eating before bed

i have been wondering if it is o.k. to eat fruit before you go to bed.  i am new to this site so if this is a common question, i am sorry.  by the time it is time to go to bed, i am hungry.  i was just kind of wondering if you can gain a ton of weight from eating fruit before bed.

Chrissy, unless you exceed your daily calorie count, it doesn't matter that you eat a snack before you go to bed.  Your body burns calories and digests food as you sleep, too.  And, welcome to CC.  It's a terrific website.  Be sure to check out all the tabs up there.  Lots of good info.  Good luck to you!!

Interesting question.  I wandered about the Web and Googled quite a bit--finding a lot of disagreement about the answer.  One common thread was that a person should definitely not eat heavy sugar-laced foods and carbs.  Some lay people felt that eating fruit before going to bed was a good thing.  It seemed to me that most nutritionists would advise against eating too close to going to bed, but if you do eat something, fruit might be a good choice.  Some people argued that the body needs sleep time to process foods already consumed earlier  and shouldn't be asked to process recently consumed foods.  Others argued that the body will be perfectly capable of handling recent consumed fruits.

What I could figure out from it all?  It is probably better not to eat the fruit immediately before going to bed, but if you feel hungry, it would be OK to eat some time before going to bed to give the fuit a chance for the body to begin processing it.  I doubt that you would gain weight, unless you did this every night, ate a lot of high sugar fruit, and was over your calorie range for several days in a row.

I agree with robin9395.  It's the total calorie intake that matters rather than when you eat it, especially. 

Having said that, however, it's important to make sure that your calorie target is realistic (rather than too low), that you're eating regularly (not skipping meals or missing breakfast) and that your food choices are working best for you i.e. nutritious, filling foods.  If you get it right, losing weight can be a pleasant and rewarding experience.

Just out of curiosity, since I got outvoted 2-1, has anyone found reputable health professionals (health wellness doctors, nutritionists, medical doctors, etc) who clearly state their opinion about whether one should eat anything such as fruit immediately before going to bed?  Because what I am finding out is that it could matter when you eat a last meal of the night.  I am just inquiring if someone has some accurate information about this.

To provide a little more info, Chrissy, following is a reply CC nutritionist Mary, gave to someone who asked a similar question. 

From a weight loss viewpoint, it does not matter what you eat before bed.  Food is digested and nutrients are utilized all through the night, and food is only converted to fat when you eat more than you need.  But for a good night sleep, steer clear of stimulants like caffeine in coffee, tea and soda, and beware of fatty, spicy, and acidic foods that may promote heartburn.  Mint, carbonated beverages, citrus, and tomato products are major offenders.  A large meal eaten within 3 - 4 hours of bedtime can be energizing, making it difficult to fall asleep, but a light bedtime snack can quench any hunger that keeps us awake.  Alcohol also affects the ability to sleep deeply and peacefully.  Read about sleep habits at About.com.

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks.  That works for me.

Heck, Pilgrim, until I accidentally came across that particular question as I was perusing the questions for Mary a few weeks ago, I had the same impression about eating late at night.  Thought it would just sit there and turn to fat.  Ha!  Learn something new every day. 

I personally eat fruit right before going to bed....and the answer in my circumstance is.....drum roll please...no net effect on weight gaining however, I am sure someone will jump up and say something like yeah but its still not good. 

Bottomline:  If I am the norm then I agree with the above posts that say it doesnt matter as long as you stay within your calorie range overall.  BTW I have eaten fruit every night even while losing weight (70 lbs) so it didnt effect weight loss either.

It doesn't matter when you eat, it's the overall calories that count.  However, a lot of people have trouble sleeping if they eat too late at night, but that's more of a individual circumstance I guess.

Just a few extra points - remember that we continue to burn calories even while asleep (try logging an hour of "sleep" in the activity log, and it'll tell you). So it isn't like our body shuts down when we go to bed.

My theory on why this myth started: if you aren't going to count calories, but want to simply reduce a couple hundred calories from your normal diet, people would recommend not eating after a certain time (or a number of hours before bed), because that's when most people were eating crap. Dinner is over, you are bored, you wander into the kitchen and grab a snack. Mentally, you don't figure this into your 3 squares a day - it's an extra. Make a rule and don't eat that extra 300 calories each day, and you are saving yourself 2000 calories a week, and 8000 calories a month, or two pounds. Voila. You lose weight.

But if you are counting calories, then those evening calories are figured into your meal plan, and there is no reason not to have something to eat if you are hungry, want it, and it's in your calorie budget.

no it does matter as long as you stay in your daily caloric range (i know, repetitive). but i have a little to add. one of my thinner friends eats like a coffee and sometimes a bagel during the day, dinner, and alot of the times eats a lot of snacks at night, plenty of times after midnight. the idea mortifies me, but it works for her i suppose. we're talking like a half a pint of ice cream, and maybe some pretzels also, which i consider alot for midnight.

also, my mom has silly little "rules" for when she's up a few pounds, she has always been thin, so they obviously work for her. one of them is to try not to eat after dinner, but if she is really hungry, to eat a piece of fruit or yogurt. i have been doing this, and have been eating a piece of fruit as my night snack for the past few nights. i'm already down a pound or so. most fruit is very low-cal, and its not processed junk. so i think fruit is great night time snack option. i have mine with a tall glass of water or sugar-free lemonade. this makes me actually full which is what i am looking for alot of the time.

the only way you'll gain weight is by eating more then you need on a regular basis... ie: exceeding your daily caloric requirements.

fruit is fine... but before bed? um, not the best choice. Fruit is mainly composed of carbs (sugar and fiber) and while it contains "good carbs", they are still carbs none-the-less... carbs are the quickest available energy source, so soon after you eat the fruit your body is going to have more energy, therefore this may hinder your ability to sleep, and reduce the quality of sleep.

fruit is best in the morning, or before a workout because it gives quick energy... but before bed, a lot of sources reccomend something with more protein and some fat, as these two macronutrients digest slowly and give time released energy.... this will satisfy you, while still allowing you to get a restful night's sleep.

some suggestions include... low-fat cottage cheese with a few chopped nuts, 1-2 hard boiled eggs, SF/FF yogurt with flax seeds, or a protein shake