Friday 01.24.14

Eating Before Bed – What to Avoid

“One of the most important keys to your weight loss journey is not eating before bed.
Eating before bed gives our body immediate fuel to be used as energy –
the only problem is we don’t need energy at this time. The food that is
not used for normal body processes (our bodies are still active when we
sleep) is left to be digested by the body and is eventually stored. This
is a lot of activity for a body that wants to be resting!
While on a weight loss journey we want to maximize the number of pounds we can lose everyday in a healthy manner.
A great way to do this is to stop eating 2 hours before we go to bed.
Not eating before bed allows our body’s natural sleeping metabolism to
help us burn fat while we sleep. Instead of the sleeping energy
processes using our pre-bed snack for fuel they are able to breakdown
fat to gather energy to recover from our day. This is an important part
of any weight loss journey and can be stalled by eating before bed.
By not eating after 8 pm we are limiting those extra
calories that we may have eaten! Stop the madness and save yourself
from these extra calories by not eating before bed.
Getting a good night sleep is important for everyone. It helps us
re-energize from long, tiring days, rebuild our muscles from intense
workouts, and relax our mind from the stresses of daily living. Eating
before bed can have negative effects on our sleep quality. It can make
us feel bloated, uncomfortable, stuffed or too hot. It can ruin our
sleep. On top of that many people experience acid reflux if they eat in
bed or eat and lie down right away making getting a good sleep much more
difficult. If you feel like your sleep has been interrupted by
poor digestion or stomach issues make sure you aren’t eating 2 hours
before you go to bed.

Sleeping is the perfect time to
give our body a rest from food. It
wants to digest what it already has to deal with and doesn’t want you to
add to the fire. This is saying that you are sticking to your 5-6
smalls meals per day and aren’t overly hungry at bed time. I will list a
few pre-bed snacks for those who NEED an after dinner snack. There are
going to be times when you need to eat before bed. Don’t go
to bed hungry. If you can’t help it and need an after supper snack you
need to try these few tips:

• Re-evaluate your daily meals – are you eating enough throughout the day? Have you eaten every 3 hours today?
• Make sure you are eating vegetables, a lean protein and a healthy
  fat for supper. This combination will keep you feeling full longer.
• First try drinking a glass of water. Sometimes we are really just thirsty and water will do the trick.
• As a last resort, try one of these after supper snacks – a banana
  with peanut butter, celery with peanut butter or a handful of almonds

 Reducing the Want to Eat Before Bed

One of the main reasons people eat at night is they don’t eat enough
during the day. Many people have their biggest meal at dinner and then
snack before bed. This extreme hunger from not eating during the day
causes over-eating and worse cravings at night. The best way to prevent
this is to eat small meals every 3 hours throughout the day and keep
your body burning.
Much of our bedtime snacking is caused by stress. Stress is such a
huge factor is stalling weight loss and can ruin your efforts if you let
it! Recognize your stress don’t let it consume you. Do not turn to food
in times of stress. One of the best ways to cut your nighttime binges
is to reduce your overall stress! Try things like mediation, yoga or
massage to reduce your stress and prevent eating at night.
Here are other ways to stop eating before bed:

• Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day.
• Keep all junk food out of your house.
• Form a habit of not eating after a certain time (if you go to bed at 10 pm stop eating every night at 8 pm)
• Do your workouts in the morning.
• Eat protein, healthy fats and lots of vegetables at supper time.

 Your Challenge This Week 

Today I want you to stop eating 2 hours before bed!
You will feel lighter, less bloated, have increased weight loss, better
sleeps and more energy. These are some amazing reasons to take on this added challenge.”