Flatulence, heartburn, sleep problems - some foods cause insomnia and prevent you from being sufficiently refreshed the next morning. What should you not eat in the evening and which foods should remain on the menu? Find out here!
You know that feeling when you've stuffed your belly again and can barely move?
Feeling full after dinner is anything but healthy. Because sleeping on a heavy stomach is miserable. Time to change your eating habits - the We Go Fit nutrition plan*.
Otherwise you'll soon be round as a ball and permanently unrested. But what should you not eat in the evening?
Many myths surround the evening meal. Some don't eat any carbohydrates after 6 p.m., others do without food altogether. But you don't have to go to bed with a growling stomach!
If you pay attention to your diet and eat the right foods, you won't struggle with sleep problems or gain weight.
Table of contents
Why you shouldn't skip dinner
The idea of skipping dinner in order to lose weight as quickly as possible is widespread, and it can definitely have its benefits. Especially if you relies on interval fasting.
Of course, you'll also save calories by skipping dinner. But no one likes to go to bed with a growling stomach.
Falling asleep on an empty stomach not only feels uncomfortable, it can trigger sleep problems, slow down muscle building and weight loss.
Especially if the calorie deficit is too high, it is not conducive to your weight loss project. On the contrary! The basal metabolic rate adjusts and the body uses less energy for vital functions.
In addition, abstaining from certain meals has nothing to do with healthy eating habits to do. So don't skip your dinner, but make sure you eat a healthy dinner.
With the right foods in the evening, fat metabolism is boosted, muscle building is promoted and sleep is improved.
When is the optimal time for dinner?
What should you not eat in the evening? Before we approach the answer to this question, you should first ask yourself: when should you eat before going to bed? Because this is at least as important.
On an average day where you go to bed between 10pm and 11pm, you should eat your dinner between 5pm and 7pm.
This gives your body enough time to digest and metabolize the food. In fact, as soon as you get tired, you switch to save and sleep mode for the night. The metabolism slows down and digestion comes to a standstill.
If you've eaten something really hearty and heavy just before, your body doesn't like that at all.
Keeping an eye on the energy balance
However, the widespread opinion that you can't eat anything after 6 p.m. is wrong. What you can eat in the evening depends very much on your energy balance and how much you have already eaten during the day.
And, of course, how late you stay up after dinner. If you're a night owl who doesn't go to sleep until 11:30 p.m., then of course you can still eat something after 6 p.m.
Keep an eye on calories with We Go Fit*
Thereby our We Go Fit Nutrition Plan support. We know from our own experience that it is often very difficult to eat right.
Especially when it comes to recipes, you can quickly reach the limits of your creativity. That's why it's worth making a cooking plan. It's best to plan what you're going to eat for a week in advance.
A conscious diet will not only bring you closer to your dream figure. You will also change mentally. If you eat healthy, you'll be in a better mood and have more power.
So that you can succeed, you can take part in our We Go Fit Program Create your personal nutrition plan. You choose the category "Lose weight" from four plans.
We calculate your calorie consumption, calorie deficit and create a diet plan that fits your needs and that fits you 100 %. It's very easy. Give it a try :)
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Why am I hungry the next day if I eat late at night?
No matter what your eating habits are, the following applies to all of them: If you eat very late in the evening, you will be hungrier in the morning. The reason for this is our digestion.
If you eat a lot late at night, your body is busy digesting all night. In the morning it immediately reports again, because it has nothing more to do. Most likely, you will then sleep very restlessly and not be able to rest.
At the same time, your organs desperately need a break from eating.
The liver should be busy at night with detoxification processes instead of taking care of the utilization of food.
And on top of that, late dinners interfere with burning fat overnight. Keep meal breaks of at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. Even better are breaks of 14 to 16 hours. You know these food breaks as Intermittent Fasting.
What should you not eat or drink in the evening?
You now know that breaks between meals are important and you should pay attention to the number of calories. But what should you not eat in the evening to be able to sleep relaxed and not worry about your weight?
There are a few foods that are heavy on your stomach and are better avoided in the evening.
1. chocolate
Our favorite candy does not mean well with us in the evening. Because it contains theobromine. This ingredient stimulates the circulation and makes us awake. The effect is similar to that of caffeine, only weaker.
Especially dark chocolate* contains a lot of theobromine.
2. what should you not eat in the evening? Carbohydrates!
In general, it is important that the body's blood sugar level remains as constant as possible. This keeps the metabolism running smoothly. In other words, it can process nutrients optimally.
However, a constant blood sugar level not only helps to stay slim, but also ensures restful sleep.
Very carbohydrate foods in the evening are rather bad. They cause the blood sugar level to rise quickly and fall again just as quickly. The consequence: new hunger.
So it's better to focus on protein-rich foods, vegetables and healthy fats at dinner to keep insulin spikes in check.
But you don't have to give up pasta and rice. A mixture of carbohydrates and proteins is best. The proteins also ensure that the happiness hormone serotonin is released, which in turn sends the sleep hormone melatonin on its way.
3. caffeine
Coffee, tea and energy drinks contain caffeine or guarana. This raises blood pressure and the pulse. In addition, the two substances act in the central nervous system and block the sleep-triggering messenger substances in the brain.
Caffeine can remain in the body for up to 6 hours until it is completely excreted. This is felt especially by those who rarely reach for coffee, black tea and co.
4. what should not be eaten in the evening? Spicy food!
Digestion slows down while you sleep. If you eat spicy foods before bedtime, you're likely to have a more restless sleep. This is because spicy food is difficult for the body to digest.
Usually you are then tired the next day, even if you have actually slept enough. The reason for this is that the quality of sleep is affected by digestion.
In addition, spicy food increases the body's core temperature. The body tries to regulate this back to normal. This can also disturb sleep.
5. foods rich in fat and sugar
Cheese, chips, French fries, sausage and nuts: Too fatty food, the body must process more. Larger quantities of sweets that you like to nibble on while watching TV are also not exactly conducive to sleep.
The sugar load spikes blood sugar levels and that boosts metabolism. You flood your body with a lot of energy that either needs to be stored, burned, or converted into movement to restore balance.
Exercise before bedtime? Wrong! So the excess energy is dissipated only very slowly and that slows down the fat burning.
This is how even those with a sweet tooth kick the habit!
6. muesli
What should you not eat in the evening? Muesli!
Cornflakes are a breakfast classic, but people also like to have cereal with milk in the evening. The influence this has on sleep depends primarily on the cereals.
Most consist of short-chain carbohydrates that are digested quickly. However, they are often very sugary, which gives the body an energy boost and can disrupt sleep. A healthier option would be oatmeal.
7. citrus fruits
Late in the evening you should rather not eat citrus fruits like oranges, clementines or grapefruit or drink them as juice. The high acid content keeps the metabolism busy.
It must set in motion a buffering system to bind the acids in the body so that the pH rises into a slightly alkaline range.
8. soft drinks
Soft drinks like cola can cause sleep problems for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, many drinks contain caffeine, and on the other, they consist largely of sugar.
Similarly, soft drinks are very acidic and thus, like citrus fruits, set the metabolism in motion instead of letting it settle down towards the evening.
9. alcohol
White wine and sparkling wine contain a lot of acid. This has a stimulating effect. Alcohol makes us tired and quickly puts us into a deep sleep. But rest is deceptive.
If the alcohol content in the blood drops, the night becomes increasingly restless. The breakdown of alcohol disrupts the recovery and rest period that the body needs to regenerate. This can affect health in the long term.
What should you eat in the evening?
Now you know what you shouldn't eat in the evening. But there are also foods that boost fat metabolism, improve sleep and promote muscle building.
Provided you keep the meal breaks of at least 12 hours.
- Low fat dairy products
- Tofu and lean meat
- Fish
- Avocado
- Eggs
- Easily digestible vegetables such as zucchini, cucumber, fennel, tomato, pumpkin.
Very well combine these foods with cooked vegetables, salad (in small quantities) and healthy sources of carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, rice, quinoa, millet, chickpeas, beans or other legumes.
You often hear that you should keep your hands off fruit in the evening because it contains a lot of carbohydrates. But as is so often the case, it depends on the quantity and the type of fruit.
Fruits with low fructose such as blueberries, raspberries, watermelon or papaya can also be consumed in the evening.
Constantly hungry? That's the reason!
Why the tryptophan content in the evening is so important
Your body needs amino acids. A distinction is made between essential and non-essential amino acids. Some can be produced by the body itself, others must be supplied through the diet.
Tryptophan is one of the amino acids that must be absorbed through food. And this should land on the plate especially in the evening.
This protein building block ensures that serotonin and melatonin are produced. Melatonin is also called the sleep hormone. It ensures that you become tired.
Serotonin and melatonin in the evening are an unbeatable combination for relaxed sleep.
Foods such as salmon, milk, soybeans and Cashews* contain this amino acid and let you sleep restfully.
Our conclusion
What should you not eat in the evening? It all depends on what you ate at lunch and in the afternoon. Make sure that you don't eat for at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast to relieve your organs. Refrain from very heavy food and resort to low-calorie variants.
Enjoy it!
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