This is What We Usually Do… What are The Bad Eating Habits That Cause Fat to Accumulate at Night? An Experienced Nutritionist Provides Advice on How to Handle It.

What are The Bad Eating Habits?

Do you think it’s inevitable that you’ll gain weight because you eat late at night? You may have eating habits that cause fat to accumulate outside of mealtimes. In this article, a registered dietitian explains the bad eating habits that cause fat to accumulate at night.

Why is It Easier for Fat to Accumulate at Night?

Since activity levels often drop at night and result in lower calorie consumption, fat tends to build throughout the night. Additionally, it’s believed that genes related to the body clock are also implicated. One of the clock genes, BMAL1, is thought to stimulate fat storage and inhibit fat metabolism through its protein. It is known to become active at night. Hence, eating late at night increases your chances of gaining weight even if you are active at night, such as working the night shift.

Bad Eating Habits That Can Lead to Excess Fat

It’s not just your genes or reduced activity that make you more likely to accumulate fat at night. Bad eating habits that you may not even be aware of may make you more likely to gain weight. So, what are some bad eating habits?

Intake of High-Calorie Foods

Regardless of the time of the meal, if you overeat high-calorie food, you will not be able to burn off all the energy and it will lead to obesity. In particular, you should avoid high-calorie foods such as fried foods and fatty meats at night. For dinner, it is best to reduce fatty foods as much as possible and incorporate non-oily dishes and vegetable dishes. Please refer to the following article for more information on foods to avoid at night.

Fast Eating

It is well-recognized that those who eat rapidly have a higher chance of becoming obese. Eating fast causes you to eat more than you feel satisfied, which is believed to cause you to consume more calories and store fat. It’s crucial to be mindful of putting less food in your mouth and digesting it thoroughly since people who eat rapidly often take big chunks, chew their food improperly, and put food in their mouths one after the other. Setting aside time for meals is also a good idea since it allows you to eat slowly and with adequate chewing.

Gluttony

Eating too much leads to taking in too much energy and storing fat. In particular, if there is a long gap between lunch and dinner, your hunger will reach its peak, and some people may have experienced overeating after returning home. If there is a long gap until dinner, the key is to use snacks. If possible, try to eat low-calorie foods such as rice balls and yogurt in the evening.

Eating leisurely

Fat gain might also result from the practice of mindlessly eating while watching TV or using your smartphone right after work. You will eat too much energy without realizing it if you keep eating without planning how long you will eat. You may avoid gaining weight by planning and eating sensible portions of food that you chew thoroughly. This is better than just eating whatever happens to be in your stomach. As we have seen, mealtimes may not be the only thing that can cause fat to accumulate. It would be a good idea to reconsider your eating habits to see if they are contributing to fat accumulation.

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[References] (Accessed July 3, 2024)

[1] Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, e-Health Net, The deep relationship between sleep and lifestyle-related diseases

[2] Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, When Eating Late at Night

[3] Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, e-Health Net, The relationship between speed eating and obesity – Chewing food well and being able to chew