It depends on what you eat, how much you eat, the speed at which you eat and your overall lifestyle.
After dinner, most people tend to relax and get ready for the night, which reduces their physical activity level. “THE sugar no longer circulates : we therefore tend to gain fat because the body will process calories differently sugars and fats, explains Isabelle Vilarem, micro-nutritionist in Gouvieux (60) and Paris (09) and member of the Médoucine network. However, food choices late at night are often less healthy. “People tend to opt for foods high in calories, fat and sugar, such as desserts or ready-to-eat meals, which can contribute to excess calorie intake.” Eating habits that are difficult to change because they are controlled by our “reptilian brain”, one of our 3 brains, the oldest. “He is notably responsible for the instinctive response to hunger signals and the search for food to satisfy the energy needs from the body.” Basic food preferences, such as seeking out sweet, salty, and fatty flavors, are largely determined by responses of the reptilian brain to sensory stimuli.
Therefore, we advise eat lighter in the eveningto avoid eating proteins again if you have already eaten them at lunchtime and to favor vegetables (in the form of gratin) with why not starchy foods. “We also avoid sugar contained, for example, in desserts and alcohol.” Eating late in the evening therefore does not necessarily guarantee a weight gain but it can certainly contribute to it as part of a set of unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits. Eating late at night can also affect the quality of your sleep because it takes a lot of energy to digest. “The ideal is to let 2 hours between dinner and bedtime so that the digestive system has already started digestion. Because during sleep, our metabolism slows down.” And if you sleep poorly, there is a good chance that the next morning you will crave sugar.
Would it nevertheless be possible to eat late without gaining weight? “In our center we have a very particular approach to nutrition. We advise eating when the body is hungry and not because it is time to eat. body has no schedule, nor any biological reason to eat at a specific time. We eat when we are hungry, whatever the time.”, explains Dr Anne Pleuvret, nutritionist at the La Louvière (Ramsay) private hospital in Lille. According to her, if we eat late in the evening, just to snack, then we will store up and this will have an impact on weight gain. “But if we eat late because we haven’t eaten all day, for example, then in this case, the body will absorb the meal (in reasonable quantities of course) without storing it. And if we are hungry at 6 p.m. , it’s better to dine than to snack. It’s a job. reconnecting with your food sensations.”
