The Late Night Food Conundrum....
Glenn Harrold is this super cool guy who works with sonic and hypnotic meditations. I highly recommend them, they can be life changing.
Anyway, I sometimes use one of his sleep apps to help me saunter into to that dreamy state; it's simply called 'Deep Sleep'. At the very, beginning he gives you semantic instructions for how to approach the meditation, one of the instructions is, do not eat or drink anything within 4 hours of going to sleep...
Interesting. Night eating has become a hot topic of fitness controversy. Why? Many nutrition gurus would dole out demerits for picking a fork up after 8p, while others ENCOURAGE it.
And what about most of us who live in the day to day world, and often don't even see our living room couch on a weekday until 7 or 8 pm? Are we doomed to have a poochie belly because we eat late and then go to bed?
The answer is yes, no, maybe and sometimes. MMMM….
Let me give you some facts and then we can work through what the best answer is for your personal fitness regime (kind of what I do with all my clients).
Eastern practices (Chinese medicine, Ayurveda etc.), tell us, without fail, eating late is a no no. It takes the nervous system while you are trying to sleep, as well as the renal system, and makes it more difficult for your body to wind down and sleep properly and through the night.
However, for anxiety, I have seen Vedic practitioners recommend a cup of hot milk just before bed. The idea being the fat and carbohydrate content will relax the nervous system, as fat and carbs do, and the hot temperature, combined with the feeling of fullness will lull one into dreamland much more swiftly.
Ok, let's visit western practices. On the one hand, a lot of the medical field recommends against night eating, and yet, currently, The American Diabetes Association recommends one small low glycemic snack before bed, to keep blood sugar level and cravings at bay.
Bodybuilders often eat a small carb/protein meal before bed, as insulin resistance is higher at night, the body can process carbs more efficiently and they can be used for early morning workouts the next day, these are often pre-calorie workouts.
Now, for the rest of the population; If you are like most people, you start working around 8 or 9 and often don’t finish until 6or 7 (depending on your line of work), come home, hoping to unwind and enjoy a nice evening meal. Sounds great, on the other hand, that big meal could be causing sluggishness, sleeplessness and under-productivity the next day.
Let me give you a scenario: It takes 30 grams of pure protein about 3 hours to be processed through your stomach, carbs about half that (depending on the simplicity of carb or the closer it is to pure sugar), and fats about twice that time. So let’s say you settle down to your western menu of high protein, high fat, and moderate carbohydrate evening meal. Then, an hour later you go to bed. The food still has to process, it takes energy and it takes FLUID. About an hour or so later, you are up and thirsty, due to the pull on water stores as your dinner makes it through your tummy. So you drink water, you have to! And THEN guess happens about an hour after that? MMMHMMM… excess water leaves your stomach and goes into your bladder and must then come out. So up again, poddy time!
That’s a fairly explicit description of what happens. Not to mention the tax on your renal system from the extra fluid. Ever wake up swollen, dry, energy-less? This may have something to do with it.
Like I mentioned in the beginning, these are the facts, now let’s help you figure out how to use the facts to best suit your individual needs.
Firstly, eating a small bedtime snack consisting of carbs and easy to digest (non-meat) proteins is advisable if you are an athlete. Try 1/3cu of oats with whey, egg whites or vegan protein.
Next, eating a light bedtime snack is advisable if you are diabetic, pretty much the same parameters as the above, however, diabetics should consult their doctors before taking ANY dietary advice, and may want to add a bit of fat for slower absorption of carbs.
Taking some steamed almond, coconut or other non-dairy milk with a little tea and honey is an excellent choice if you suffer from anxiety or sleep deprivation (about ½ cup should do the trick).
Finally, NOONE, should eat a large meal involving animal proteins and animal fats within 4 hours of calling it a night. Try eating your higher protein foods midday and lighter fare a bit later. For example, a good evening meal might be a warm quinoa salad with lentils.
As always hope this gives you some answers and motivation. Happy New Year, make it a great start, while you are here check out the website, and feel free to ask questions or give feedback.
Peace and Love,
Anna