Meal composition and timing are an important factor to weight loss overlooked by many people that can help give you some extra help in losing weight. The last thing you want to do is to eat a high calorie high fat meal just before you go to bed because when you sleep is when your metabolism is the slowest meaning your requirement for energy is the lowest so your body is going to store more of the food you eat than at any other time in the day. The best way to compensate for this low point in your metabolism is to eat a smaller meal consisting of fewer calories for your last meal of the day. Protein contains only 4 calories per gram as opposed to 9 calories for fat so you will fill up faster with less calories consumed when eating protein based foods. There are also other benefits to eating a protein based meal before bedtime that relate to the function of your body during your sleep. When you sleep your body repairs and rebuilds and part of this repair and rebuilding includes your muscles. You can read more about the importance of your muscle for metabolism in many of the other weight loss tips available here but you need to understand that anything you can do to help your body to build muscle is ultimately good for weight loss. Protein contains the building blocks that your body uses to build muscle so by eating a meal consisting of high protein just before you go to bed can only be a benefit to your body’s effort to build new muscle. Start eating more protein foods late in the day and help your body to help you lose weight.