{"id":54311,"date":"2016-11-23T14:05:11","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T19:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=54311"},"modified":"2017-04-27T09:26:26","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T14:26:26","slug":"late-can-eat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/","title":{"rendered":"How Late Can I Eat?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moishe is a skype client from the mid-Atlantic United States.\u00a0 <\/span>He has become a great exerciser in our time together and is being very mindful in executing his food program.\u00a0 <\/span>He feels better than when he started, but the truth is, he really isn\u2019t losing weight.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, he has stopped gaining and because he is eating better and exercising, he is getting great benefit for his health, however, he wants to and needs to lose weight and it isn\u2019t going very smoothly.\u00a0 <\/span>So last week, I asked him what he thinks the problem is.\u00a0 <\/span>After thinking about it for a minute or so, he told me that evenings and nights are very problematic for him.\u00a0 <\/span>So I asked him to specify.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moishe wakes up early to daven and then commutes about 45 minutes to work each day.\u00a0 <\/span>When he arrives home, he eats supper and after spending a short time with his family, he goes out to daven Maariv and then goes to his Daf Yomi Shiur.\u00a0 <\/span>In our last conversation, he then informed me that he always takes something to eat when he gets home (10:15 PM) after the Shiur. I asked him if he is actually hungry then, given he has already eaten 3 meals and 2 snacks during the day and without hesitation, he said he is NOT at all hungry\u2014it\u2019s just something he does.\u00a0 <\/span>And to make matters worse, he always chooses unhealthy food at that late hour. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are those who will still insist that a calorie is a calorie not matter what you eat or when you eat it.\u00a0 <\/span>But research, even going back many years, is starting to tell us a different story.\u00a0 <\/span>For now, we are going to delve into the \u201cwhen\u201d of eating, and in particular, eating late at night and what the possible health and weight gain ramification might be.\u00a0 <\/span>Is it possible that late night eating is what is preventing Moishe from losing weight and why do I hear this same story over and over again from different clients over the years?<\/span><\/p>\n

Studies tend to show that when food is consumed late at night \u2014 anywhere from after dinner to outside a person\u2019s typical sleep\/wake cycle \u2014 the body is more likely to store those calories as fat and gain weight rather than burn it as energy, says Kelly Allison of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine\u2019s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders.\u00a0 <\/span>Some animal studies have shown that food is processed differently at different times of day. This could be due to fluctuations in body temperature, biochemical reactions, hormone levels, physical activity and absorption and digestion of food, says Steven Shea, director of the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at Oregon Health & Science University.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe studies suggest that eating out of our normal rhythm, like late at night, may prompt weight gain\u201d and higher levels of blood sugar, which can raise the risk of chronic disease, Allison says.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a very old study done on a small sample, people were divided into two groups.\u00a0 <\/span>They were fed the identical calories but group one eat all their calories in the early afternoon and group two ate the same calories, but at night.\u00a0 <\/span>Group one collectively lost weight and group two collectively gained weight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thermic effect of food (TEF) is a fancy name for the energy used up as a result of digesting and absorbing a meal. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that TEF is higher in the morning than in the evening.\u00a0 <\/span>Volunteers were given an identical 544-calorie meal at one of three times. In subjects fed at 9 am, TEF increased by 16 percent; in those fed at 5 pm, TEF increased by 13.5 percent; and in those fed at 1 am, TEF increased by only 11 percent. So it\u2019s clear that we burn more calories in the morning.\u00a0 <\/span>The effect of calories on body composition is also influenced by the size and frequency of meals. For example, a Japanese study found that boxers placed on a six-meals-a-day weight-control diet lowered their body fat percentage significantly more than boxers who ate exactly the same number of calories in just two meals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another factor in night eating is the hormone cortisol.\u00a0 <\/span>This is the hormone that is integral to proper function of our stress response. (Someone runs into the street right in front of your car and you slam on the breaks\u2014that is cortisol doing what it is supposed to do).\u00a0 <\/span>But when we become overstressed, which at night can be trying to stay awake against our body\u2019s wishes; that is the over-secretion of cortisol.\u00a0 <\/span>Cortisol increases appetite and might also increase motivation in general, including the motivation to eat. Once a stressful episode is over, cortisol levels should fall, but if the stress doesn’t go away \u2014 or if a person’s stress response gets stuck in the “on” position \u2014 cortisol may stay elevated, and consequently, lead to stress eating. <\/span><\/p>\n

Moishe and I devised some strategies for him to cope with what had become a bad habit.\u00a0 <\/span>He now needed to modify a pretty ingrained behavior, but so far, he has been able to do it.\u00a0 <\/span>I received an email early this morning telling me that he had to stay up late last night to get some work done and ate nothing! \u00a0 <\/span>And since he started being careful about eating at night, his weight has begun to drop slowly and steadily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the average person with an average schedule, it is best to set a curfew to finish solid food about 8 PM each night.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, there will be exceptions, like Shabbos in the summer and an occasional wedding or Bar Mitzvah that runs late.\u00a0 <\/span>But even in those cases, try to keep the calories down at that hour.\u00a0 <\/span>There are also people who have different work schedules and work night shifts.\u00a0 <\/span>It is best to consult with a dietician as to how to handle your particular situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just calories\u2014also the timing is a big factor in losing or gaining weight.\u00a0 <\/span>Setting a curfew and not eating late will help me keep my weight down, let you sleep better and it will \u201cadd hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moishe is a skype client from the mid-Atlantic United States.\u00a0 He has become a great exerciser in our time together and is being very mindful in executing his food program.\u00a0 He feels better than when he started, but the truth is, he really isn\u2019t losing weight.\u00a0 Yes, he has stopped gaining and because he is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Late Can I Eat? - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When food is consumed late at night the body is more likely to store those calories as fat and gain weight rather than burn it as energy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Late Can I Eat? - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When food is consumed late at night the body is more likely to store those calories as fat and gain weight rather than burn it as energy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-23T19:05:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-27T14:26:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/\",\"name\":\"How Late Can I Eat? - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-23T19:05:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-27T14:26:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\"},\"description\":\"When food is consumed late at night the body is more likely to store those calories as fat and gain weight rather than burn it as energy.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/late-can-eat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\",\"name\":\"Alan Freishtat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Alan Freishtat\"},\"description\":\"Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. 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