I have read many times that eating before
bed is bad because your metabolism slows
down when you sleep, so the calories from
the food you ate will not be burned and
you will gain weight.
So, how long should I be waiting after I
eat to go to bed? I usually find myself
going to bed about 2 1/2 hours after I eat
my snack, which is usually a banana and
about two spoonfulls of dry cereal.
Sometimes it's strawberries, or
pineapple--always fruit, so it's not like
I'm eating any junk.
Do you think that 2 1/2 hours is a long
enough wait?
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Llewellyn
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jan 2007 Posts: 1743 Location: NY
Posted: 06-18-07 22:55pm
I would think two and half hours is fine.
Are you trying to lose weight?
Keep in mine that people have different
metabolisms. Mine is fast, so I eat a lot
right before bed to get me through the
night.
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erinshesse
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Jun 2007 Posts: 1 Location: San Fran
Posted: 06-22-07 16:49pm
If you try to increase the gap between
last meal and bedtime you are probably
going to do more harm than good. I am
sure you have heard all the "new" theories
about eating more small meals during the
day instead of 3 large meals. First off,
the 3 meal-a-day routine is new, and
promoted by the American food industry.
The reason you should eat more often is
because it actually regulates your
metabolism more effectively. Eating
regularly keeps your body from reverting
to "starvation mode." When you go long
periods of time without eating, your body
assumes it will not be fed again soon.
Therefore, the next time you eat, it
stores as much of the food as possible as
fat.
So here's the point. If you are sleeping
for 8 hours, then you are already going a
long period without any nutrition. If you
don't eat a couple hours before bed,
you've increased that to 10 hours! Once
you eat breakfast...KAPOW, you are gonna
store a lot of that food as fat. If you
add to that the crappy carbohydrate filled
junk most Americans eat for breakfast
(cereal, breakfast bars, etc.) you are
almost asking to get fat.
Tip: eat a slow digesting protein (cottage
cheese, casein protein blend) before bed
with some fruit/veggies perhaps. It will
keep your body out of starvation mode and
into calorie burning mode. Don't eat
cereal...ever, most are horrible for you.
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goldiestar
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 124
Posted: 07-01-07 14:38pm
Eating before bed is not a good idea. You
already answered your own question.
However, should you feel hungry try to
drink some water to fill the void and take
away the craving. The time between the
last meal and bed time should be 2-3
hours. This allows for proper digestion
and minimal chance of weight gain.
