It is true that you burn fewer calories when you sleep than when you are awake but adequate sleep also helps your body's biochemistry maintain optimal weight and not gain weight. This is the total amount of calories you consume on a given day that is most important, not the time of the day you eat these calories. In other words, if you eat a dozen donuts (besides your usual daily food intake), it does not matter whether you eat them at 7:00 in the morning, 3:00 in the afternoon or 10:00 in the evening. Any extra calories over what you need consumed at any time of the day can be stored as body fat. You must load at least every 4-5 hours.
