Speaker 1: 0:02

If you're a whiny snowflake that can't handle the truth, is offended by the word fuck and about 37 uses of it in different forms gets ass hurt. When you hear someone speak the absolute, real and raw truth, you should leave Like right now. This is Shut Up and Choose, the podcast where we cut through the shit and get real about weight loss, life and everything in between. We get into the nitty gritty of making small, smart choices that add up to big results. From what's on your plate to how you approach life's challenges. We'll explore how the simple act of choosing differently can transform your health, your mindset and your entire freaking life. So if you're ready to cut through the bullshit and start making some real changes, then buckle up and shut up, because we're about to choose our way to a healthier, happier life. This is Shut Up and Choose. Let's do this Now. Your host, jonathan Ressler.

Speaker 2: 1:15

Hey everybody, welcome back to Shut Up and Choose the podcast that cuts through the noise and the nonsense and all the garbage the diet industry is spewing at you. Tell you all about the internet and Instagram gurus that give out just tons of conflicting advice. If you believe some of it, you'll go crazy. If you believe all of it, you already are crazy. The truth is, I lost 140 pounds without any fad diets, pills, shots, supplements, anything. I just did it by making small, smart choices, and I'm going to show you how to do the same thing too. So that's what this podcast is about. I'll start out by telling you that last week I said I was hoping to get my 1000th email people who told me that my book changed their life. Unfortunately, that email didn't come in yet, so I guess I'll have to wait until next week to read that email. The second order of business is, if you've listened to my last few episodes of my podcast, I've been very busy trashing fat acceptance activists and I decided that I would reach out to one of the biggest ones I know and I mean that biggest and largest reach not necessarily the largest in size, although she's pretty big. I reached out to one of them and tried to get an interview and I'm working on getting her to come on the show and me hearing her side of the story and I promised her that I would listen to what they have to say and if they change my mind, then they do, but I don't see anything that could get me to believe that fat and healthy is a real thing. I absolutely agree that you should accept your body the way it is. It's all about body acceptance. However, saying that being fat is a social they're being discriminated against because airplane seats are too small and barber's chairs are too small my answer to that is lose some fucking weight. So maybe they'll change my mind, I don't know, but I'm certainly willing and open to hearing what they have to say and hopefully one of them will come on my podcast.

Speaker 2: 3:08

So today I want to talk about another diet myth that absolutely needs to die an ugly death, and that's that eating late at night is what makes you fat. And, to be clear, to be honest, I used to believe the same thing that if you eat late at night, you're going to get fat because, well, I didn't really know why, but it's just what I heard and I believed it, so I'm going to talk about why that's completely and utterly untrue and I'll bust a couple of the myths along the way. I always thought things like if you eat at 8 pm it turns straight into fat and of course I didn't think it was immediate, but I thought anything you eat late night 10 o'clock is going to just turn to fat. Things like your metabolism just gives up at night, it stops. Well, we know that's not true, but I don't know. I believed it. And late night snacking equals instant belly fat. I mean, that was obvious. Everybody knows that. But the truth is that's completely and utterly untrue. So let's stop pretending that your stomach turns into a fat storage locker after dark. It's not true. It's not Cinderella. The clock doesn't strike midnight and suddenly your food becomes a pumpkin-shaped big fat belly. That's not what happens. The truth is, your body is not some petty little high school girl. It doesn't care what time you eat. If you're gaining weight, it's because you're eating more calories than you burn, not because you dared to eat a snack or something after sunset. So I'm going to break down for you today why these outdated diet rules need to be updated and thrown out and dragged into the 21st century. And then I'm going to replace that with the fact. Science is about to shut this myth down.

Speaker 2: 4:51

So what's the origin of the ridiculous myth? Well, honestly, I don't know. So if I look at who started the nonsense, my guess is it's probably one of those diet gurus who thinks that celery juice fixes everything. There's so many of them out there on Instagram, the internet, and I hear people say it all the time Don't eat late at night, don't eat after 6 pm. Of course, the intermittent fasting people think you only have a certain eating window. It's all bullshit. You can eat anytime you want.

Speaker 2: 5:17

The myth comes, I think, from these, basically from two old, tired ideas. One is that your metabolism shuts down at night because, I guess, apparently your body just clocks out like some nine to five factory worker and after that 501 it shuts down. Well, we all know that's not true. And the second one is that your metabolism shuts down at night because, apparently, your body just clocks out and you burn fewer calories at night because you're not moving, and we all know that digestion does not need you to do jumping jacks at 10 pm. Your metabolism does not work a shift job, it runs 24-7. So let's get into the science that proves this whole thing of late night eating and why it's so bad for you is absolute garbage. Science pretty much says it all. So it's time to think about the calories and not the clock Calories in versus calories out, also known as the only math you should care about. If we're being real, your body doesn't have, like some little accountant, calculating calories differently after dark.

Speaker 2: 6:21

Weight loss and weight gain come down to one thing and one thing only Eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Eat fewer calories than you burn you lose weight. It's not rocket science. A 2016 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition see, I checked that out, so I would have a good thing to quote but found that it didn't matter if people ate early or late. As long as their total calories were the same. The weight loss results were identical. So, yeah, eating a chicken salad sandwich at 10 pm won't suddenly turn into cellulite and give you a big fat ass.

Speaker 2: 7:01

The clock doesn't give your metabolism a curfew and, like I said before, your metabolism does not clock out the whole. Your metabolism stops at night thing absolute nonsense. Your body loves burning calories, even when you're drooling on your pillow and snoring. When you're breathing, it's burning calories when you're pumping blood burning calories. Having some weird dream about showing up at work naked no, never mind, that might be my dream, but see, even that still burns calories. I'm going to give you some research on this. A study from the Obesity Review shows that your basal metabolic rate, which we talked about last week the calories you burn doing absolutely nothing is pretty much the same whether you're awake or asleep. Sure, it definitely does slow down a little when you're sleeping, but not enough to matter, unless you're eating like a whole pizza before you go to bed. So your metabolism is not lazy. It's the fact that you're eating a tub of cookie dough, ice cream while watching reality TV. That's the problem.

Speaker 2: 8:01

In case you didn't really pay attention last week, I'm just going to give you a little quick overview. So when you're busy counting sheep, your body is repairing muscles, especially if you worked out that day. It's building bone tissue, it's consolidating memories and, yeah, your brain burns calories, sorting through all of those good and bad moments during the day. It regulates your hormones and it fights off whatever germs you picked up from that coworkworker who you know, the one who always says no, I'm not sick, and then sneezes on you. So your body is basically running its own night shift.

Speaker 2: 8:31

And guess what? All of that requires energy, and we talked last week that calories are only a unit of energy. That's what a calorie is. It's a unit of energy. So you're burning roughly 50 to 80 calories an hour while you're sleeping. So that might not be as much as you burn off in I don't know where else, if you're in the gym or running, but it's burning 50 to 80 calories an hour when you're sleeping. A 165 pound person burns roughly 60 to 65 calories an hour while they're sleeping and that's around 480 calories during an eight-hour sleep. For comparison, just so you know, that's about the same as a 5K walk Not a 5K run, but a 5K walk. Your body is literally burning calories while it's doing nothing. So let's double. Let's say you weigh 330 pounds, double that weight. That means your body, your metabolism, is burning 960 calories just while you're sleeping, while you're doing nothing. The bottom line is it's the extra calories, not the late hour.

Speaker 2: 9:44

Late night eating seems bad, because that's when most people turn into snack animals, and I am guilty as charged. Late night you're doing nothing and you start to eat completely mindlessly. So after a long day, you're not exactly reaching for kale. Well, I'm well, yeah, I'm never reaching for kale, but you're not reaching for something that's healthy. You're looking at the ice cream like it's the answer to what is life all about. But here's the deal it's not because it's late, it's because you're eating more, and another 2015 study showed that late night eaters consume more total daily calories than early eaters. And why? I thought that was interesting? Because they weren't hungry, they were just bored, they were tired where they were emotionally eating. And the interesting piece of this, when I looked into it, was the there's actually a psychology of late night cravings. They've explained why. It's not your fault that you transform into some eating machine after dark. Well, that's not true. It kind of is, but there's actually some science behind it.

Speaker 2: 10:49

After a long day of making good choices and pretending to be an adult or maybe you really are an adult, but after that long day, your willpower is shot and psychologists call that decision fatigue. You've made so many decisions all day that your brain is like fuck that I'm done being responsible. Give me the chips, give me the ice cream, give me whatever. And if you really want to get into it and again, you know I'm not this smart, but I do do my research. Your prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that's responsible for good decisions and self-control, gets tired after a full day of work or doing whatever you're doing Meanwhile. The reward center of your brain is wide awake and screaming give me some ice cream now. And the result is you stand in front of the open fridge at midnight wondering if cake is actually a meal, and the reality is you're not raiding the fridge at 11 pm because you're actually hungry. You're hunting for comfort from something that happened during the day or just being absolutely lazy.

Speaker 2: 11:52

When you're stressed, your body pumps out cortisol and everybody talks about oh, cortisol makes you fat, and I'm not here. I'm sure it does a little tiny bit, but it's not the difference maker. But what cortisol does do is it increases your appetite and specifically drives cravings for high fat, high sugar and high carb foods. So your body's not betraying you. It's trying to help by getting some quick energy to deal with the threat. I'm not sure what the threat is, but that's what it's doing. Unfortunately, your body can't tell the difference between being chased by a lion and your boss moving a dead line up. That's when the cortisol takes effect and it makes you crave the food.

Speaker 2: 12:32

Another modern reason that we eat a lot at night is Netflix and Instagram. When you're distracted by screens, you eat mindlessly, you ignore your fullness cues, you get exposed to more food ads and I can't tell you I am guilty of that I would see something that looks delicious on TV. I want to go eat some of that, and I have literally gotten up and got out to the store and bought that item because I was so excited to eat it. You also stay up later and you're giving yourself more opportunities to eat. So it's not the time on the clock that's actually making you gain the weight. It's watching all seven seasons, which also I'm guilty of, but it's binging on all seven seasons of some show on Netflix while you're absentmindedly shoving food down your throat. It's pretty obvious. It's not about the time, it's about what. You're absentmindedly shoving food down your throat. It's pretty obvious. It's not about the time, it's about what you're eating.

Speaker 2: 13:23

So late night eating, this is going to be even crazier. Forget that. It's not bad for you, but it actually might help you. Yeah, I know that's hard to believe, but could late night eating be a good thing? Shocking, I know, but hear me out on this. If you're hitting the gym late some I don't know eight, nine o'clock at night, your body needs fuel for recovery. So protein at night helps rebuild muscles, so you can flex without cramping, so you can do all your things in it. And again, another study in medicine and science in sports and exercise found that eating protein before bed increased muscle protein synthesis overnight. I have no fucking idea what that means, but it sounded really good when I wrote it down. But I don't know what that means. But basically I think that eating protein at night if you've had a tough workout is actually really good for you.

Speaker 2: 14:11

So, just like these crazy fad diets, it's time to forget the one-size-fits-all advice. Here's when late eating might actually work better for you. Let's say you naturally go to bed at 1 am and you wake up at 9. Eating at 9 pm isn't late, it's your dinner time. Your body clock doesn't care what society thinks is an appropriate time to eat. Let's say you work nights and your 3 am quote unquote lunch break is completely normal for your schedule. Telling a night shift nurse not to eat after 8 pm is like telling a day worker, telling someone who works in an office 9 to 5, that they shouldn't eat after 8 am. It's ridiculous. It's just ridiculous.

Speaker 2: 14:50

So here's a couple more late-night myths that absolutely need to die. The first one is carbs at night turn into fat. Well, carbs don't punch the clock at night either. They don't suddenly decide. Guess what will be fat now. Your body either burns carbs for energy or stores them as a glycogen. If your glycogen tanks are full and you're overeating, then you'll gain weight.

Speaker 2: 15:12

The timing doesn't matter. It matters what you eat and your overall calorie intake. And here's something crazy A study in obesity found that nighttime carb consumption can actually increase fat burning during the day. So carbs at night equals fat gain? I don't think so. Try again. Here's something that the keto cult doesn't want you to know Having some extra carbs at night might actually help you sleep better and make better food choices the next day. More research showed that having some carbs in the evening can help regulate your morning blood sugar levels, potentially reducing cravings throughout the following day.

Speaker 2: 15:51

So take that midnight carb. Fear mongers. But I don't know if any of that shit is true. It's just what the research says. So I'm going to believe in the science, not the bullshit on the internet and on Instagram.

Speaker 2: 16:03

So what if I told you there was even a way to eat late without sabotaging yourself? I know that's shocking, but it's true and it's pretty simple. It's a protein first approach. Start with protein, seriously, before you even think about anything else on your plate. Protein should be the star of your late night eating. And I know you're probably saying why protein? But if you've been listening to my podcast, you know why. Because A protein takes a lot more energy to digest, which means it burns more calories just by eating it. Of course, protein keeps you full longer, it stabilizes your blood sugar and it provides essential amino acids for overnight repair. So there's a ton of things you can eat, things that I ate if I was going to eat a night Greek yogurt, super high in protein. If you eat the low sugar ones, just some rolled up turkey, some hard boiled eggs, maybe a little tuna.

Speaker 2: 16:53

I know people like to eat plant-based options at night. For me personally, I think they're fucking disgusting, but I do like edamame or something like that, but none of the plant-based bullshit. And if you want to feel like you're eating a lot without actually consuming a lot of calories, volume eating can be your late night best friend. So things like air pop popcorn three cups of that is 100 calories. Some cucumbers and salsa probably less than 50 calories. Frozen grapes, which are absolutely nature's popsicles 60 calories for a full cup. And then I always like to resort to the sugar-free jello, because sometimes you just need something sweet and I know jello is not great for you, I get it, but sometimes you got to feed your soul. And I know jello is not great for you, I get it, but sometimes you got to feed your soul.

Speaker 2: 17:40

So another myth is that you have to stop eating by 6 pm, because, well, there really is no reason for that one. If you stop eating at 6 pm but you inhaled 4,000 calories before, then guess what? You'll still gain weight. There's nothing magical about early eating windows. You know that I I like to rip the intermittent fasting thing and I did some research on that and there's a study that showed with absolute certainty that intermittent fasting works regardless of the eating window, as long as the calorie intake stays controlled. So eight to four into your eating window is the exact same as two to 10. It's all about the same if you're eating the right amount.

Speaker 2: 18:25

And I know there's a myth about your circadian rhythm and all that shit. You know circadian rhythm controls your sleep, your hormones. Maybe there's some truth to that. I'm not even going to get into that. But let's just say truth that I'm not even going to get into that. But let's just say, after all, that I just told you you still want that midnight pizza. I mean, I get it. Sometimes you need that 11 pm slice.

Speaker 2: 18:48

So here's a way that I use to control those cravings before I turned into my before and after photo. So I like this thing. I call it the 10 minute rule. So when I felt like eating something late at night, I just wait 10 minutes. If you still want it after 10 minutes, fine, eat it. But the truth is, half the time you'll get so distracted that you'll forget to even want to eat. So definitely put in the 10 minute rule when you can. You can also do the swap game, which is basically if you want ice cream, eat some Greek yogurt with some honey. That's just as satisfying and it's a hell of a lot better for yourself. If you want chips, again, go with that Air Pop popcorn. It's great.

Speaker 2: 19:27

So the idea here is not to punish yourself, it's to satisfy that craving without going all out and eating 500, 800 calories late at night. It doesn't matter what time you eat them, but just eating them and adding to everything you ate during the day. Another one that I use all the time I'd use it all the time, even the daytime and at nighttime, and that's the is it worth it? Test Before eating that bag of cookies, ask yourself is this worth the calories? Sometimes the answer is a resounding yes. So if Vicki makes chocolate chip cookies, the answer is always yes, they're delicious and I love to eat them and they're worth every calorie. But some stale, store-made, dog-shit cookies that you found in the back of your pantry, that's not worth it. So be selective. You know, I tell you to feed your soul as much as you want. So you have to feed your soul, but be selective about those indulgences.

Speaker 2: 20:28

If you're going to splurge at night, make it count on something that you truly enjoy, not just whatever is there? So another trick that I've heard I don't do it because I think it's fucking disgusting is people say it's called the brush your teeth trick. Right? So it's an old school hack that I've read about and people say it actually works. But if you brush your teeth when you're done eating for the night. That minty, fresh mouth is going to make that. All the other stuff you eat tastes weird and honestly tastes like shit, and that act signals your brain that the kitchen is closed. If you still want to eat after brushing your teeth, you'll have to admit that you're really committed to that snack and at least at that point you're being honest with yourself and you'll figure it out.

Speaker 2: 21:04

So now I want to talk about the real issue with late night eating. And it's not that you're eating, it's that you're not sleeping. A study found that people who don't get enough sleep eat an average of 385 extra calories the next day. That's like basically a large order of fries that you didn't need. And why? Because sleep deprivation fucks with your hunger hormones. The ghrelin, which is the I'm hungry hormone, goes up and leptin, the I'm full hormone, goes down. So your body betrays you when you don't get enough sleep. So the real problem there is Netflix, not nachos. If you're up at midnight watching just one more episode while snacking, the bigger issue isn't the snacking, it's that you're not sleeping. So fix your sleep schedule and those late night munchies often disappear faster than you can imagine. And if you want some sleep hacks that actually work.

Speaker 2: 21:59

I am sleeping better now than I have in my entire life. So one thing I did is I got some of those blue light blocker glasses, because the truth is, my phone was keeping me up and, honestly, making me hungry. So either put your phone on night mode or get some of those badass, cool, stylish blue light blocking glasses to wear after 8 o'clock. I wear them all day, to be honest, but I got them. They definitely changed my sleep habits.

Speaker 2: 22:22

And then there's this thing called the 10-3-2-1-0 rule, and I'm being honest here, I don't really follow this, but it is an interesting thought. So it's no caffeine 10 hours before bed. No alcohol three hours before bed. No food two hours before bed. If it's possible, no screens one hour before bed. I can tell you that I sleep with the TV on whenever I can, so I definitely don't do that and zero times hitting the snooze button in the morning. I never hit the snooze button, but I will say that I occasionally drink some alcohol less than three hours before bed. I occasionally eat less than two hours before bed and caffeine I probably don't have any caffeine after my morning tea. But it's the 10-3-2-1-0 rule. It's interesting. I don't know if it works. I'm not recommending it. I'm not telling you it's a surefire, but if you think about it logically, it makes sense.

Speaker 2: 23:14

Another one that's huge. This is huge and I know the women out there that are listening are going to be like no way. Your bedroom temperature makes a big difference. You should set your bedroom temperature to somewhere between 65 and 68 degrees. It is medical fact that your body sleeps better when it's cool. I have that fight pretty much every night, but I know that I definitely sleep better when it's cool in the room. You could also get a white noise machine, you know drown out Definitely sleep better when it's cool in the room. You could also get a white noise machine. You know, drown out the. If you live in an apartment or it's loud where you are, it just drowns out the noise from your neighbors and all the questionable shit that's going on at two or three in the morning.

Speaker 2: 23:56

You know I like to shit on diet culture and if we're being honest and we're really being honest diet culture is responsible for it. That's the real problem. The real issue isn't when you're eating, it's all the arbitrary rules making you overthink every bite. It's all those assholes on the internet and on Instagram giving you all this conflicting information. Diet culture loves to create problems that don't exist, but then they're going to sell you a solution for $49 or $99 or $199. Don't eat after 8 pm. It's just another way to make you feel like you're failing if you dare to eat when your body's hungry. So I am blaming diet culture, making that probably the biggest culprit. But we're taking down the no eating after 8 pm myth. Let's throw these other diet rules just on the fire too right.

Speaker 2: 24:44

Detox teas will cleanse your body. Your living kidneys already detox your body for free and they don't need help from some overpriced leaf water. Another one carbs are evil. Try telling that to literally every society that thrived on rice, potatoes or bread for thousands of years. I mean, come on, fat makes you fat. You know what the 1990s called, and they want their bullshit science back.

Speaker 2: 25:12

I love this one. You need to eat six small meals a day to boost your metabolism. Come on, eat however many meals feels like it's good for your body. Your metabolism does not give a shit. Another one clean eating is the only way to lose weight. Well, you know what, and I might actually do a podcast on this one, a whole episode. I have to do some research on it, but clean eating is the only way to lose weight. Well, tell that to the professor who lost weight eating Twinkies. Look it up, google it it's real. Calories matter more than clean versus dirty food.

Speaker 2: 25:49

Here's your new rule, and this is the only rule you need Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're satisfied. The end. If that means eating at 10 pm because you just got home from work, do it. If that means having breakfast at noon because you're not hungry until then, fantastic. Your body doesn't run on somebody else's schedule, it runs on yours.

Speaker 2: 26:15

Here's your little action plan for late night eating. First, figure out your actual problem. Are you really hungry? Then eat something. If you're bored, find a hobby that doesn't involve your mouth. If you're tired, go to bed. Seriously, are you stressed? Address the stress, not the refrigerator. And of course, you know you have to make peace with your food. You have to have a better relationship with food. So stop seeing late night eating as bad. It's not bad, it's just food at a certain time. The morality police. Don't raid your kitchen after 8 pm. Feel free to eat when you're hungry. You can, if you know you're a late night eater maybe. Make a little plan. So when you're eating during the day, save some calories for later. Again, I'm not telling you to count calories, because I think that's bullshit, but you know what you're eating. You have a rough idea if you're eating more than you should or less than you should. So save something for later.

Speaker 2: 27:05

If you're a prepper and I don't mean the kind of prepper that is waiting for the apocalypse, I'm talking about the prepper that's waiting for the food apocalypse Make some smart snacks in advance. I don't know, make some little things. I'm not a prepper, a food prepper at all. Or you could do something even easier. Just set some boundaries Like I'm just going to have one portion and, of course, practice mindful eating all the time. I always say, every time you open your mouth, think about what you're eating. So, whether it's 8 am or 11 pm, eat without distractions. Don't look at your phone, don't watch TV. It's just you and your food. So you can really be focused and know when you're hungry, know when you're full, know when you're satisfied, and you'll be amazed, actually, at how much more satisfying your food is. So here's the kind of wrap up, if you will.

Speaker 2: 27:54

The final verdict on all this shit is time doesn't matter. Your choices do so. Let's end with some real facts. Eating at night does not make you fat. Eating too much food makes you fat does not make you fat. Eating too much food makes you fat. Calorie balance is what matters. The science is clear.

Speaker 2: 28:11

The no food after 8 pm rule that's total bullshit. Your metabolism does not own a watch. So if you stay within your calorie needs, you're golden, no matter what you eat. So the next time someone gives you that like fucking asshole, look like hey, you shouldn't eat that late. Look, hit them with hey, it's not the time, it's the total. So shut up and choose wisely. Or, better yet, take a big bite, look them straight in the eye and say nothing. That's a power move. So now go enjoy your late night snack without the side of guilt, because your metabolism will thank you for not listening to that outdated nonsense. And remember, the best diet is the one where you don't have to think about food all goddamn day, because, honestly, you have better things to obsess about. So that's it. That's my thought on late night eating.

Speaker 2: 29:03

I hope you learned something and I'll end this by telling you you can get my book. Shut up and choose on Amazon. It's a Amazon bestseller getting great reviews, still selling a lot of books. People are writing me emails although I'm still waiting for the thousandth email, but people are writing me emails telling me how it's changed their life. You can also get my video course, which is called the Effortless Eating Academy, which actually you can't get it yet because we're still in beta. Hopefully, next week or the week after we'll be ready to go, so hopefully you learned a little something today and I'm hoping that you don't beat yourself up for eating late at night and, if you do, I hope that you make smart choices because, at the end of the day, all that matters is the calories in versus calories out. It's the food that you choose, the key word being choose Calories in versus calories out. Now all that's left to do is to shut up and choose.

Speaker 1: 29:56

You've been listening to Shut Up and Choose. Jonathan's passion is to share his journey of shedding 130 pounds in less than a year without any of the usual gimmicks no diets, no pills. And we'll let you in on a little secret no fucking gym. And guess what? You can do it too. We hope you enjoyed the show. We had a fucking blast. If you did, make sure to like, rate and review. We'll be back soon, but in the meantime, find Jonathan on Instagram at JonathanWrestlerBocaRaton. Until next time, shut up and choose.