Whether it’s a hard-working white-collar worker who has to work late into the night, a party queen who likes to go to bars and revelry at night, or a fitness worker who has to exercise at 90 o’clock in the evening, there may be the same problem: me! Hungry!
So it’s already 10 o’clock in the evening. I can’t sleep without eating. I’m afraid I’ll gain weight after eating. Can I eat?
Before making a decision, you’d better ask yourself 3 questions.
Are you doing what at 10 pm?
If you are watching a movie, lying down and brushing your cell phone, chatting with friends…
Then your energy consumption will obviously not be very high. Therefore, you don’t need to supplement extra calories, and there is absolutely no need to throw caution to the wind to eat food taken late at night.
You want to eat a big meal not because you are hungry, but because your mouth is lonely:
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It was very boring. I grabbed snacks at hand and ate them unconsciously. I probably didn’t pay attention to them.
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There is pressure, which is somewhat stressful and uncomfortable in social occasions. Eating the food/drink placed in front of you is the most comfortable way.
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If you are in a bad mood and want to rely on food to drive away negative emotions, it is very common to eat crazily when you are under great pressure.
If you dance all night, sweat a lot, or exercise in the gym…
Then you really need some calorie supplement: if you want to lose weight, it is more appropriate to eat half of the calories consumed by exercise.
For example, jogging for half an hour consumes 200-250 kilocalories. Then you can eat a banana or drink a glass of milk. Of course, you can eat a lot of vegetables.
How much did you eat during the day?
If you eat more breakfast, lunch and dinner and are full…
Then snack is to eat as little or no as possible… unless your goal is to gain weight by increasing fat.
If you don’t eat much during the day, or are too busy to eat… … …
Then it is normal to be hungry at night, and it is OK to eat some more. Even if you decide to eat half a pizza at night, you will probably not gain weight.
Eating late does not mean that the food you eat will be converted into fat. Eating late is just more likely to overeat, thus storing excess calories into fat.
What time do you go to bed?
We usually recommend not eating for 2-3 hours before going to bed, for example, going to bed at 11-12 o’clock, and not eating at the latest at 8-9 o’clock.
This is because if the food is not fully digested and the stomach and intestines are still working at full strength, sleep will be seriously affected.
However, if you have to stay up until two or three o’clock in the morning to go to bed, the consequences will not be so bad if you eat food taken late at night at more than 10 o’clock. Because during this period, your body really needs some energy supplement for several hours.
Of course, although you can eat at 2 o’clock in the middle of the night, you cannot change your bad habits of sleeping late and less.
Poor sleep will affect body metabolism, which may make you prone to obesity:
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Due to lack of sleep, the next day is often more tired, the amount of activity will be reduced;
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Sleep less, the body will secrete more cortisol hormone, and cortisol will decompose muscles into amino acids to supply energy to the body, but also increase appetite, eat more;
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The brain needs to consume more glucose to satisfy the energy supply. You will feel that you have to eat a lot of carbohydrate or sweets before the body feels satisfied.
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Your glucose tolerance is impaired and you will need to secrete additional insulin, which is also a process of fat synthesis.
Late-night Extra Meal Recommendation
However, no matter how much you say, it is not worth the cry of everyone’s heart [Lao Zi is going to eat]. How should I eat and eat what?
It is recommended that you consider foods that contain very little carbohydrate, very low fat and high protein.
Usually at this point in time, you may not need a lot of calories, too much fat and carbohydrates are more likely to become excrescence.
Eating less sugar can make your insulin level lower and your glucagon level higher. Glucagon can promote energy metabolism and fat burning.
Recommendation 1: Healthy Marinated Flavors such as Green Beans
If the season is right, boiled hairy beans are delicious and healthy late-night snacks. Flower hair (peanuts and hairy beans) is also good. Some stores also sell dried bean curd, kelp, lotus root slices, etc.
Recommendation 2: Healthy Salad
Vegetable salads contain some healthy high-quality proteins: chicken, especially chicken breast, lean beef, eggs and tuna.
Be careful to put as little salad dressing as possible. Or chopsticks dip in the sauce first and then pick up the vegetables, which can reduce the amount of sauce in your mouth.
Recommendation 3: Oat Milk Porridge
It is good to measure a few spoons of oatmeal. It is very convenient to brew it with a cup of hot milk (or milk powder).
Recommendation 4: Fresh Fruits
Especially oranges, strawberries, apples, etc.
However, if it is some 30 grams of potato chips or butter cookies containing 650 kilojoules (156 kilocalories), they are basically carbohydrates and fats, and must not be eaten.