Does Late Dinner Make You Fat?

The assumption that eating late in the evening is a hindrance to weight loss or can even lead to weight gain is controversial. Basically, not only the amount of calories consumed in the evening, but the amount of calories consumed throughout the day is decisive for body weight. Other factors play a role, such as a number or size of daily meals. Which of these are decisive can vary greatly from person to person.

Even among nutrition experts, there is no consensus as to the role that late-night dinner in particular plays on body weight. Some are of the opinion that only the daily energy balance has an influence on weight. If fewer calories are consumed than taken in, weight gain occurs, in the opposite case, weight loss. If calorie intake and calorie expenditure are in balance, the weight remains unchanged. The time of day at which the calories are consumed does not play a role in their opinion.

Other nutrition experts, on the other hand, take a somewhat more differentiated view. The theory that the metabolic processes in the body follow biological rhythms has been around since the 1960s. The feeling of hunger, which ensures regular food intake, is also one of these biological rhythms. However, due to the constant oversupply of food, people in the western world are increasingly forgetting this natural hunger rhythm, so that many consume significantly more meals and calories than the body actually need.

After every meal, the body releases the hormone insulin. If there are only short breaks of less than four hours between meals, this hormone release takes place almost permanently – this inhibits fat burning in the body. If dinner is particularly lavish and high in calories, or if it is eaten very late, the body is less able to burn fat during sleep. This time would be particularly favorable because the body is not fed for a long period of time and the insulin level, therefore, remains low.

Another aspect that speaks against an overly sumptuous late dinner is the fact that the body does not rest during the digestive process. In addition, the production of sleep hormones is disrupted, which can result in sleep disorders. Various studies have found evidence that lack of sleep can in turn promote weight gain and thus obesity.

The Slim While You Sleep diet recommends eating two to three hours before bedtime – carbohydrate-free.