Does Eating Before Bed Cause Weight Gain?
The thought behind this myth was due to the lack of activity while sleeping, your body is more likely to store those calories as fat. But what does the research show?
Research shows that eating before bed does not cause weight gain, unless that meal happens to put you in a calorie surplus for the day. In fact one study showed quite the opposite.
Patients were split up into two groups. One that ate a majority of their calories and night and the other that ate a majority of their calories in the evening. The group that ate a majority of their calories at night actually lost slightly more body fat and spared more lean tissue than the group that ate their calories in the morning[1].
Another study showed that eating carbohydrates before bed actually improved sleep[2]. So feel free to at whatever time of the day you please. As long as you're in a deficit for the day feel free to eat whenever you would like.
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