I’ll always have a pre-bed meal! My basic yet very tasty and crunchy meal is a mix cottage cheese (maybe a cup) with ground flaxs seeds, little bit of unflavored yogurt, cocoa powder, cinammon, ground nuts and some blueberries. It looks like a paste haha, but it tastes awesome!
As I sit here and type this, the time reads 11:06 PM. And you know what? I’m eating.
*Gasp*
What?? Eating after 7 PM?! Yes, I know, I’m breaking the rules.
But frankly, that’s what I do.
When rules don’t make sense to me, I simply choose not to follow them (unless, of course, those “rules” are “laws”…not really into the whole illegal activity thing).
But as far as the whole “no eating after 7” nonsense goes, I break that one just about every day.
And so should you.
Here’s why:
Well, first, let me just say that most general rules of thumb in the fitness world are oversimplifications, and the whole “Don’t eat after X o’clock” is no exception.
The recommendation is based on the idea that metabolism slows in the evening hours as you prepare for bed, and eating during this time should be avoided so as not to have those calories stored as fat.
A good premise, but again, oversimplified.
What we really want to avoid in the evening are foods that give rise to insulin, specifically carbohydrates, and for several reasons.
First, when blood insulin levels rise, fat burning takes a dive and a “storage” environment is created within the body. This is a good thing after exercise or after an overnight fast to allow the body to “refuel”, but not so good when metabolism is falling off in the evening hours.
Secondly, something called insulin sensitivity drops drastically in the evening, which simply means that your body is not as responsive to insulin at night as it is during the day. When insulin sensitivity is low, carbohydrates are easily stored as fat.
Needless to say, we can see why eating carbohydrates late at night isn’t a smart move, but that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t eat anything.
So, what should you eat to curb late-night cravings and support muscle tissue maintenance as you sleep? Simple: a small meal consisting of mostly slow digesting protein and fibrous green veggies within a couple hours of bed works best.
Animal protein (chicken, fish, beef, etc) are great choices for a late night meal, as is something like cottage cheese. Both digest slowly over time, providing a mild, but steady influx of nutrients to muscle throughout the night, all while not interfering with your insulin levels.
Or maybe I’m just a rebel who doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about? ;-)
Got a favorite late night meal or snack? Agree? Disagree?
Drop the comments below!
Joel
P.S. Want to up your nutrition IQ even more? Watch this video from my good friend Isabel where she reveals 4 other “healthly” foods that you should NEVER eat, along with her TOP 5 foods for a flat belly:
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either egg whites or 1% cottage cheese plus peanutbutter or almonds and celery my bf% is in the 3’s
I agree with this philosophy, eating often, to retain muscle…however….our digestive systems shut down when we are asleep, no peristalsis takes place to propel the food through our intestines so it can be absorbed and utilized…..so this idea makes all kinds of sense, I have read it before in other places, except that I have always questioned the practicality of it for the reason stated above. Any more info or insight on this Joel?
Okay, agree with minimizing insulin secretion for maximizing the growth hormone spike at night. However, when you get hungry during the nightly fast, won’t ghrelin increase and further increase GH secretion? I’m curious to know if eating non-insulinogenic food items would suppress night time ghrelin and GH release. I’m thinking that the night time fast would help further GH and with muscle growth in the global picture of things. Short sleep durations are apparently linked to low ghrelin levels and obesity. Any thoughts?
What about boiled eggs would that be a good snack to eat
I agree with the whole oversimplified rules that apply to the masses and I am glad you clarified the carb part of it.
But really, isn’t this (and all the oversimplified rules to break) all about balance and consistency … protein at every meal, starch carbs in the am, simple carbs in the pm adn fibrous carbs for the last meal and late night? NOt rocket science, but common sense balance.
Save the bad carbs at night for cheat day, right?
What if I don’t get hungry before bed?
Hi Joel,
Frankly, I find that you don’t have to eat if you’re not hungry and you don’t have to eat even if you are! I know you like proposing a lot of metabolism and 5-6 meals a day, but have you ever heard of intermittant fasting the leangains way? In sure you’ve heard of Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat, but this is something else. You don’t have to keep on eating and eating all day…
I have a movement-limiting health condition and need to have some idea of the type of exercise involved, please.
Great info! Thank you Joel for “allowing” me to snack at night with no guilt. I am sometimes so hungry at 10:00 that I get heartburn if I do not eat…… and I see now that my low-fat cheese with whole-wheat crackers is not ideal (I will skip the crakers) but that my protein shake is.
1 Scoop Pure casein protein, 4-5 Tbsp fiber (yeah, metamucil, or I use the cheap walmart knock off), 1-2 Tbsp Udo’s Choice.
Mix that up and let it sit in the cup and watch it turn into a gelatinous blob. I have no science to back it up, but it seems like your body would take hours and hours to break it down, giving you a very long lasting protien source, not to mention fiber is great for your body and everyone knows the benefits of omegas.
3/4 cup cottage cheese and 2 tbsp of natural peanut butter/flax meal/nuts with sugar free jello is what works for me. Been eating it 30 mins to an hour before bed time for the last 8 months and its done nothing but benefit me. THe slow digesting casin and unsaturated fats also keep me fed throhgout the night and I dont wake up totally starving and famished in the morning.
I agree!! After a really hard weight-training workout, your body burns calories for a number of hours afterward. If you go to bed having followed the ‘rules’ and your last meal’s been at 7pm, & followed more ‘rules’ and had your morning cardio workout on an empty stomach…eek! Mid morn cardio, you’re definitely not going to feel your best. The effort you put in will decrease, and so will the calories you burn. Less energy, less energy used up.
Hey Joel,
Some of my friends who are diabetic have been advocating late night protein filled snacks for the purpose of keeping their insulin levels in check overnight. All have reported success with it. If anyone would know about the benefits, they would.
I love mixing up some pudding with my protein, especially chocolate.
Joel, what about if you’re trying to gain muscle, still eat veggies etc????
After reading many opinions on this subject I think we must all realize that we have different metabolic make-ups some of us are able to do things others cant and some can do things we cant, everyone tends to oversimplify “rules” somethings we must look into for ourselves and our own bodies, no two people will always respond to the same thing the same way!
I have a problem !!
If I don’t consume complex carbs with a meal whether evenening or morning I feel kinda dizzy and blood sugar starts to get low ..
In my case what should I do ??
And I’m talking about less than 40g of carbs .. Its just not possible !!
I find that if I don’t have carbohydrate with my evening meal, I get hungry at bedtime and can’t sleep. A bowl of oatmeal seems to do the trick to fill my stomach to get me off to sleep, but a just protein snack – meat, vegetables, or a protein shake doesn’t do the trick – I still feel empty and can’t get to sleep.
I know it goes against all the advice, but that’s how it works with me!
Is yogurt too high in carbs to use as a snack? What about people that struggle with low seratonin levels? Eating a carb snack at night helps increase seratonin which helps people sleep. Just wondering what you thought about that!
I’ve also heard that eating protein before bedtime can increase human growth hormone production during sleep! :)
@ Joel Marion:
Hi Joel,
I actually found you first and Holly second but I just want to say that both of you have been such an inspiration and have cleared up so many doubts and myths and I am finally hopefull of geting back to my pre-baby body.
Holly’s Fit Yummy Mummy Programme is amazing and I love her exercise DVD’s but I also love your refreshing honest emails which allow me to eat late at night without feeling guilty. I am a mum of two (two boys age 3 and 6) so as you can imagine they take up a lot of my time and energy but thanks to both of you I feel I am finally getting my life back on track.
I am up at 7am and look after my boys during the day while there dad is at work. I then go to work from 5pm till 10pm so I often come home feeling hungry at this time of night, so knowing I can eat at this time of night without compromising my ability to lose weight/get in shape is fantastic news (as long as I eat the right stuff!!)
As someone who was never overweight until they had kids and have found it very hard and frustrating the last couple of years , I would like to thank both you and Holly – I now see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Looking Forward to the end results,
Michelle
Hey Joel,
Great advice. As part of changing my eating habits to body transformation ones I started eating yogurt before bed instead of protien powder on cereal. This change alone has helped me drop a heap of body fat!
Love the programs and advice, its a great package.
I love almond butter with a little agave nectar and cocoa powder. It’s like dark chocolate madness and so delicious. You will need to add a little almond milk or water to stir in the cocoa. I have never gained a pound and eat this at around 10pm almost every night. I used to eat high carb only stuff and was always kind of flabby. Nut butter is the best for me, as I am also a vegetarian but don’t like veggies at night, and the weight still stays off. Thank god for almond butter. :)
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...