Is Eating In The Evening
Destroying Your Fat-Burning Agenda?

It happens to the best of us. We go all day long, showing our friends just how strong we are, eating properly at work . . . in restaurants . . . even turning down biscuits despite the urging of well-meaning friends. Then we get behind closed doors in the evening. ..

Shh!! Please don't let anyone know. If you promise not to tell my little secret, I'll open my door this evening to let you in. I'll show you what happens on some days when my fat-burning drive is overridden by my desire to eat. . and eat some more. It's not a pretty sight.

It may look like I have my act together to my friends. I come in to work in the morning refusing doughnuts . . . choosing only healthy foods. And my lunches look pretty awesome as well. . plenty of salads.

But I have a confession to make. Once I get home -- in the comfort of own home -- well sometimes, I tend to lose control. I'm fine until after supper. Then all hell seems

From a strict medical viewpoint, evening eating should cause you no worries. After all, a calorie is a calorie . . .

And every calorie you take in is metabolized in the same way as the one before that and the one before that! Where do the differences come in?

Oh, I don't know, maybe the type of food many of us turn to after dinner . . . oh yeah . . . and the amount of food as well.

Usually eating after dinner is a sign that somewhere throughout your day you're not eating enough of the right kinds of foods.

But I do have a very important question: Why does that bag of chips always look more attractive than the apple does after supper while you're watching television or paying the bills?

It's true though. And that's where many a fat-burning hopeful has met her downfall.

It may be small consolation, but you're not alone. Recent studies have linked evening "binge" eating to skipping meals earlier in the day. When dieters ate at least three meals throughout the day, they were 13 percent less likely to go on an eating rampage later that evening.

When individuals skipped breakfast -- even after eating a decent lunch -- 24 percent of the persons were prone to eating nonstop that evening.

And don't even think about skipping both breakfast and lunch. Of those people who did that more than half -- 60 percent of the dieters went home to binge it!

Do you see a fat-burning pattern here? Absolutely. Of course, it's nothing that your mum probably didn't tell you about while you were growing up. But, nonetheless, it's pretty startling to see in black and white in a scientific study.

Of course, you may think that you're one of the 40 percent in the last category who can skip both breakfast and lunch and still go home and keep your eating habits under control. Good luck with that one!

It's something we all know. But it's a point that everyone who is serious about burning fat needs reminded of now and then. Evening eating can destroy your best intentions and make losing weight next to impossible.

Why not keep a food journal this week to really see what your eating habits are? You may be surprised at how little food you're getting throughout the day.

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