Author: Joe Fowler
Time for reading: ~2
minutes
Last Updated:
October 11, 2022
We are trying to figure out whether it is true that you can't eat after 6 p.m. so as not to get sick. In fact, it all depends on what you are going to snack on.
It all depends on what you are going to eat.
You can often hear that in order to maintain a good figure, you should not eat after six in the evening. There is also an opinion that it is better to focus on your schedule and have your last meal at least 2-4 hours before bedtime. Both of these statements make sense, although they should not be accepted as axioms. Let's figure it out together.
Depending on the day, our body handles food differently. At night, food stays in the stomach longer, but less energy is spent on its assimilation.
In addition, eating late can slow down your metabolism. In one small experiment, it was observed that when participants ate a dense snack an hour before bedtime, they burned 15 g less fat per day than when they ate the same portion for breakfast.
In another study with the participation of 20 men and women, it was found that if you eat dinner at six in the evening - three hours before going to bed, then the oxidation of fats will be 10% higher than if it is done at 10 pm.
Similar data were obtained in a two-week study involving 11 women. Participants who had a 200-kcal snack at 10 a.m. burned 6.2 g more fat per day than women who ate at 11 p.m. (fat oxidation increased by 12%).
A late dinner can slow down fat oxidation by 10-12%.
In addition, a dense late meal can prevent you from falling asleep on time and getting a good night's sleep, and lack of sleep increases your appetite for sweet foods.
Try to eat at 18-19 hours. This eating schedule can speed up fat oxidation, improve insulin sensitivity, and promote weight loss.
Thus, in an experiment with the participation of 12 healthy young people, daytime eating - from 8 am to 7 pm - provided benefits for the figure compared to a later regime - from 12 pm to 11 pm.
With the same caloric content of the diet, those who finished eating at 7 in the evening lost weight and lost weight in 8 weeks.
But if because of work and other matters you cannot sit down at the table until 8-10 p.m., you should not make sacrifices and go to bed hungry. A late dinner will not necessarily lead to weight gain, and an early one to weight loss.
In a review of 10 scientific papers on the topic, four studies showed a relationship between participants' body mass index and the amount of late dinner, five did not find such a relationship, and one proved the opposite.
So if you are used to eating late and feel good and do not gain weight, continue in the same spirit.
If you want to lose weight, try replacing a full meal with a high-protein snack.
Small high-protein snacks 30 minutes before bedtime not only won't harm your figure, but can also help with weight loss.
Two small experiments involving young men and women showed that 30-48 g of protein 30 minutes before bedtime increased energy expenditure the next day by 4-5.5%.
In addition, there is evidence that a portion of protein powder half an hour before bedtime increases the feeling of satiety the next day. At least this is true for overweight women.
Thus, you will not only go to bed full and without heaviness in your stomach, but you will also spend more energy and eat less the next day.