Written By: Coach Mairead
So many online sources might tell you that not eating in the evening is the key to weight loss or your health goals. Is this true and how does it actually apply to you?
First of all, my answer for most things is that IT DEPENDS. Everyone and everyone’s life and eating are totally different. There is no way to give you an exact black and white answer for most nutrition questions. Let’s break this down to make some more sense.
Is eating later in the day bad for you? No. Calories do not act differently if they’re taken in at 8pm instead of 5pm. Eating the same amount of food later in the day will not impact your health goals.
The exception is if you are someone who experiences reflux or poor sleep from eating later in the day. If that’s the case, figuring out what timeline for evening meals works best for you is key. The goal isn’t restricting food in this case, the goal is feeling good when you go to bed and having a good sleep.
Lots of people find they do see improvements in their health goals when they limit evening snacking if they are someone who often eats large amounts of treat food mindlessly. When that’s the case, that improvement is from limiting this habit, and isn’t related to the actual time that it’s happening.
If you think evening snacking is a big issue for you and you want to change it, booking a Nutrition Consultation is the perfect time to address that and set you up with some strategies.
Are there people who would actually benefit from an evening snack? Of course! If you are someone who eats dinner earlier and goes to bed later, having a snack sometime in the evening can help you avoid waking up in the middle of the night or the morning feeling overly hungry. If you’re someone who works out in the morning and doesn’t like to eat in the small amount of time you have before a workout, an evening snack can mean you’re not as hangry by the end of the workout. If you’re someone who is very active and has super high energy needs, that evening snack could be the top-up you need to make sure you’re recovering properly.
If you’re curious about whether your meal and snack timing is ideal for you, let’s chat! Email
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click here to learn more about our Nutrition Services!
