When is the latest you eat?
I’ve heard many different theories on the latest people are able to eat without putting on wait from not being able to digest it all during sleep. What are some of the rules ? For dinner? Any snacks after?
I think it used to be don’t eat 2-3 hours before going to bed. However, I swear recently I heard that the TIME of day doesn’t matter as much as how many total calories you take in. For example I follow the weight watcher rules and if I have 4 pts left for the day, its 10pm and I’m hungry – I eat! I don’t want my 4pts to go to waste!
I don’t think its a great idea to eat, say your biggest meal at midnight every night mostly because you will wake up with heartburn but I do believe that quality and quantity of what you eat all day is most important and an occasional bedtime snack won’t hurt anything.
How you eat can also be as important as what you eat. Skipping breakfast or lunch and then consuming a huge meal at day’s end can increase gastric pressure and the possibility of reflux. Lying down right after eating will only make the problem worse. It is best to wait three hours after eating before going to bed. And stay away from late-night snacks, too. I think it really depends on your “output” during the day. I used to get home and eat around 11:30PM or later then go right to bed. I would have sometimes a couple of beers with some chili or even a steak fajita dinner plate from my fav mexican food restaraunt and was still around 150lbs at 6′ 1″ tall. But I would have at least 3 hours of kung fu (7:00PM t 10:00PM) or more then running a bit before getting home.
I think more importantly, you need to ask yourself how much are you working out.