How often have you wondered "Will I gain weight if I eat in the evening?" "Won't I put on weight if I snack at night?" Let's straighten out this concern once and for all. You will NOT gain weight if you eat after 8 pm unless you have eaten more calories than you body has used (or unless you have a thyroid and/or other metabolic condition that can only be diagnosed by a health care provider).



Let me explain the concept of energy balance-energy, in this case, meaning calories. Weight is a balance of intake and expenditure. Intake means the number of calories you consume; expenditure is the number of calories your body uses. When intake is greater than expenditure, you gain weight. When intake is less than expenditure, you lose weight. If the calories you consume are close to the calories you use, your weight should, over time, stay the same.

There are, indeed, a number of factors to consider that affect this rather simple view of weight, but for most people, the math is simple. Calories in versus calories out.

But let's look at what ELSE happens when you eat after 8pm (or 7pm, or 6 pm-depending on which diet book you have recently read). If you are eating later in the evening, chances are you won't be hungry when you get up the next morning. What happens then? You probably skip breakfast. Several things go on, physically and mentally, when you skip breakfast. Physically-you metabolism, the rate at which your body burns calories, slows down. As I have said before, when you skip a meal, you body doesn't know if this "fast" is voluntary or involuntary. It will act to conserve every calorie it gets by slowing down the rate at which you burn calories. So in effect, your attempt to skip the meal to "make up" for the extra calories you may have eaten last night only serves to sabotage you. Psychologically-you set yourself up to overeat later. If you skip breakfast-you will eventually get hungry. Chances are that you will, on a subconscious level, say "well, I didn't eat breakfast, so it's all right to eat this candy bar." In the end, you wind up consuming more calories than if you would have simply had a small breakfast of, say, a piece of toast and peanut butter, or a small bowl of cereal.

There are a few risks associated with eating later at night, especially if you go to bed shortly after eating. One risk is developing heartburn, also known as reflux. See, digestion works better WITH gravity, and if you eat a big meal and then lay down, you're still digesting food, but now your body is level, making if more difficult for food to move down the digestive tract. Oh, it will get where it needs to go, but in the mean time, it may wear down some of the tissue of your upper digestive tract and cause you to develop heartburn.

When I was a kid, my mother always had dinner for us at 6pm?). Right after dinner, dad would then lie down on the couch, watch the news and take a short nap. Years later, he developed a strong case of reflux, and it wasn't because he ate late and went to bed early; it was because he would lie down right after a meal. The recommendation is to wait at LEAST two hours after a meal before lying down to reduce your risk of developing reflux.

So, you wonder, will you put on pounds from eating in the evening? While I can't make you any promises, (and barring any unusual medical conditions) I can tell you that as long as you eat the same or fewer calories than your body uses, you won't gain weight. Just remember, if you do eat later in the day, don't lie down for a few hours,

Hey, maybe this would be a good time for a short walk?

Copyright (c) 2008 At Peace With Food