- Food is fuel. It doesn't have to be indulgent, it doesn't have to taste good, it doesn't have to fill you up, it doesn't have to be pretty.
I just have to say that life would not be worth living if I looked at food this way.

Oh yes, sometimes food has to be just what's available and makes sense, but it should always taste good. If it doesn't taste good, why eat it?

As far as the topic, I've heard Bob Greene say to stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime, which has to do with not needing the instant energy you get from a meal during sleep (your body just sends it to fat for later, instead). If you go to bed at 7:30, then the 5:00 thing might make sense. But if you go to bed at 10:00, eat by 6:30 or so and you should be fine--according to Bob Greene (and other places I've read that, too).

It sounds like the "no carbs after 5" idea is resting on the same principle, that the quick energy that carbs provide are not needed when you are resting or sedentary, so don't consume them. Five o'clock seems rather arbitrary, though.

Karen