I was reading a writeup from a popular local fitness blog this morning when I came across a post I found to be somewhat misleading. Its already bad enough that people believe the weirdest things when it comes to health and fitness, so the last thing I like to see is a fitness blog with misleading information. I came across a writeup where the author writes about weight management and eating late at night, saying that meal timing and what we eat throughout the day does not impact how our body gains bodyfat. Among his reasons are:
1. A calorie is a calorie, no matter when you consume it - day or night
2. Our metabolism does not stop working, even while we sleep
The author then concludes that all calories from all sources are equal, that there is NO DIFFERENCE or impact to the body if we were to have a late night meal or whether its a meal any other time, and that the timing of your meals dont have an effect on your body.
I BLOODY DISAGREE.
The author has completely failed to realise how important meal timing can be - even more so when you’re dieting! There are also studies indicating that calories from fat are more easily converted to body fat as opposed to excess calories from carbohydrate or protein sources. Let’s dig deeper into this.
When you’re dieting, for example - you’ll want to get more of your calories from protein rather than carbohydrates. This has been the practice of fitness enthusiasts since ages ago, and has worked and stood the test of time. A calorie from a protein source has a slightly different impact to the body than a calorie from a carbohydrate, and a calorie from fat. Knowing how to manipulate calorie sources to help aid your metabolism can be of great advantage to you.
For example, you may use up more calories consuming 20 grams of carbs from lentils than 20 grams of carbs from sugar. Lentils contain fiber and other stuff that the body must work to extract, and therefore, uses up more energy to digest. So, technically speaking - a calorie is a calorie, but do also take into account the source of the calorie and what it can do cos it DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
If we were to look at calories from protein sources, protein requires a complex conversion by our body before it can be used as fuel. So for example, 100 calories of protein may use up to 30 calories to process. So increasing the ratio of calories in your diet that come from protein can help raise your metabolism too. Calories from carbs may not be as effective in doing this - even though it is still a calorie after all.
Now on the issue of meal timing - Eating a meal close to bedtime that is carbohydrate rich will trigger a high insulin response from your pancreas, and our body’s insulin sensitivity is decreased most of the time while we sleep. This means that the excess food/energy we consume may not be burned off as easily as it would compared to during the day. If you’re on a diet - watching your food especially at night helps greatly with fat burning as eating too many carbs/too much fat will affect and slow down the desired fat burning process that is occuring. In fact, did you know that Sumo wrestlers eat large meals that are high in carbohydrates and then take naps on purpose JUST to help ensure they store the most amounts of calories possible as fat? Now what does that tell you about meal timing? Feeling sumo-ish already? Good.
Insulin stimulates fat storage - and this is the last thing you want to do to your body right before you go to bed.
Not only should we be aware of meal timing at nights, but breakfast is very important too - a hearty breakfast kick-starts your metabolism and sets it right for the day as you eat regularly. Also, while it is true that our metabolism does not stop, and we continue to burn calories even while we sleep - our metabolism DOES SLOW DOWN as it gets closer to the night when it is time to rest… and this will have an impact to how our body reacts to the food we eat. So meal timing DOES matter.
I’m reminded of the phrase “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper“. Makes lotsa sense , doesn’t it?
Your friend and coach,
DM
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Right on, DM!
I’ve been going on a 5 meal a day plan too in spreading out the calories, to make it more efficient for my body (and to prevent nasty after-lunch or breakfast fatigue).
Haha…I have not been following the rules, hardly eat breakfast at all. No wonder I am not loosing weight.
Hey, DM, when you gonna join me for Step ah? hehehe….
That’s why I commented in his blog and say we need to get to know our body better.
cool… I also would recommend anyone interested to check out some of Anthony Robbins’s suggestion on a healthy diet, and some new concepts… the diet is called FIT FOR LIFE. It basically means choosing the right healthy diet,.. one that u can stick to for a lifetime.
But it might not be right for everyone, esp the part where it talks about protein, and how the whole industry exaggerated on how much protein a human body actually needs, claiming that its a matter of world economics, and if this infos were ever made official by the scientific community(or relevant authorities), it will affect the very huge dairy product industry, since all along the marketing hype is all abt getting more calcium, more protein, etc(got milk?)… but then, its up to u to decipher. I have tried some of the diet suggested, and it does work, and keeps u energized thruout the day, as opposed to a diet heavy on protein, meat etc. which can make u feel sleepy and all… however the 5 meal a day works too, since u dun gorge yourself to death resulting an influx in sugar levels which zaps u out as mentioned by DM.
Also, another interesting thing mentioned is how humans are so conditioned to JUNK FOOD since childhood, it makes us repel “healthy” food like vege and such. But seriously, once u slowly get into it.. u actually can TASTE the sweetness in a vege, if u cook it right, and u truly start to once again ENJOY, what a good meal is.
aw: I’m glad it works for you. It works for me too.
Baby Garlic: STEP? Never in my life! I’m quite content watching you and your friends in the class instead. Just dont start your nasi lemak breakfast like you used to.
steveneleven: Yes, like the book probably suggests, a healthy lifestyle isnt something you get in a day - its a lifelong commitment and an actual CHANGE in lifestyle. Not easy, but very rewarding.
Awww….. we need more macho man in the Step class. Gives us ladies more motivation! And if you fall, I am sure the ladies would be glad to give you a hand *wink*.
Baby Garlic: Step class is bad for my macho-ism. If you ladies need motivation.. make Fifi dress up more like a man. Might help.
DM -the thingy you were saying about lentil and sugar, both as carb and their propetries in digestion is known as glycemic index(GI), ie the quality of the carbs we throw into our body. In this case, going for low GI food will have better health benefits. The also same reason why i said in that blogger’s previous post about weight management with fruit juice.
There were also a debate about use of artificial sugar in our diet. as we all know, sugar is carb and it’s 4 cal per gram energy, where else those artificial stuff are virtually cal free.
now, when we take sugar, the body will recognise the sweetness and will then deploy all it takes to burn/store/whatever. So, that’s normal.
but when we take artificial flavouring, the body recognise the sweetness, but where’s the cal???
problem arise when we start taking sugar again…and this time, the body will be tricked and won’t deploy anything to process it…results? sugar being turned to fat!
OK, i side tracked a lot on this.
But yes, weight management and time of eating is important.
breakfast is the most important meal of the day and i load it up with enough food to kick start the system.
lunch are usually lighter and dinner are mostly fish and vegetable with minimal rice.
and yes, it’s better to break food up in small meals throughout the days.
back when i was in boarding school, we ate like pig for 6 meals and i do not gain any weight at all! infact i lost weight!
DM: Is it advisable to drink milk + protein powder just before bedtime? Cos I understand that the body builds muscles at night.
celestine, let me try to answer this for DM(if you dont’ mind).
1. your body does not grow when you are working out, but they work around adapting to the stress placed on it.
2. It’s during the recovery phase, ie the resting and sleeping and nutrition, is when the body grow.
And so, you taking your protien powder with milk is good actually, infact, most protien powder manufacturer do recc you to add “the powder to cold water or your favourite drink like milk or fruit juices”.
and drinking milk before you sleep is a known way to sleep better…
An amino acid called tryptophan, found in milk, turkey and peanuts, helps the brain produce serotonin, a chemical that helps you relax.
here is some info on tryptophan
and to add on…read the disclaimer about “trytophan being only helpful if taken on emtpy stomach and turkey not having enough of that to cause serotonin to be produced and without the presence of protien ” for a good night sleep.
so…this is still very much open for the debate (on milk and sleep)
but as for resting and building muscle, yes, that works hand in hand.
hey there.. but isn’t it true that it’s best to take the milk/protein/carb shakes or food post-workout (esp evening sessions)? as in, not too near bedtime coz this might trigger spike in blood sugar levels and cause uneasiness in sleep.. albeit the tryptophan-serotonin levels.. i personally have had that experience.. but it was a one-off thing so i’m not too sure either whether it was the actual cause of my disrupted slumber.
adequate/ample rest is essential for repairing muscle wear-and-tear, that’s for sure..
and omg, what was that author of the ‘popular local fitness blog’ talking abt?! *faint
Celestine: Yes - a protein shake before bed is good if your aim is to build more muscle. As stupe has mentioned, milk is good cos it can help you sleep (thanks stupe), but more importantly, in the case of muscle building benefits - the protein found in milk, known as casein, is a slow digesting protein. This is especially useful since this would maintain a slow release of nutrients into your body - a good thing since you won’t be eating anything throughout the night while you’re asleep.
Professional bodybuilders are sometimes known to set an alarm to wake them up in the middle of their sleep, have a protein shake, then continue their sleep. Of course you don’t have to be this passionate about it, but I’m sure you get the idea. Milk is good. :)
No milk before bedtime is not fattening? Mmmm….interesting, I never knew that. I do not like normal milk, chocolate milk can ah?
Ooppss…I meant…..
So milk before bedtime is not fattening?
NOT
No Milk
baby garlic - everything in moderation is good, in excess, it all become, well, fat!
Baby Garlic: Yeah, everything in moderation is good. But if you’re already struggling with your calories and having trouble losing weight - the last thing you wanna do now is to add more calories to your daily intake.
Guys/gals, according to chinese medication lore, eating late night supper is bad for the liver. Supposedly, when we sleep, it is the time the liver rejuvenates itself after a long day of detox. If we eat at night and then go to bed, it will put our liver on overtime. Again, this is what I was told, I’m not a medical doctor, so I cant verify it.
Personally, whenever I eat right before bedtime, I tend to be darn hungry the next morning.
nice article! i especially liked the part about a calorie being a calorie but the source of those calories being important ( i wrote something very similar about it here: http://www.fitnessmantra.info/2006/06/27/what-is-a-calorie/ )
keep up the great work!
-fm.
thanks for your help, i was worrying about wether it’s fine to munch peanuts b4 i sleep now i know it is ok i am munching away :) tryptophan…chomp..chomp…
uk time 3am…
xyz: I’m glad you found your answer. Thanks for dropping by!
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