You’re warned not to eat late at night because you don’t really burn calories while you’re sleeping. The truth is though, if you’re eating late at night, you may have trouble getting any sleep at all! The reason being that many of our favorite late night snacks tend to be foods we wouldn’t chow down on in the light of day in front of others…Or food that you simply force yourself not to eat all day but come night time, your will power is exhausted. And these foods happen to be loaded with ingredients that could be taking away your precious beauty sleep and adding pounds.
Cheesy, Oily Food
French fries are often the easiest things to get your hands on late at night since 24-hour places all seem to have them. Get a cheesy variety and you’re doing double the damage. Cheese and oil sit in your digestive tract longer than any other type of food, meaning that your body requires a lot of energy just to push them through your system. While your body is working up the energy to digest your nocturnal nosh, it is also waking up.
Spicy Foods
These are praised for their fat-burning perks, but you won’t be thinking about that while you’re tossing and turning at night. Spicy foods give you an endorphin rush and get your brain running at full speed. Great for a day full of activities. Not so great minutes before your head hits the pillow.
Caffeine
Well, duh. But the part you may not know is that caffeine hides in very unexpected places, like ice cream, candy and dark chocolate. Sound like some of your favorite midnight munchy meals? Each of these can contain as much caffeine as one cup of coffee! And you wouldn’t drink coffee before bed, right?
Cheap Chinese Food
I don’t want to give all Chinese Restaurants a bad rap, but some of them load their food with MSG for added flavor. Problem is that after those blissful bites are over, MSG can come with a whole slew of digestive discomforts that can keep you up at night. It’s mostly found in the heavy, fried items.
Breakfast Cereal
Plenty of people love having breakfast for dinner. But if you’re one of them, opt for an omelet. Breakfast cereals usually contain a lot of sugar and the last thing you need is a blood sugar spike before bedtime.
Red Meat
This falls under the same category as cheese and oil: difficult to digest. Your body uses a lot of energy digesting fat and protein. You don’t want to be waking up your digestive system while you’re trying to go to sleep.
Canned Soup
Such an easy thing to heat up when you want a quick, comforting late night snack. But even the healthier varieties are usually loaded with sodium and additives which means you’ll be waking up thirsty.
Beans
Usually a very healthy choice, but the reasons beans are healthy for you are the same reasons they’ll keep you up. It’s no fun trying to sleep through cramps or being woken up in urgent need of a trip to the bathroom.
Hopefully this list provided another reason to avoid the oh-so-detrimental late night eating.
