Diary of a Nutritionist

when is too late... too late?

I used to be terrified that if I ate past 8:00 pm, some evil spirit would destroy my metabolism and I would, one day, wake up to find myself having gained weight.

I have read articles that have validated my fear and articles that have dispelled it as a myth.  I have even seen magazines contradict themselves.  There seems to be a war around this “matter.”

SO.  What is the truth?

First of all, eating past a certain time is not going to determine whether you gain or lose weight.  What does matter is, the correlation between the time you eat and the time you hit the sheets (not to mention, what it is, that you eat).

Why?

Imagine that, when you are active and standing upright, your digestive system is like a water slide.  (Of course this is a bit simplistic, but… let’s go with it).  When you glide down the slide, you are going to move at a relatively resistance-free, pace.

of course, ALL food does not go down so easily... but you can see the big picture.

What if someone took the slide and turned it horizontally?  Sure!  You can still make it through… I have faith in you… but it is going to be a hell of a lot more difficult than it would be if the slide were vertical. This same idea can be applied to your digestive system.  When you sleep, you are more than likely sleeping horizontally (I hope!).  Just like our slide scenario, it is going to be more challenging for your late night snack to make its way through your system than it would say- if you were out dancing, or up late doing work.

If you eat at 9, 10, 11 pm… and you are up until the wee hours of the morning… the body is going to have more time to digest your food.  When you are up late, your body is expending energy and giving your stomach more time to digest.  (Note:  Sleep is important.  I am not suggesting you eat late and then stay up late to compensate).

I would also like to point out that being up late and then deciding you need a late night snack before you go to bed, is not a good idea either. This is because when you sleep, your body wants to concentrate on refueling your body with energy for tomorrow.  It does not want to concentrate on digesting food.  If it has trouble digesting, it will interrupt your sleep and the food will sit in your stomach– hence weight gain. More often than not, if you eat late, and go to bed around the same time (a couple hours after), you are likely to have disrupted sleep patterns, insomnia, low energy, weight gain, etc. etc.  This is more common for meals that are miscombined (see “My Philosophy”) and for “heavier” meals, i.e. a filet mignon.

If you are tired from a restless sleep, you are probably going to look for energy in breakfast.  But what if that filet is still in the digestion phase?

Which gets me to my final point.  What you eat is important.  A meal that provides no nourishment, is not good for your regardless of what time you eat it.

yes, I know it tastes good... your stomach disagrees however.

If your dinner consists of a greasy slice of pepperoni pizza, it is not going to do your system any good, regardless of whether or not it is 7:22pm, or midnight.  Plain and simple: if it is hard to digest, it is hard to digest.  (That being said, if you are going to enjoy a piece of pizza, try not to eat it right before you are going to bed).

There are certain foods that are much easier to digest.  If you are in need of a late night snack, try something like carrots and salsa.  My college roommate and I would snack on carrots like they were candy.  Carrots are crunchy and sweet.

As a society, we seem to be concentrating far too much on what time we are eating.  In addition, we can be much too concerned about the calories or fat something contains, instead of looking at what it is that we are ingesting (I did this for years, so I know, firsthand). Something may look healthy on paper, but if our body cannot easily break it down and assimilate the nutrients– what good does it do us??

Summary:

• What time you eat dinner does not necessarily mean that you are going to gain weight.
• What does matter is the correlation between the time you eat and the time you go to sleep.
• Eating late and then going to sleep only a few hours after, may disrupt your sleep, and it will affect your digestion.
• All foods are not created equally.  Having a slice of pizza is going to take longer to digest than a bag or carrots or vegetables, regardless of what time you go to sleep.
• If you are going to snack late or need something to chew on… eat something that will be easier for your body to process.  Carrots and salsa are a safe bet.