Late-Night Eating Weight Gain: Myth or Fact?

Posted on Sep 29th 2010 2:00PM by Hilary Walke

We all get the occasional munchies after dark. Whether it's frequent or occasional, late-night eating is a habit many people struggle to break. Despite The British Medical Journal's recent diet study that put this myth to rest, many still blame their weight gain on post-dinner nibbles.

While nighttime eating and weight gain have been linked, there are a number of factors to consider before making a concrete assumption that the weight you've gained this week is attributed to time of day you were eating.

The bottom line is when total calories are taken into account, most studies have found that nighttime eating is actually not to blame for weight gain. Is this habit a scapegoat or a real issue? We asked our readers how often they late-night eat and if they think it is a real weight gain problem.

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Lindsey C.
I eat after dinner, sometimes 9 pm or so. I don't think that night time eating leads to weight gain. It's what you eat during the day/night, how often you eat and how many calories you eat.

Liz C.
Depends on what you eat, so in my case YES!

Kimberly B.
Well, I eat out night every single night. I don't eat dinner until 7:30, 8:00 every night and I've lost 42 pounds and still losing! It's what you eat, not when you eat and it's how much you move!

Susan H.
I found that once I stopped eating after a healthy dinner I didn't have trouble with night time heartburn, I slept better, and my weight has dropped steadily! Makes a huge difference!

Arista S.
It's all about balance - calories, exercise, and hormones! Weight gain can occur when one of the 3 is out of balance.

Lori W.
I quit eating anything after dinner besides water and have lost quit a bit of weight and I sleep much better. Remember those carbs turn to sugar when you are sleeping!

Estella W.
I don't know whether or not it causes weight gain, but it sure as hell causes heartburn.

Constance F.
I don't eat much past 6. When you slow down and you aren't doing as much physically, you're too likely to put back on all the work it was to take it off, and I'm NOT going there. Not after losing 96 pounds I'm not. ;-)

Koko B.
That is an urban legend or something, probably because people seem to crave trashy food at night (raises hand). lf you are active through the day, and try to eat reasonably decently, you will likely be ok. l have been able to lose consistently even with my bad habits because l am busy.

More Food Stories on That's Fit:
Three Family-Friendly Recipes From Jamie Oliver
The Battles of Eating Out
What's Your Healthiest Lunchtime Snack?

4 Comment

Tags: dinner, late night, late night eating, nighttime cravings

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

jon 9-29-2010 @ 2:34PM

Timing is everything when it comes to weight loss and fitness. Matching your eating and exercise timing to your body's natural metabolic cycle is the surest way to improve your metabolism.

The EET Fitness plan has helped many people learn correct eating timing and the weight loss and fitness results have been astounding. There's no counting calories and no food restrictions, just eating the correct foods at the correct times.

I welcome That's Fit to review the EET Fitness Plan and they can see that the question about night eating is the wrong question - it's WHEN you eat and WHEN you exercise and WHEN you are active that makes all the difference for permanent weight loss and fitness.

See EET's site our EET's blog for more details.

Jon
Founder
The EET Fitness Plan
www.eetfit.com -- blog link is on home page

Carol Ward 9-29-2010 @ 9:26PM

I agree - it is not what you eat but when you eat it. I have been using the EET fitness plan for 7 weeks and lost 18 pounds. timing is definitely everything. Check out the Eet Metabolicmemory site for great information

ilse 10-12-2010 @ 3:24PM

I think it depends on the individual. I lost 78 pounds and have maintained that loss for almost 2 years now. In my case, it is what I eat, not when that affects my weight. I often eat dinner at 9:30 or later and don't have an issue. My calories remain consistent. However, let me eat more than 50 grams of carbs a day and I will gain weight. So for me, carbs are the culprit, not the hour I eat.

jon 10-12-2010 @ 6:45PM

Ilse

if you ate the same carbs earlier in the day you could eat more carbs -- assuming you have a normal "active" in the daytime and less active at night.

Then there is exercise, which if properly timed can allow you to eat dramatically more carbs and they will be used for glycogen restoration and muscle building.

so even though you can manage your weight without the use of timing, the flexibility in your eating would go up dramatically if you would eat the right foods and exercise correctly at the proper times.