Eating in the Evening
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SLHysell
Posts: 247 Member
My wife and I have an on going debate on this, and I'd really like to be right for once..haha....
My wife is adamant that you should never snack in the evenings. The reasoning is that somehow the evening calories are less likely to get used up than if they'd been eaten in the morning. I often hear this kind of thinking here on MFP as well. Is this just a gut-feeling thing that "kinda makes sense", or is there any real evidence (peer reviewed studies for example) that it makes any difference at all when you actually eat something. My contention is that it's all about total calories in verses calories out and timing has very little to do with it, but as my wife will tell you, I'm often wrong.
So....anyone know of any real research that's been done on this?
Note: I made a minor edit to fix a grammar problem....Nothing substantive changed.
My wife is adamant that you should never snack in the evenings. The reasoning is that somehow the evening calories are less likely to get used up than if they'd been eaten in the morning. I often hear this kind of thinking here on MFP as well. Is this just a gut-feeling thing that "kinda makes sense", or is there any real evidence (peer reviewed studies for example) that it makes any difference at all when you actually eat something. My contention is that it's all about total calories in verses calories out and timing has very little to do with it, but as my wife will tell you, I'm often wrong.
So....anyone know of any real research that's been done on this?
Note: I made a minor edit to fix a grammar problem....Nothing substantive changed.
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Replies
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meal timing has no effect on weight loss, its all about the deficit.
you could eat 1500 cals 10 minutes before bed and still lose weight if that number put you in a deficit.0 -
Yes because your burns no calories in your sleep right. Sorry for no links since I usually do not research something I know. I am sure someone while provide you with a meal timing link has nothing to do with weight loss.0
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Tell her to note this day in her diary... as the first day in your marriage you were right lol.
As long as it is still a deficit it doesnt matter when you eat your cals.0 -
time of day (or night) has no bearing on weight loss whatsoever. As long as those evening snacks are within your daily allowance, you're fine.0
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I honestly don't think it matters. People get hungry at different times of day just depending on their circadian rhythms and what not.0
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lets face it, if you are active and have muscles, your body will burn off the food - doesnt matter when you eat it. I often like a little snack in the evening, I dont think it will sit in my stomach and turn to fat just because i sleep right after eating it0
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Unless medical issues are involved, meal timing is irrelevant to weight loss.0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »Yes because your burns no calories in your sleep right. Sorry for no links since I usually do not research something I know. I am sure someone while provide you with a meal timing link has nothing to do with weight loss.
This is BS.
You burn more calories when you are in a deep sleep than when you are just lying reading in bed or tossing and turning. Nighttime calorie burn is dependent on REM or rapid eye movement sleep. When you are in REM sleep your brain is highly active; sometimes more active than when you are awake. Food is fuel and you need fuel for thoughts. Body fuel or glucose is the basic ingredient in most foods and glucose is continually being manufactured during sleeping hours.
Try googling next time.
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Words mean things. "Often" does not mean "most of the time" or "always". It means "frequently". The opposite of "often" is "seldom". In each of the threads you mention, I'd bet someone says timing matters. Also, there are plenty of offhand remarks made by answerers of other threads that mention they "don't like to eat after (fill in time here)" because those calories will stick. So, I stand behind the simple assertion that I often see it here. I do.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »Yes because your burns no calories in your sleep right. Sorry for no links since I usually do not research something I know. I am sure someone while provide you with a meal timing link has nothing to do with weight loss.
This is BS.
You burn more calories when you are in a deep sleep than when you are just lying reading in bed or tossing and turning. Nighttime calorie burn is dependent on REM or rapid eye movement sleep. When you are in REM sleep your brain is highly active; sometimes more active than when you are awake. Food is fuel and you need fuel for thoughts. Body fuel or glucose is the basic ingredient in most foods and glucose is continually being manufactured during sleeping hours.
Try googling next time.
Someone sarcasm meter does not work.
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yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »Yes because your burns no calories in your sleep right. Sorry for no links since I usually do not research something I know. I am sure someone while provide you with a meal timing link has nothing to do with weight loss.
This is BS.
You burn more calories when you are in a deep sleep than when you are just lying reading in bed or tossing and turning. Nighttime calorie burn is dependent on REM or rapid eye movement sleep. When you are in REM sleep your brain is highly active; sometimes more active than when you are awake. Food is fuel and you need fuel for thoughts. Body fuel or glucose is the basic ingredient in most foods and glucose is continually being manufactured during sleeping hours.
Try googling next time.
Someone sarcasm meter does not work.
you forgot to use the sarcasm font!!! :laugh:
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Pfft...I sure hope not. I eat about 1700 calories during the day and then another 1000 calories within two hours of when I go to bed!0
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I always gain when I night eat, probably extra calories though. Do what works for you0
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TavistockToad wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »Yes because your burns no calories in your sleep right. Sorry for no links since I usually do not research something I know. I am sure someone while provide you with a meal timing link has nothing to do with weight loss.
This is BS.
You burn more calories when you are in a deep sleep than when you are just lying reading in bed or tossing and turning. Nighttime calorie burn is dependent on REM or rapid eye movement sleep. When you are in REM sleep your brain is highly active; sometimes more active than when you are awake. Food is fuel and you need fuel for thoughts. Body fuel or glucose is the basic ingredient in most foods and glucose is continually being manufactured during sleeping hours.
Try googling next time.
Someone sarcasm meter does not work.
you forgot to use the sarcasm font!!! :laugh:
He felt so proud to proven me wrong since I already knew that. Also google is not a credible source. Google scholar is though.0 -
I'd suggest that its very difficult if not probably almost impossible to do a reliable study on this phenomenon. I mean you may find peer reviewed studies but are they accurate? Its hard to say. there have been many many studies done on various aspects of diet and ultimately their results are questionable. Of course in the absence of perfect wisdom, peer reviewed science is the best we've got with but with regards to diet, i still wouldn't take it as gospel.
Secondly i am sure overall calorie deficit is what ultimately matters but then i'd say if you are late night snacking you are most likely just cutting in to your calorie deficit and are not actually maintaining the same deficit.
Ultimately i think this is one of those debates that are not worth losing a marriage over. i.e. its a fairly trivial thing to want to be right about.
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I don't think the time of day you eat effects weight loss. But if you eat right before you go to bed you can get heartburn.
oh I found this:
http://www.webmd.com/women/features/stomach-problems?page=3
7. Myth or Fact: Eating before bed can make you gain weight faster than if you eat the same foods during the day.
Answer: Myth. Most experts agree that we gain weight when we take in more calories than we burn up. And while it seems logical that foods we eat during an active day will burn more quickly and more efficiently than foods we eat right before going to sleep, Moyad says weight gain is not based on a 24-hour clock. "It's the total amount you take in over a period of time compared to how much you burn that determines if you will gain weight," says Moyad.
Recent animal studies suggest that avoiding after-dinner snacks may help prevent weight gain. Eating at night may disrupt the body's circadian clock and alter hormones that control appetite and ultimately result in weight gain.
That said, Levy reminds us that when we are fatigued or stressed, eating right before bedtime can make digestion more difficult and may cause more gas, bloating, and heartburn. "There is a 'brain' in the gut that helps to make sure that food is moved through the digestive system at the right pace, in the right amount," says Levy. When we are fatigued -- like most of us are at the end of a busy day -- that 'gut brain' is fatigued as well. So, says Levy, there is a decrease in the number of contractions that move food through the system.0 -
Patttience wrote: »Secondly i am sure overall calorie deficit is what ultimately matters but then i'd say if you are late night snacking you are most likely just cutting in to your calorie deficit and are not actually maintaining the same deficit.
If "snacking" is putting you over your caloric goals, it doesn't matter when it occurs. If "snacking" is factored into your caloric goals, it doesn't matter when it occurs.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »Yes because your burns no calories in your sleep right. Sorry for no links since I usually do not research something I know. I am sure someone while provide you with a meal timing link has nothing to do with weight loss.
I've lost over 100 pounds eating at night, every night.
The only way you stop burning calories is when you kick the bucket. I don't need to provide you with a peer-reviewed article for that, do I?
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So long as you're alive, your body consumes energy...i.e. "burns" calories. Your body requires XXXX calories per day to maintain the status quot...if you consume less energy than is required, your body has to dip into energy reserves...i.e. body fat to make up the difference. When you consume that energy is irrelevant...so long as you consistently consume less than required, you will lose weight. It's not rocket science.
I don't snack at night...I eat my entire dinner around 8:30 or 9:00 and I'm in bed by 10. I lost 40 Lbs pretty easily and I'm on another small cut now and losing...it really makes no difference.0
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