), you could hit "starvation mode" which is worse than consuming... say... 300 kcal worth of milk/cereal before bed and keeping your metabolism running.

But dont really worry about that. Go by the general Calories in < Calories Out idea. :cool:

And make sure to try to pee/poop before going to bed.

[Cippy Cup]

Good Call.

The metabolism slows down the peristalsis. Which this what moves your food through your digestive system. After the stomach, if it isn't moving at the normal rate through the small intestine, it will absorb more nutrients and stuff from the chyme (food). Which is why Calories in < Calories out works.

Just thought that I would add my 2 cents.

[thugginrunnin06]

Is this really a problem if you're active and are a runner?

If you are concerned about gaining weight, yes. If you aren't, no.

During the fall one of my teammates gained weight during a 90 mpw month. This is a guy who qual'd for NCAA's. There's more to it than being active and being a runner.





That said, someone has already correctly stated that weight gain/loss is a result of calorie discrepancy, not necessarily when/what you eat. The difference is certain foods and times of day are not conducive to efficient use of the calories in the food, making your body more likely to store it as fat instead of converting it to usable glycogen.

[matthewXCountry]

Good Call.

The metabolism slows down the peristalsis. Which this what moves your food through your digestive system. After the stomach, if it isn't moving at the normal rate through the small intestine, it will absorb more nutrients and stuff from the chyme (food). Which is why Calories in < Calories out works.

Just thought that I would add my 2 cents.

How does the metabolism slow down the peristalsis?

[matthewXCountry]

I would guess that eating before you go to bed does not cause weight gain directly. I think this leads to weight gain because people who eat and then go to bed have a similar amount of hunger compared to those who eat earlier when they wake up the next morning. so lets say one person eats

breakfast
lunch
dinner

and person 2 eats

breakfast
lunch
dinner
latenight snack

the 2nd person may consume more calories than the first one, because when they start the new day they have similar levels of hunger.