Does Eating at Night Cause Weight Gain?

Since the holidays are upon us, I figured one thing that might be stewing in the back of people's brains is the holiday-weight-gain.

First off, it's NOT inevitable, so don't resign yourself to your fate; the holidays are a time for celebrating and enjoying food with family and friends. However, I think many people take it as license to go hog-wild. There is a happy medium: indulge a little bit but get back on track during the days that don't require a big or celebratory meal. (You don't have to say "yes" to every morsel at every party...) Choose the days that are the most important to you and enjoy them! That office Christmas party? Maybe hold back and choose the healthier options or have small portions, in another word: strategize!

*steps off soap box*

In that same line of thinking, people are attracted to quick fixes or "easy" solutions to weight loss (especially post-holiday season). Save your self some aggravation and read the following article (below). 

One of the proliferating "maxims" of the nutrition advice that floats around out there (and this particular piece typically comes from dubious sources)...

Just sayin'...

... is that eating at night (or past 6PM or some other arbitrary number) will cause weight gain.

Once again the intelligent folks at Examine.com put out a great article that looked at a handful of studies to see if that maxim can hold its own against science. 

Read it HERE. 

Spoiler: though there is no rock-solid answer, it comes down to knowing your own tendencies. Do you often to make poor choices when you're tired, stressed, and hungry (as most people find themselves at the end of the day)? If so, then maybe you do need to cut yourself off at night. If you don't struggle with that- say you've planned ahead and you have a healthy dinner ready to go- then you can probably have a li'l somethin' as you unwind for the evening. 

Plan ahead and pick up heavy things.