Do the calories we eat late at night automatically get stored as fat? Well, it depends! Somehow there are still rumors going around in the fitness industry that one must avoid eating late at night because those calories will automatically be stored as fat. While there are cases where calories you eat late at night could get stored as fatty acids in fat cells, it is not an automatic guarantee. The time of day that you eat your meals/snacks doesn't determine which calories get stored or burned. What does determine this is the amount of calories that you consume on a daily and weekly basis. Now you may choose not to eat later at night because it helps you control your overall calories, or it just makes you feel better the next morning when you wake up.
On the other hand, there are plenty of people that may choose to skip breakfast and save some of those calories for the purpose of being able to eat later at night. Each circumstance is completely acceptable.
At the end of the day, the best choice is going to be the one that is going to help you stay on track, and stay committed. As long as overall calories are equated for, weight loss/gain will be the same.
Where Eating Late Could Get You in Trouble
In America we tend to be over worked, under recovered, and under slept. A single night of inadequate rest can increase the hunger hormone Ghrelin and decrease Leptin. This can lead to late night cravings. This may not be a problem except when you have already consumed your allotted calories for the day. Then it can lead to an over consumption of calories and in return, weight gain.
To avoid this pitfall:
Get adequate rest
Pay attention to the amount of food that you are eating, especially late at night.
