Fight Fat at Night

JORGE’S DAILY FIT TIP

By Jorge Cruise

Monday, January 28, 2008

Those eight hours after your head hits the pillow aren’t just for dreaming. While you sleep, your body actually repairs and rebuilds your muscles. But, if you eat too close to bedtime, your body will spend its energy digesting the food in your tummy and not recuperating your muscles. Worse yet, your metabolism slows at night, which means many of the calories you eat late in the evening will be stored as fat. Unfortunately, many of us are late-night snackers and need to learn to overcome these urges. The most important thing you can do is eat enough during your day. Skipping meals will slow down your metabolism and make you susceptible to late-night binges. Many people eat a lot before bedtime not because they’re hungry, but because they are bored, tired, lonely, or depressed. Ask yourself if you are truly hungry before you even step into the kitchen or dip into your snack stash