Is eating before bed really that bad?

No!! Absolutely not!

Eating bad stuff before bed is bad for you....eating good stuff before bed is awesome.

But let's talk about this...
I'd always heard that eating late under any circumstances was a bad idea... yet when I started making changes to my eating habits (one of them being eating before bed), my weight went from 275 down to 225, and my strength and endurance increased a great deal. As with everything else on this blog, I try not to write stuff that I haven’t personally tried out and seen results with. What we're about to talk about has worked great for me and I know that it can work great for you too.

Here's how it works:

Ok…
You’ll want to avoid carbohydrates this late in the day. These cause the body to release insulin, a storage hormone which will end up storing stuff in places that you least like them to be stored. There are a lot of people who are on low fat diets who can’t figure out why they’re still a little flabby… this is one of the reasons.
Protein and fats however are a different story. You can eat protein and even a little fat (from animal sources…like meat, milk, etc) before bed. Here’s why: when you fall asleep your metabolism, your heart rate, and your breathing slow down for the night. It’s kind of like turning the light off when you leave a room…your body is shutting down for the night. Also, just like a car uses less gas when idling than it does going down the highway; your body also burns less calories when resting than it does when you’re up and moving around. However, by eating the proper things before bed time you can actually cause your metabolism to stay “revved up” for a little bit even while you’re drifting off to sleep. This will enable you to burn calories for a little bit longer.

So what kind of foods should you stay away from? Stay away from carbs before bed: any kind of sugary snack or starchy snack or drink,  (if you’re unsure of whether something has sugar in it, check the Nutrition Facts on the container…they’re required by law to tell you. “Sugar” will be listed under the “Carbohydrates” heading. Even if there is little or no sugar, you should stay away from anything with a lot of carbs in it.) Also stay away from breads, pasta’s and cereals, etc this late in the day.

So what can you eat? Eat some red meat before bed! The body takes awhile to break down the amino acids in red meat keeping your metabolism elevated. A cup or so of milk is also a decent choice. Milk has a protein called casein in it which takes your body awhile to break down, making it a great choice for a bed time snack. Eggs are also a good choice, although they digest much more quickly. Greek yogurt (which contains casein) is also a great choice; just watch out for regular yogurt which is full of sugar.
Almonds or cashews can also be a helpful late night snack.
There are enough healthy choices out there that you shouldn’t be either starving to death… or shoveling down great heaping salad bowls full of ice cream before bed.

So in summary:
Eat something high in protein and low in carbs before bed!
Carbs and sugar release insulin which results in the energy they contain being stored on your body. (this is why it’s possible to eat a low fat diet and still be flabby. Limit these during the day, and avoid them like the Plague at night.)
Protein is your friend. Eat it up!
Eating late at night is not only a way to kill hunger cravings…but can actually help you lose weight or stay lean.

Happy late night snacking!!