It’s talked about all the time. “Don’t eat before bed!” they say. “It’ll make you fat,” they say. “You’ll turn into a gremlin monster!” they say.
They’re wrong. And stupid.
In fact, you can eat at night AND lose weight if you want. You just have to eat the RIGHT foods before you go to bed. In fact, eating before you go to bed can help you recover from workouts and even help you build muscle while you sleep.
However, that doesn’t mean you can down a pint of chunky monkey and hit the sack. That’s ridiculous. Who still eats chunky monkey? What a horrible flavor.
Follow these guidelines for what you can eat before bed and you’ll be fine.
1. Don’t eat carbs
Carbs will seriously mess you up. When you sleep with carbs in you they’ll take tire irons to your major organs and also just reverse-liposuction fat onto your body.
When you eat carbs before bed, your body’s metabolism will naturally be slowing down, which will convert the carbs straight into fat.That’s bad.
Also, carbs will trigger an insulin release in your body, which will further depress your metabolism and force your body to store more fat. That’s also bad. That means you should avoid foods that trigger insulin as well. Those include red meats and some types of fish.
2. Eat fat
What. Eat fat to avoid gaining fat? That is crap. You are crap.
Nah, I’m not crap. And I’ll crush you if you say it again.
Anyway, healthy fats that you can find in oils, nuts, and nut butters are a great way to fill up before bed. You’ll feel fuller and since the food will digest slowly you won’t gain weight while you sleep.
3. Eat proteins that take a long time to digest
more: Take The Quiz – Do You Know The Unique Veggies That Burn Abdominal Fat?
What kinds of proteins does that include? I’m glad you asked.
Eating white meat, like chicken and turkey is a great choice for a meal at night. They won’t trigger a lot of insulin and they’ll also fill you up nicely.
Cottage cheese is another really good choice for protein, because you digest it slowly and it coats your stomach, leading to feelings of fullness and no night-time weight gain.
4. Avoid Super Salty Foods
Salty foods will make your body retain water. That’s a fact.
It’s because of the way that salt affects your cells and the way your body processes and stores water.
The bottom line? If you eat too much salt, your body is going to retain tons of water – leaving you looking and feeling bloated the next day.
So stay away from salt, get rid of the nighttime bloat, and look better the next day!
In summary…
What To Eat Before Bed To Lose Weight
- Don’t eat carbs
- Add a healthy fat source
- Eat proteins that take a long time to digest
- Avoid super salty foods
I’m going to load up on cheese now that I know about fats before bed.
Can you eat bread before bed does it put weight on
I like to eat a hand ful of grapes before bed is that okay
Thank you, I’ve recently been scheraing for information about this subject for a long time and yours is the best I have came upon till now. But, what in regards to the bottom line? Are you positive concerning the source?|What i don’t realize is actually how you are now not really a lot more smartly-favored than you may be right now. You are so intelligent.
The proteins before bed is a good idea because of the digestion time, like you mentioned. I am not sure I would be eating fats, however. The protein should fill you up enough that you can skip them.
Eat fats? That just does not seem to make much sense to me. I am going to have to read a little more about that!
I have been trying not to eat after a certain time each day of the week. I have been losing weight on a consistent basis AND I am sleeping much better since doing that. I am leery about eating FATS before bed, but the explanation that you give is logical.
I have been telling myself not to eat before bed for years. you would not believe how much better you will sleep in that case.
I try not to eat at all after 7PM. That gives my body about 3-4 hours to get things organized before I actually sleep. I feel that works best for me.
This is a good goal to have, that way if you are up for another 2-3 hours, your body has time to adjust and digest before you hit the sack. Good luck!
It does help to eat the protein. Not only are you going to feel fuller longer because they take longer to digest, there are better odds that you wake up without feeling hungry.
I agree with you Devon. The protein is a major factor in how you feel throughout the day, that includes the time that you are sleeping. If you want to lose weight, keep a journal of what you are eating before bed, mainly the last meal and see where you are at by the end of the week.
I never really thought about how food at night effects me. Fats before bed is something that I never would have guessed as a good thing, but you never know I guess!
Now that’s sublet! Great to hear from you.
Eat fats before bed? I am sure I am not the only one that double checked to make sure thats what it said. I guess if you were going to try it out, it would not be that hard to get the results you want by following your guidelines!
LOL, finally an excuse to eat lots of turkey right before bed! I love turkey so much and it helps make me sleepy :)
That is a very good point Jenny! LOL, I don’t think people should eat RIGHT before bed no matter what. At least give your body some time to chew the food up so you can get better sleep at the same time!
This right here is so good! I always get the cravings for the WORST foods right before I go to bed – think ice cream, cookies, anything sweet and satisfying! I don’t really want to eat chicken or turkey right before I get into bed… that feels kind of gross haha. I will try cottage cheese though!
Some people just have a habit of eating way to late in the day. I guess it would come down to what they are eating if they HAVE to eat that late. Good list!