10 Foods to Avoid Before Bed

Whether or not you should eat before bed has been a dieting debate for years. So what’s the truth about evening meals and snacks? And what should you avoid?

First off, we need to settle the debate. Eating before bed is actually okay, and it can actually boost your metabolism to help you burn more calories while you sleep. What matters is what you eat.

The problems with eating at night ultimately arise with making the wrong food choices, whether it’s what you’re eating for dinner or snacking on later in the evening. Some foods are just going to add to the problem and stall your weight loss efforts. Foods high in sugars and carbohydrates are especially bad because you won’t have the opportunity to burn off these calories.

Here are some serious culprits you need to avoid…

10 of the Worst Things to Eat Before Bed

Ice Cream

Although it’s a popular comfort food, it should be avoided at night. It’s full of unhealthy fats that take a long time to digest, and the sugar is only going to add to the problem.

Pasta

The carbs in pasta, whether white or whole wheat, are still going to cause a spike in your blood glucose levels, screwing up both your sleep and your metabolism. The calories from pasta are more likely to get converted to fat when you’re sedentary.

Crackers

Probably one of the most popular evening snacks, crackers are just full of carbs and absent of any real nutritional value.

Chips

And chips are even worse than crackers. In addition to carb-loading, you’re also fat-loading, and it’s not the good kind of fat. The salt is also going to make you bloated before bed. Chips are really one of the worst things to eat any time of the day, but this is especially true at night.

Pizza

Pizza is also full of carbohydrates, and the worst kinds. In fact, you’re basically doubling up on the carbs in every slice of pizza compared to a slice of bread. And all that cheese is not conducive to your weight loss goals.