Since I’ve been in college, I have noticed myself staying up pretty late to do homework already. To keep myself awake for these long, dreadful hours, I like to stock up with energy to make sure that I get everything done that needs to be done. If this means eating chips and drinking coffee at midnight, then I guess that is what I need to do.
I have told myself before that doing this can’t be good for my health or my weight, so I have decided to do some research on this question. Will eating late at night make you gain weight? Surprise, surprise… The answer is yes! The main reason is probably because when it is late at night, most people don’t pay much attention to whether or not the food they are eating is healthy or not. We tend to eat ice cream or cookies or leftovers when we are looking for something to eat late at night.
According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, “nighttime eaters ate 12 percent more calories than those who ate only throughout the day”. Eating foods with a high-fat content before bed can cause you to go to bed with increased blood sugar levels. “At any time of day, these set the body up for subsequent sugar crashes and weight gain, with the body quickly storing excess sugar as fat, says Lori Zanini, a California-based registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with HealthCare Partners medical group” (US News). Since you are less likely to perform any type of exercise after eating late at night, the sugar goes straight to your fat cells, causing you to gain weight. According to WebMD, not only does eating late at night add unnecessary calories to your diet, but it can also lead to indigestion and problems sleeping.
If you do find yourself in my situation and you are absolutely starving at one in the morning, some good options are fruit, low-fat yogurt, small portions of popcorn, and anything that is 100 calories or less. Experts say more research still needs to be done on this topic to determine what causes the weight gain exactly, but for now, just stick to eating healthy if you find yourself getting the munchies while you are up late stressing about your homework.
Very interesting topic! how to eat and when to eat are two big problems in every college. this remind me what I blog about Chinese Traditional Medicine. In China, Dietary considerations have always held central importance in Chinese medicine. Before other kind of intervention, Traditional Chinese doctors always tend first to adjust their patient’s diet. again, thank you for sharing!
In my opinion, I think eating things in the evening is unhealthy because the stomach and digestive system need to take a rest in the evening because of the biological clock, so I don’t recommend people to eat anything at night.
I relate a lot with your post. I always find myself eating late at night and not making the right choices about it. I want to do as much as I can to avoid the freshman 15, but all of this staying up late doesn’t help:(
In my opinion, I think eating things in the evening is unhealthy because the stomach and digestive system need to take a rest in the evening because of the biological clock, so I don’t recommend people to eat anything at night.
In my opinion, I think eating things in the evening is unhealthy because the stomach and digestive system need to take a rest in the evening because of the biological clock, so I don’t recommend people to eat anything at night.
In my opinion, I think eating things in the evening is unhealthy because the stomach and digestive system need to take a rest in the evening because of the biological clock, so I don’t recommend people to eat anything at night.
In my opinion, I think eating things in the evening is unhealthy because the stomach and digestive system need to take a rest in the evening because of the biological clock, so I don’t recommend people to eat anything at night.
For about a year I have tried to not eat after 8 pm. Like you said, being up so late at night is awful, so snacks are a great distraction. I got 100 calorie bags of SmartPop that do the trick, or I chew gum. The minty taste weirdly wakes me up and the gum itself kind of settles the craving.
Definitely a very relatable issue. Seeing as that I am also currently staying up late to do homework, I frequently find myself thinking, “am I actually hungry?” Most of the time, the answer is no. I’ve always heard theories like the “don’t eat past 8” rule but I never realized how accurate it is. I’ve developed the terrible habit of getting hungry at late hours of the night and you truly don’t realize the negative impact it has until you realize the effects it has on yourself. Here’s a short little article on similar research that you have listed. Good topic and very interesting! http://www.livestrong.com/article/320492-the-effects-of-eating-late-at-night/
Many believe the “freshman 15” is due to the fact that freshman now have freedom for the first time in their lives. I wonder if the real reason is because freshman are still learning how to budget their time properly, so they tend to stay up late studying more than anyone else. When they do this, like you said, many of them tend to eat or munch on something, If this is the case, then freshman probably consume more calories than any other year of college just from mismanagement of time alone!
I always feel starvng at night as well though I ate a lot for dinner. I have once read a article about eating at night that it says about the same thing written in your research. Since we do not want to eat too heavy, yogurt and fruits will be the best thing. Thank you for sharing.
I always feel starvng at night as well though I ate a lot for dinner. I have once read a article about eating at night that it says about the same thing written in your research. Since we do not want to eat too heavy, yogurt and fruits will be the best thing. Thank you for sharing.