Will I get fat if I eat late at night?

Q. Josh, I have been CrossFitting for two years and I think I am in my second “phase” of CrossFit. When I started everything was so knew and unreal. The people, the challenges the accomplishments. It seemed as though I could do no wrong. I lost 45lb on my first “phase”. Now that I have built my confidence up, I want more. I still have some weight to lose and I was wondering if I will gain, or at least not lose fat if I eat late at night? I am super busy and usually I can’t get in my last meal until after I get home from my workout which is usually around 8 pm or so. Thanks for all you write it’s awesome, and hopefully “phase” three is Regionals. -April

A.  April. Congrats on the weight loss for sure. And great description of the “CrossFit phases” we all go through. In fact, I believe a huge key to lifelong CrossFit success is recognizing which phase your in, and milking it for all it’s worth.

To answer your question quickly, “NO”, you will not get fat if you eat late at night, or before bed, or after 6:49 p m. And “NO”, all progress does not halt solely because you decided to eat Calories when the sun doesn’t shine anymore.

The “don’t eat past seven o’clock”, or whenever myth hangs on becasue of other false statements that just won’t die. Counterfeit statements like “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, and “frequent, small meals burn fat”. Following one fictitious statement leads to the creation of another fictitious statement. Finally the water is so murky you can’t see the truth anymore.

One reason individuals tend to lose weight when not eating late at night has nothing to do with the sunrise and sunset, and all to do with Calorie reduction. Fat loss is not always Calories in vs Calories out, but that is a part of it. For most individuals the “don’t eat late” rule really says, “don’t eat so much”. In this respect, weight loss isn’t from clock watching, it’s from eating less.

As far as “food timing” goes, eating early is much more detrimental than eating late. Here, in our breakfast sucks post, I describe one of the biggest “cons of man”…breakfast. Eating immediately upon arising is a surefire way to rearrange your ancestral hormone balance leaving you lethargic, hungry, and irritable for the rest of the day. Not to mention primed to eat more late at night. Breakfast is awesome…at making you gain weight.

Avoiding breakfast not only primes the bodies nervous system to take on the days activities, but it ensure that the Calories consumed later in the day trigger cortisol, insulin, and testosterone appropriately. Add that to the fact that avoiding breakfast everyday allows for a sort of daily fast and many of the benefits that come with it.

Once breakfast is eliminated, and grazing like a cow is outlawed, then you will realize the majority of your fat loss success comes form the kind of Calories your consuming, not when your consuming them. In fact, assuming your on board with eating only; meat, nuts, seeds, and vegetables, then it is no longer Calories in vs Calories out per day, it’s more like per week, and that is much more freeing, and beneficial.

The rhythm at which we survive is never universal. Nor is our daily situations, environments, or predicaments. It’s no surprise, that our Calories should follow the same eradicate behavior as a healthy beating heart forced into times of stress, effort, and relaxation.

Some days, your just going to be more hungry; eat more. Other days food is not so appetizing; fast. This peak and valley will cause a cascade of appropriates hormones assuming the Caloric hormonal triggers are quality ones, and that you actually find time to sleep when its dark. This makes a weekly eating pattern more sustainable, than daily neuroses that falsely advises it followers to eat right then they get out of bed, or to graze all day, or to avoid food before sleeping.

Myths that won’t die are just misinformation with a pretty package. We follow when we should question, and we pay the consequences with our valuable time, money, and health. No, eating late at night doesn’t not make you fat, too many of the wrong Calories does. Your body doesn’t care “when” you ate that pizza, it only cares “that” you ate pizza at all.

Strength/skill:

Snatch AHAP
*Starting on the first minute, perform one Snatch, continue this pattern every other minute.
**On the minutes in between snatches, perform an UB max rep set of Double-unders.
AMRAP 16 minutes

For Score:

“Rahoi”

12-Box jumps 20/24
6-Thrusters 65/95
6-Bar-faceing burpees
AMRAP 12 Minutes

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