So, we all know that eating at night is really, really bad for you right?
Thats what I had thought too but the other day on NPR they said a new study refuted that and showed it wasn't really that different from any other time of the day so... *shrug*[/QUOTE]
I don't buy it. When you're sleeping you metabolically shut down and go into anabolic mode. When you wake up your body kick starts into catabolic pathways to generate energy, and needs food to get things going. That's why you're supposed to eat a big breakfast and gradually decrease the amount of food you eat during the day till about 7 o'clock or so. It's kind of like stoking the engine on a locomotive and then just added additional wood on the fire (actually it's almost a spot on analogy). You wouldn't throw in more logs when the fire has died down significantly. Where the locomotive would simply not burn the logs, our bodies take the additional nutrients and store them for later i.e. makin' da triglycerides.
I've never had the means to test it, but I think one thing behind American obesity is due to our meal schedules. A lot of Americans rarely have the time in the morning for a good calorie loaded breakfast. We usually eat a smallish-medium size lunch, and get home, hungry, to a huge dinner. Many regions are the complete opposite. Breakfast is medium, lunch is huge, and dinner is very small. Personally, I try to eat a big breakfast and small meals throughout the day (a big mac here, a sandwich there, a bag of pretzels...).
). Otherwise I'll probably heat up a bit of left-overs or have myself a thick slice of cheese to nibble on.
