No eating after 6pm

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  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    edited March 2015
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    TimothyFish wrote: »
    I expect there is something to it. Most people are active during the day, so they aren't likely to eat mindlessly. After 6pm, many people plop down in front of the TV and eat without much thought of how much they're eating. A person who successfully follows the not after six rule isn't guaranteed to lose weight, but would be cutting out the most dangerous time period.

    Please tell me more about this most dangerous time period? I always thought it was the European Colonization of the Americas.

    Death Toll Estimate: 100 Million
  • SettledSue
    SettledSue Posts: 6 Member
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    I like to save some calories for an evening snack. I have trouble falling asleep if I am hungry.
  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    What sort of snack do you have in the evening ?
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    gpstreet wrote: »
    What sort of snack do you have in the evening ?

    I usually have a couple of hard cooked eggs and some cheese. If I have the calories and carbs left, I will have some bread or crackers with the cheese.

  • runner475
    runner475 Posts: 1,236 Member
    edited March 2015
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    GiveMeCoffee wrote: »
    If this was true... what happens to 3rd shift workers? Or if I travel into a different time zone?

    Some people have stomach issues if they eat too close to laying down, other than that no reason not to. I take my nightly dessert into bed with me and fall asleep pretty shortly after consuming it. I will say only bad time to eat is while sleeping it's a safety hazard.

    Do you have a family history wherein it may be advised to monitor blood glucose?

    If yes, do you check your blood glucose?

    The reason I'm asking this is because if you do have family history and if you are not monitoring blood glucose after your this particular meal (bolded above) chances are it has spiked and hence the "feeling" to fall asleep.

    These are the biggest symptoms of spiked Blood sugar where in person needs to start moving for some few minutes to regulate it.

    However if it doesn't apply to you please ignore.
    We'll consider this note may help someone with family history and who wasn't aware.
  • jimandpam87
    jimandpam87 Posts: 62 Member
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    I see the merit in it for SOME people.

    Lately I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping if I eat too soon before bed, particularly if it includes a lot of carbs. B/c of that, I've made it a rule not to eat after dinner. I don't have a set time b/c I don't eat dinner at the same time every night, but it's usually between 5:30-6:30pm.

    However, I only think this should be a rule if you have trouble sleeping after eating OR you tend to go way overboard on calories after dinner. In terms of losing weight, it's obviously CICO and timing doesn't matter. But for some people this might be a way to restrict calories.
  • runner475
    runner475 Posts: 1,236 Member
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    OP,

    My uncle is like the "pensioner" you mentioned. Lived this lifestyle for as long as I have been walking on this earth or maybe even more. He is 78 years old. Does not eat after 7.00 pm. He is very lean and active.

    But he is also a man of fixed regime. He, for last I don't know how many years, has a fixed schedule he follows including what he eats for dinner.

    1 banana
    a glass of milk
    few nuts
    some protein.

    He rarely uses vehicle. He walks every possible place he can walk to. Of course he lives in a city with best public transportation and well developed walking paths for residents.

    At the end of the day I'm understanding he is calorie maintenance because he has barely lost more than 2 pounds or gained 2 pounds.
  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »
    gpstreet wrote: »
    What sort of snack do you have in the evening ?

    I usually have a couple of hard cooked eggs and some cheese. If I have the calories and carbs left, I will have some bread or crackers with the cheese.

    Cheese is great for helping you sleep. It contains triptophan which makes for very interesting dreams.
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
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    My doctor gave me the advice to not eat after 6pm when I was suffering insomnia. It did help quite a bit the brief period I did it. (Not maintainable with my schedule though.)

    As for keeping weight off; I discovered that when I stopped snacking very late at night (to conform with my MFP cal intake) I became more familiar with the feeling of "being able to eat and wanting to put food in my mouth but not actually being hungry". The wires used to be crossed in my head so wanting to put food in my mouth was the same as starving. Now I am conscious of the difference and I can step back and ask myself throughout the day, "wait, is this psychological or does my body need food?"

    In the end, CICO. I just found in my case it was a helpful exercise in sorting through my interpretation of hunger.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    For him it might work.......

    As a general rule everyone should follow, this is so full of holes its not even funny:
    1. What if you work the night shift, 6 pm could the the same as your 6am, when the heck do you ever eat then
    2. I run in the evenings (typically ending after 6), refueling can be an important part of running (or pretty much any exercise really)
    3. you get the idea, I don' feel the need to keep going and going and going
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    gpstreet wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    gpstreet wrote: »
    What sort of snack do you have in the evening ?

    I usually have a couple of hard cooked eggs and some cheese. If I have the calories and carbs left, I will have some bread or crackers with the cheese.

    Cheese is great for helping you sleep. It contains triptophan which makes for very interesting dreams.

    it can also be a food that triggers acid reflux so eat at night with caution.

  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    A snack before sleeping helps drive off feeling of hunger. I have heard it takes 20 minutes for the mind to 'realise' the stomach has eaten.
  • wannabefitgirl25
    wannabefitgirl25 Posts: 44 Member
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    wathjo1 wrote: »
    Different things work for different people. I myself have decided not to eat after 8pm. It has helped me tremendously, but only because I don't SNACK as much!

    Very true! So you can't say it's a myth when it can work for others and for some it may not! I don't eat after 6 and it just always worked for me also because I have digestive issues so it's very helpful!
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    If it helps you meet your goals and it doesn't make you feel hungry at night, then stop eating at 6pm. Just be aware that it's not some hard and fast rule that needs to be followed.

    It would drive me nuts to not eat after 6pm. I eat dinner at 5:30-6pm, but I don't go to bed until midnight or after. I get hungry again between 9-11 and need something to eat or it's hard for me to go to sleep what with my stomach cramping. I plan my day to accommodate.

    If I go to sleep by 10pm, I don't need the extra meal. But that's rare. I'm a night owl, not a morning person.
  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    I like a nice glass of wine on the run up to going to Bed. It helps me relax.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
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    That's a ridiculous rule not rooted in any kind of scientific fact.

    If eating after 6PM made people gain weight, the entire country of Spain would be morbidly obese as many people there eat at or after midnight. Same for South America, where eating dinner at 9 or 10 PM is a completely typical thing.

    I've lost nearly 90 pounds and have maintained for several years. I always eat my dinner late.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,259 Member
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    I don’t get in from coaching until 730-830 depending on the season, by time I clean up and get my food it’s 8-9pm. Your caloric intake is for the whole day not just 9-5. But some people may get indigestion if they eat to soon before going to bed. You should allow 1.5 to 3 hours to digest. Or just drink a lot of liquor and that will break it down for you and also help you sleep. ;-)
  • doingItIn2012
    doingItIn2012 Posts: 80 Member
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    I have found that when I eat before 6:30-7pm I sleep better and I lose more weight per week.
  • gpstreet
    gpstreet Posts: 184 Member
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    consensus seems to be you can eat anytime
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I haven't read the entire thread, so I apologize if someone has already said something similar to this.

    I think the "don't eat after 6PM" was originally meant to keep people from "snacking" in addition to the full day's calories they'd already eaten. Science (never definitive) followed, but I actually think that's where the idea originated.

    "No eating after dinner time (six-ish)" was the mantra when I was very little in the 70s; it was very popular at that time. So was "no snacking" and "three square meals a day." I think for people who weren't calorie-counting, they were probably getting more calories than they were expending if they continued to eat later at night. I don't think it was the time of day/night specifically that was the issue.

    I think it's a pretty well-known phenomenon (somebody correct me) that it often seems easier to "diet" during the day...but if we over-restrict, we get hungrier and hungrier and as we're doing more throughout the day, we get more and more tired and by the end of that day we've just "had it" and if a binge is going to occur, for many people, anyway, that's when it will occur. Therefore "don't eat after 6PM" would have applied for at least a reasonably large percentage of people...but because of CICO and in order to discourage night binges, not because of any strange nighttime metabolic phenomenon. (Again, just IMO.)

    I eat ALL of my calories after 12:00 PM (I start with lunch), and a full half just for dinner; that's my biggest meal. I have enough calories left over for a snack at night, as I know myself and I know I like that nibble at night. I am losing weight just fine. I know I'm only one person, but just thought I'd put my own experience in.

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