Surprise!! Eating food late at night or early in the morning does not matter! It is all the same! A calorie is always going to be a calorie. They don’t become more calories and magically turn into double the calories at a certain time. The whole “don’t eat past 8pm because it will just turn to fat,” is not true.
I’m not entirely sure where the whole idea of not eating at night came from, but its bogus! Perhaps the intention was to help people control snacking, which is great, but there is consequences to this rule. If you just got done with a late night workout or have not hit your calorie goal for the day, you need to eat.
Why Eating Enough Food is so Important
Food is our fuel source. It keeps our body running and gives us the energy we need to perform whether that is at work or in the gym. Not only is food our fuel, but it is an absolutely necessary part of the recovery and muscle building process.
If you are never getting enough food in your body, you will never have enough energy to perform at a higher level. Overtime this will limit the results you will experience and leave you feeling dissatisfied. Gaining lean muscle mass, fighting fatigue throughout the day and reducing the time it takes for your body to recover all happens by eating enough food to support your daily tasks.
So you absolutely need to be fueling your body. At the end of a long day, at the end of a hard workout, whatever the case may be. You have to eat.
Carbs and protein are going to help with recovery. You did all that hard work in the gym, and then you’re not getting as much out of it as you should be because you’re not replacing what you lost.
50 grams of carbs does not magically turn into 200 grams of carbs at eight o’clock. The point is, eat your food to fuel your body and allow for recovery.
Don’t Be Lazy With Food Choices
I mentioned above that not eating at night is a good only for controlling the habit of ‘snacking.’ If you find yourself over indulging on fast food or foods high in fat or little to no nutritional value, you will want to reconsider when you should stop eating.
Try to eat things like natural peanut butter, protein shakes or smoothies, protein bars or lean meats. If you are just getting done with a workout, look for quick sugars that are easily digested back into the body. Items like oranges, apples, banana’s, or rice cakes are great for a post workout meal.
If you still find yourself eating the wrong foods you can try intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting can be a very useful tool for people who struggle with snacking. This will set a hard and fast rule to stop eating by a certain time in the day to limit the snacking behavior. But there is a catch to intermittent fasting…
If you already struggle eating enough food throughout the day, do not do this type of fasting. Remember, food is our fuel. If you need to get another 500 calories in the day and your eating window has closed, you are losing out on all that nutritional value of what those 500 calories can provide for you.
In Need of Guidance and Accountability?
Eating the right food is hard and figuring out how much food to eat can be even harder. If you have been trying to fix your eating habits for a while now, and have not experienced success we would love to help. At Lionheart we offer nutritional coaching and accountability to help you reach your health and fitness goals.
If you are in Topeka, KS you can always stop in or set up a free consultation. If you are out of state and looking for a community of people to join you on this journey and a coach to help you on your way, you still can! We offer online/remote coaching for those not in the area.
If you are interested in taking back control of your life then reach out today! Click the link —-> https://lionheartapf.com/join/ to set up a consultation!