Should you eat a big meal for dinner and go to bed full? Or should you eat a light meal and go to bed hungry? What’s better for you?!

In short, it comes down to body type and timing. Here goes:

Body Type & Timing For Dinner:

• Ectomorphs benefit from a lighter meal at night that doesn’t overwork their digestive systems. So, if they eat early enough (i.e. 3-5 hours before bed), then a big meal is fine. Otherwise, it makes more sense to focus on satiety through a heavy starch like a potato 2-3 hours before bed instead of a dense protein that will take mechanical effort while asleep.
• Mesomorphs: early to rise, early to bed; unless socializing. Mesomorphs produce a higher amount of stomach acid than other body types, so this means that eating a meal with an animal-based protein is wise before bed (especially if going out) and a larger portion is typically ok so long as it was an active day. (And so long as it will be an active morning tomorrow).
• Endomorphs: a balanced meal at night is great, although portion size can vary depending upon bedtime and height. Many endomorphs prefer later hours, so if they are going to be up for several hours after dinner, it’s wise to fill up and eat well during dinner. Taller endomorphs have a long digestive system, so making lunch the biggest meal of the day is a wiser strategy to avoid food fermenting overnight. It takes longer for food to make its way down the digestive tract for taller endomorphs, so it’s healthier not to overeat just before bed.

Choose dinner based upon your body type and how soon you will be going to bed after you eat.