With Weight Loss, Timing is Everything

 Food seems to have an extra special appeal to Americans when it is late at night.  Usually the heavier and greasier the better.  Whether we are participating in late-night indulgences to release stress, stay awake, socialize, or enhance our mood, this practice is dangerous in more ways than one.  Eating late not only causes havoc on the digestive tract, but it also adds extra pounds, internal stress and emotional instability.

Many have faced that dilemma at one time or another that regardless of what we eat, we seem to keep retaining the extra weight, especially around the mid-section.  What and how much you eat, and how active you are from week to week are three primary factors in losing the pounds… but the fourth crucial factor is what time you eat.  Our biggest mistake is that most of us don’t eat in the morning - No, a latté is not breakfast.  If you begin each morning with a substantial meal, your metabolism is jumpstarted and will continue to burn fuel throughout the day–the consequence being that by evening time, your body has consumed most of its needed nutrients and requires very little food in the evening.  As important is making time to eat simple small meals throughout the day (every 2-4) hours, so that by 7pm, only a small meal is needed to appease your appetite. I don’t care how busy you are, that is no excuse to not eating. 7pm is a good cut-off, but if you do have to eat later into the evening, which is common, I will give you advice below on what foods will be most efficient for your body to digest.

When we go to bed with a full stomach, the body is not given the opportunity to burn and use up the fuel.  Instead, it remains in the digestive tract storing a majority of the calories and fat for later use.  Then, when you begin the continuous cycle of eating the next day, you are building upon stored waste.  The outcome is weight gain.  To lose weight it does NOT mean you have to starve yourself or deprive your cravings for that piece of chocolate.  More importantly, focus on when and how often you eat those foods.  That also does not mean that you can eat just anything, stop at 7p, and expect your body to cleanse of all that intake.  You simply want to eat more natural and simply digested foods.  Still, many clients have shown me their food diary full of healthy foods and are stumped as to why they can’t lose those extra 10 pounds.  Often times the answer is simple, they begin their first meal after 11am, eat very little until dinner time, and eat their last bite close to midnight, eating excessive amounts.  That is counterproductive!

Let me give you a visual.  Let’s say you eat a turkey sandwich with cheese, chips and salsa and a few bites of ice cream at 9pm.  Unless you plan on dancing for the next 4 hours, here is what will happen.  Your body is trying to enter a restful and peaceful state of sleep.  Here enters over 600 calories of cooked and processed food and the body goes into a state of confusion.  “What am I supposed to do with this?”  Digestion takes more energy than almost any other process in our body.  While you are trying to enter a sleep state, the digestive system is working overtime, probably pretty upset, and is fighting the body for energy and attention.  Therefore, the food is slowly digested and not very well at that.  No matter how long you sleep, your body wont be able to achieve true deep sleep and when you awake you feel groggy and irritated without knowing why. 

The storage of extra fat cells create an acidic condition in the body.  Acid is a foreground for illness, emotional distress and weight gain.  So upon awaking you have a build up of calories, fat, and acid, along with a depletion of energy and restful sleep.  I don’t care what type of life you lead and how busy you are, if you want to live at an optimal weight, then you will want to figure out how to eat moderately throughout the day and ideally finish your last meal by 7pm.

If you can eat dinner by 7 pm, which is often impossible, that gives your body enough time to digest before retiring for the night.  However, if you must eat any later, keep the meal very simple with smaller portions.  Hold off on any starches and carbs (grains, bread, cereal, pasta).  They should be consumed earlier in the day so that you can burn them off.  The evening time is ideal for lean protein (fish, white meat, egg whites, raw nuts and seeds, legumes) and vegetables.  If you really need a late night snack, stick to one type of food.  You could have either a piece of fresh fruit, a handful of raw almonds/walnuts, baby carrots, 1-2 cups of air popped popcorn, or 8 oz of fruit juice sweetened yogurt. 

The rule of thumb is past 7pm, keep it simple, keep it natural and keep the portions small.

Another important tip is to practice proper food combining:

·  Don’t mix grains/starch with animal protein

·  Don’t mix dairy with grains/starch

·  Eat fruit by itself

Practice those three rules, and you should be able to retain a balance even if you have to eat later into the evening from time to time.  You will have to make continuous adjustments through exercise each day to burn off the evening intake even if you are eating simple and natural into the evening.  Good luck, and remember that diet and lifestyle are bound together as one, and not separate practices.