WILL YOU GET FAT IF YOU EAT AT NIGHT?
There are a number of people out there that think eating foods late at night would mostly likely lead to weight gain. I know for sure that I used think this way too until I did some research on it and gained some insights on this topic. Before I answer this question, let’s come to an understanding that weight gain occurs as a result of your body or system being in a caloric surplus. What does that mean? Well, you need to understand that any food you consume contains energy which is measured in calories. This energy fuels your body and helps you carry out your daily activities. Are you with me so far?
The amount of calories we consume in a given period relative to the amount of calories required to sustain our body (a.k.a basal metabolic rate (BMR)), will determine whether the energy or calories will be used up by the body or stored as fat. If you did not understand that, pardon me, let me say that again in a simpler way. It is what you eat at the end of the day, week, month, year or whatever, that will determine whether your body will end up storing excess calories as fat. Keep in mind, I said “excess” because, prior to calories being stored in our fat cells, our muscle and liver cells take and store some calories first, as glycogen.
Let’s look at it this way. Hypothetically, if you consume about 3000 calories worth of food, and your BMR at the end of the day, used up about 1000 calories, you will have 2000 calories left in your system, right? Well, if your muscle and liver cells swoop in and store 2000 calories, the fat cells would have nothing left to store. Mind you, your muscle and liver storage might not be full yet. Now, for instance, later that night, around 1am, you got up from your bed and grabbed a bowl of ice-cream worth 300-400 calories, before going to bed again. The question in your mind might be, what happens to the extra calories in your body?
Well, your body still utilizes the calories while you are asleep in order to keep you alive. Therefore, some or all of the extra calories might get used up as you sleep or get stored in your muscle and liver cell. Now, this scenario that I have painted for you is just an example and should not be seen as applicable to you or everybody else. Do not use the knowledge of your liver and muscle cell storage as an excuse or leeway to over-eat, because if you do that, you will be in a caloric surplus, your muscle and liver storage will get filled up and then, whatever’s left will be taken up by the fat cells and deposited somewhere in your body as fat, a.k.a., adipose tissue. To round it up, if you are in a caloric deficit, you need not worry about your late night food causing weight gain. It boils down to the term which you may or may not have heard before, “calories in vs calories out”. I rest my case.
Thanks for reading. Please watch the video below to gain some weight loss tips. If you have any question(s), feel free to post your question(s) in the comment box below.
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