Is late dinner bad?

In the morning we have a higher production of the stress hormone, cortisol.

Its main functions are to reduce inflammation, maintain blood sugar levels, contribute to the maintenance of blood pressure and the immune system.

At night, we have a decrease in cortisol and an increase in melatonin, a hormone that will help us sleep.

Therefore, as it gets dark, the organism adapts to put our body at rest.

Weight loss process

To find out if late dinner is bad or fattening, you need to understand how the weight loss process works, and what could actually lead to weight gain.

In the weight loss process it is essential that the person follows a calorie restricted diet. That is, it is necessary to consume fewer calories than is spent in a day. Thus, the person will be in caloric deficit and will be able to lose weight.

So when a person gets fat it’s because he consumed more calories than what we really needed.

There are also other factors that can influence weight gain, such as hormonal, genetic, age and pathological factors.

See also the post on Diet for hypothyroidism and weight relation.

Is dinner late?

There are studies that found an increase in blood pressure when we eat at night. That’s because when we eat we put our body on alert and our cortisol production increases, which can raise blood pressure.

But we can’t confuse things. The problem is abusing and eating large meals before going to bed, and not just in the habit of dining late.

Therefore, no one should consider cutting dinner. We should just make a change in the nighttime habit and eat lighter and more balanced meals.

Late dinner is fattening?

Current evidence shows no physiological reason why eating before bed would lead to weight gain.

However, some studies show that people who eat before bed are more likely to gain weight. However, this has nothing to do with our metabolism.

This is because an unplanned snack at bedtime is an extra meal and therefore extra calories that would prevent you from continuing in a calorie deficit. And not because your metabolism is slower and you will store more fat.

Furthermore, in diets for weight loss it is very common for people to make many restrictions during the day. This makes them more hungry at night and lose control when it comes to eating.

Thus, it is very likely that she will overdo dinner and greatly increase her calorie intake in relation to her daily needs.

This exaggeration at dinner usually causes people to wake up without hunger for breakfast. Skipping breakfast is one of the habits that makes you feel more hungry during the day and arrive hungry for dinner again.

This cycle can easily lead to overeating and weight gain, which highlights the importance of having a healthy and sufficient diet throughout the day, post cycle therapie.

Therefore, late dinner does not make you fat. What makes you gain weight is overeating for dinner or having an extra meal before bed.

See this other article to learn how to deal with hunger at night.

Does eating before bed have benefits?

Many people report that eating something before going to bed helps them sleep better, as they are more satisfied and don’t wake up hungry at night.

Getting enough sleep is extremely important, and sleep deprivation itself has been linked to overeating and weight gain.

In addition, a balanced dinner will prevent you from waking up so hungry and keep you from starting the day by eating a lot.

What to eat before bed?

As we have already seen, having dinner late or eating something before going to sleep is neither harmful nor fattening. However, you must make good choices, just like the rest of the day. Here are 4 tips:

1. Avoid sweets and excessively fatty foods. Examples: ice cream, pizza, hamburger, chocolate, pies, cake, ultra-processed frozen foods;
2. Prioritize carbohydrates with a low glycemic index and high in fiber. For example: whole grains, fruits and vegetables;
3. Proteins: milk and dairy products, meat, chicken, fish, vegetable proteins. They will help maintain your lean mass and keep you satisfied for longer;
4. Good fats: add olive oil to your meal, nuts or a portion of avocado to give you satiety.

Concluding…

• Although our body works differently throughout the day and night, our metabolism does not decrease and there are no physiological explanations that late dinner is bad or fattening.
• What is fattening is the accumulated caloric excess of everything you ate during the day, and not necessarily what you ate for dinner or before bed.
• The most important thing is that you have a healthy lifestyle, with a good food throughout the day and regular practice of.