Will Eating After 7pm Really Cause Me To Gain Weight?
It’s a common misconception that eating at night causes weight gain vs eating during normal daytime hours. Cutting to the chase here, when it comes to weight loss OR weight gain, at the end of the day it comes down to the foods and quantity you are eating, not the time of day. Now that we have that myth busted, let me break it down a little further so you can understand why this is not true...
When it comes to the later hours of the night, odds are you don't find yourself munching on veggies and hummus or apple slices. It is true that people tend to eat higher processed foods such as candy, ice cream, chips, etc. as late night snacking options while binging on Netflix or watching TV. Keep in mind that these common snack foods tend to pack in more bang for their buck when it comes to calories and fat. That being said, if you are choosing these foods as night time snacks, mindlessly consuming the whole bag, and creating a calorie surplus (eating more calories than you burn in a day) you can see weight gain which makes sense why the finger is pointed at late night eating to blame for weight gain. Same goes with those who are choosing more nutrient dense food options like fruits, veggies, etc. because at the end of the day when it comes to weight gain, you need to be in a calorie surplus. It really doesn't matter what time of day or where the calories come from. The science behind your metabolism is the reason why.
Common claims you might have heard when it comes to weight gain with eating at night are that your bodies metabolism slows down or stops at night and allows you to gain weight easier when eating late or before bed. You may have also heard that food sits in your stomach all night long if you eat past a certain time and turns to fat. Again, when it comes down to science, weight gain is not to be blamed on the slowing or stopping of your metabolism at night. Our metabolism is a complex process and does not follow any of the time rules that diets put on them. IE: intermittent fasting, eating 6 small meals 3 hours apart, or stopping eating by 7pm. I completely understand why people believe the idea that it makes sense for our bodies metabolism to slows down at night time because we are less active and asleep which causes weight gain. It sounds believable! But let me break things down a little bit more for you to hopefully understand otherwise.
While yes, it is true that our metabolisms do slow down a little while we are sedentary and sound asleep in bed, it is also true that our metabolisms never stop working and the calories you consume in the middle of the day are absolutely no different than the calories consumed at 8pm. Eating at night does not change the process your body takes to break down the food you eat. Digestion may be a little slower, but your stomach will still process the food just as it does during the daytime.
While there has been some research studies to show otherwise, if you do a few searches for credible research on this topic, the conclusion comes out to be that there is still not enough strong evidence to prove that you need to change your eating habits to eating earlier in the day and eating past 7pm itself is not the reason you are gaining weight (again, unless you are eating in a calorie surplus).
On the flip side of things, there are also some health conditions in which night time snacking is completely appropriate and can actually be beneficial such as for people with Type I or II Diabetes or insulin resistance. In these circumstances, night time snacks with a good balance between carbs, fat, and protein can improve blood sugar control throughout the night.
Long story short, if you’re the type of person that starves themselves in the evening thinking that you shouldn’t be eating to prevent gaining weight, please do yourself a favor and eat! If you're the person who doesn't get around to eating dinner until 8 or 9pm, this is totally fine too! You know your body and when you are hungry, listen to that and fuel your body appropriately!
If you have any other questions on this topic, feel free to shoot me a DM over on Instagram @balancedbynutrition, I would be happy to talk through this topic more with you :)
Coach Megan
