Eating late boosts hunger, slows calorie burning, and makes it harder to lose wight

Midnight Snacking Skyrockets Obesity (It’s NOT just the calories)

It’s hours past bedtime… and you STILL haven’t gone to bed.

Maybe you stayed up late to binge watch your favorite TV show… or finish another chapter in that can’t-put-it-down novel… or scroll endless posts on social media.

And while you’re burning the midnight oil… you’re also chowing down a tasty plate of THIS and a yummy bowl of THAT.

Or maybe you DID go to bed “on time” but you woke up starving a few hours later. So now, you’re headed to the fridge for a midnight snack to tide you over until morning.

Hey, it’s happened to all of us.

But now, a new study confirmed late-night eating SPIKES your risk of obesity – and identified the reasons WHY.

Here’s a hint… it’s NOT just those extra calories.

Don’t be LATE

About 42 percent of Americans are OBESE… which ups the risk of many chronic diseases, like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and more.

Plus, OVEREATING is a major cause of obesity… and for many folks, that includes late night snacking.

We know that eating LATE can cause weight gain – and we thought it was because of the excess calories.

Sure, eating late increases body fat and skyrockets obesity risk… but researchers also knew this habit makes it MUCH HARDER to lose that extra weight.

So they conducted a study to find out WHY.

They recruited participants who were overweight or obese, and randomly split them into two groups.

One group ate EARLY… and the other dined 4 hours LATER.

But everything else was exactly the SAME… they ate identical meals, got up and went to bad at the same time, and got the same type and amount of exercise.

They kept their assigned schedule for 3 weeks, and then switched. The early diners now ate late, and vice-versa, which they continued for ANOTHER 3 weeks.

Researchers periodically measured the participants’ weight, body temperature, hunger levels, and how much energy they burned.

And BOY, did meal time made a difference.

For starters, eating LATER directly affected the subjects’ levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin, which regulate appetite and satiety.

More specifically:

Ghrelin – which boosts hunger – ROSE by 34 percent
Leptin – which drive feelings of FULLNESS – plunged

And their levels stayed that way for 24 hours.

Friend, that’s not ideal for folks who are trying to eat LESS… and LOSE weight.

So not surprisingly, the late diners were TWICE as likely to be hungry as the early group.

Eating 4 hours later also caused subjects to crave more unhealthy foods – especially meat, starch, and salt.

If THAT weren’t enough… the late eaters burned FEWER calories…

And their fat tissue showed molecular changes that made it EASIER for their bodies to store – and HARDER to lose.

Calling All Early Birds

We know that certain lifestyle changes, like eating a healthy diet and exercising, can help you lose weight – and prevent it from piling on in the first place.

And thanks to this study, we can add two more factors to the list…

Eating EARLY… and perhaps more importantly, NOT eating LATE.

Of course, sometimes circumstances make you have to eat later – or stay up later – than you’d like.

But planning ahead will help you avoid making poor food choices. And choosing a healthy diet, like the Paleo diet – and avoiding sugar, carbs, and processed food – can help you lose weight… and stay on track.

Source

“Eating late increases hunger, decreases calories burned, and changes fat tissue.” Sciencedaily.com, October 4, 2022

(sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221004121928.htm)