Reader question - "Is eating late unhealthy?"

The reader question feature is back!! Keep sending in your questions, my friends... any fitness or nutrition question will do. And I'll do my best to give you a sparkling, juicy, helpful answer!

This one is from a friend at my kickboxing and Krav Maga school, 360 Combat Club in Signal Hill, CA...


Hey Kim - You agreed the post workout meal I chose was a good one... what about the time? I have always heard you shouldn't eat just before bed... but I take classes at the school from 6-9 almost every night! What do I do?
Jeff C.



Thanks so much for the question, Jeff!
I understand your concern, and I DO have an answer that will work for ya!

Okay, it is not entirely true that eating late is 'bad for you'.
The most important part of the nutritional equation is eating frequency.

You should be eating every 2-4 hours throughout the day... so you might have a meal schedule of 6am, 9am, 12noon, 2:30pm, 5pm, & 9:30pm (or whatever works best for you). Eating smaller, more frequent meals (or even just eating bigger meals and smaller snacks) helps to keep your metabolism elevated throughout the day - which is a must when we're talking about optimal body composition (maintaining that ever-important lean muscle and keeping off the excess fat).

And, DEFINITELY, you should have some sort of supportive meal after training for 3 hours straight!! It's imperative to your recovery, and therefore, your progress/improvement!

Oh, and the only time eating late would be a problem? When someone eats a huge lunch around noon, then doesn't eat again until 9 or 10pm... It's THAT inconsistency that will be detrimental to your physique.

So, Jeff...
I suggest being consistent with your eating throughout the day, and making sure you have supportive meals before and after your training sessions. Then, you'll absolutely be a lean, mean, fightin' machine!

Cheers, buddy -
Kim


**Remember!! Any other fitness/nutrition questions can be directed to kim@deliberatemovement.com!