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This lovely myth still entertains me to this day. The old saying, “Don’t eat anything after 9pm”. Or 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 10pm etc. It seems that actual ‘time’ has changed over the years, but the same principle applies. If you eat too late at night, all that food you ate goes straight to your <insert your least favorite body part here> (your gut, thighs, rear, arms).
Just like all the other myths out there, I’m sure this spawned from some eccentric weight loss champion or self-proclaimed health expert touting that your metabolism apparently ‘slows-down’ to a crawl-like pace, and that any calories that you take in are simply not going to be consumed, but instead stored! So whatever you do, don’t eat late at night!
Grr.
It’s not about WHEN you eat, it’s about WHAT you eat. I’ll say that again. Gaining weight has absolutely nothing to do with the time of day, it has everything to do with what you are eating! Plain and simple.
Yes, I don’t think it’s a smart idea to eat a full meal late at night, unless you are a night owl, or maybe working the graveyard shift. You should be sparing with your portion size, and of course be conscious of your food choices, but by all means don’t stop eating simply because it’s a certain time of the day!
It doesn’t’ matter if you eat a jelly donut at 9am or 9pm – it’s a bad food choice! Remember, garbage in = garbage out.
The next time you are looking at the clock and worrying about the time, turn your focus to what’s on your plate.
Carpe Diem!
