Eating late at night and weight gain?

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Because my new job means I work evenings, I've been having my dinner when I get home (eating at about 10.45pm). I don't mind eating this late, but I'm worrying about gaining weight.

I don't wish to eat my dinner before going to work, but I do eat a snack before I go to reduce hunger whilst at work. But because my job is physical, I am starving hungry when I get home, and gasping for a hot meal. So even if I did eat dinner before going to work, I'd still be wanting something to eat when I come home. I can't bear being hungry.

Going to bed on a full stomach is ironically more comfortable for me than going to sleep hungry or undernourished. But I still feel that this might start making me gain weight because of not burning any calories off during sleep - unless all that they say about sleep burning calories is true.

Should I purchase myself a home exercise machine to do in some afternoons a week? I'm not really into going to the gym, but would exercising at home in the afternoon help me to keep a healthy weight while still being able to eat my dinner last thing at night?

The thing people mean about not eating late at night isn't about the time of day or eating before sleep, it's about giving your body an extended period of time to fast. Intermittent fasting is this to the extreme, but basically, if you eat all the time without a break, your body keeps only processing what you eat and storing what it doesn't use before you eat again. It never gets into energy you've stored and it's easier to gain weight that way. So, if you eat late and then sleep late to eat a late breakfast, it should be the same. If you eat at midnight and then wake up at 6am for breakfast, you might find your body gaining weight.