no food after a certain time

mpat81

I have a light snack a few hours before bed, then I brush my teeth! I know I won't eat anything else lest I have to brush again. Not because I think you shouldn't eat close to bedtime, just to keep from snacking for the sake of something to do.

cmtigger

Mycophilia wrote: »

I don't eat any food after I've fallen asleep at night. I prefer being lucid so that I can enjoy the food.

I sleepwalk, and have found evidence of minor sleep eating in the past. Luckily it hasn't happened in a while unless I leave something easy to eat on my nightstand, but in college I'd find soda cans and such, and I lived alone.

amb3rj0y

No, I just eat when I am hungry. Just choosing healthier options now. As long as you remain in a calorie deficit or within your ww points (I'm doing weight watchers), you should be fine.

PaulaWallaDingDong

Mycophilia wrote: »

I don't eat any food after I've fallen asleep at night. I prefer being lucid so that I can enjoy the food.

I try to follow this rule, but it's a tough wagon to stay on. Thankfully, most of my food comes in wrappers so I can tally up the damage when I wake up.

hamptontom

there's a lot of "do whatever you want" in this thread so far, and frankly, i don't disagree. BUT...

based on some of what i've learned from some of the same individuals who've participated in this thread, here's another way to think about this.

i feel kinda dumb for not having figured this out before a conversation with @ninerbuff a while back, but when you exercise, when you engage in activity throughout the day, you're burning calories that you've consumed as fuel that are "in the pipe" at that point in time. he pointed out to me that people have this misconception that they're burning fat stores when they exercise, but the only time you're truly burning fat stores is when you're asleep - because at that point in time, your fat stores are your bodys' only source for caloric energy.

so...with that being said...wouldn't it stand to reason that if you eat and then go to bed, that you're impeding your body's tendency to draw from its reserves because you've just given it active fuel before bedtime?

keep in mind, now - that, as everyone pointed out - if you're eating at a deficit, you're accomplishing the primary goal necessary for weight loss in the first place, and maybe this theory is much ado about nothing.

but it seems to stand to reason that you're forcing your metabolisms' hand in the direction of burning existing fat stores if you go to sleep on as empty a stomach as possible...wouldn't it?

ninerbuff

hamptontom wrote: »

there's a lot of "do whatever you want" in this thread so far, and frankly, i don't disagree. BUT...

based on some of what i've learned from some of the same individuals who've participated in this thread, here's another way to think about this.

i feel kinda dumb for not having figured this out before a conversation with @ninerbuff a while back, but when you exercise, when you engage in activity throughout the day, you're burning calories that you've consumed as fuel that are "in the pipe" at that point in time. he pointed out to me that people have this misconception that they're burning fat stores when they exercise, but the only time you're truly burning fat stores is when you're asleep - because at that point in time, your fat stores are your bodys' only source for caloric energy.

so...with that being said...wouldn't it stand to reason that if you eat and then go to bed, that you're impeding your body's tendency to draw from its reserves because you've just given it active fuel before bedtime?

keep in mind, now - that, as everyone pointed out - if you're eating at a deficit, you're accomplishing the primary goal necessary for weight loss in the first place, and maybe this theory is much ado about nothing.

but it seems to stand to reason that you're forcing your metabolisms' hand in the direction of burning existing fat stores if you go to sleep on as empty a stomach as possible...wouldn't it?

Reasoning isn't incorrect in thought. Digestion, type of intake (macro) will likely cause a different body reaction (hormonally) with storage. But in essence, one in deficit won't worry too much about it.
I will say that having alcohol in the system before bed isn't a great idea.............even in deficit. Unlike food that takes time to digest and store, alcohol is directly absorbed into the bloodstream. Since alcohol can't be stored, it has to be metabolized. No other fuel source is used till this happens. So no fat burning at night sleeping if you've got a substantial amount of alcohol to metabolize.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

stevencloser

hamptontom wrote: »

there's a lot of "do whatever you want" in this thread so far, and frankly, i don't disagree. BUT...

based on some of what i've learned from some of the same individuals who've participated in this thread, here's another way to think about this.

i feel kinda dumb for not having figured this out before a conversation with @ninerbuff a while back, but when you exercise, when you engage in activity throughout the day, you're burning calories that you've consumed as fuel that are "in the pipe" at that point in time. he pointed out to me that people have this misconception that they're burning fat stores when they exercise, but the only time you're truly burning fat stores is when you're asleep - because at that point in time, your fat stores are your bodys' only source for caloric energy.

so...with that being said...wouldn't it stand to reason that if you eat and then go to bed, that you're impeding your body's tendency to draw from its reserves because you've just given it active fuel before bedtime?

keep in mind, now - that, as everyone pointed out - if you're eating at a deficit, you're accomplishing the primary goal necessary for weight loss in the first place, and maybe this theory is much ado about nothing.

but it seems to stand to reason that you're forcing your metabolisms' hand in the direction of burning existing fat stores if you go to sleep on as empty a stomach as possible...wouldn't it?

It's not only when you're sleeping, it's whenever you're more or less at rest and at a deficit.
Say you're eating a 500 kcal meal for lunch, then nothing for the next 10-12 hours because your dinner is right before bed for some reason. If your maintenance is 2000 kcal, that's about 833-1000 calories in the time between you eating (probably a bit more since I'm fairly sure you burn less calories while sleeping), the deficit from that would be taken from your fat.

macabr

AlciaMode wrote: »

Some studies suggest that taking a break from eating, a short fast, for about 14 hours is beneficial to weightloss. Hence why many people do not eat for some hours prior to going to bed.

I've read that as well, and my nutritionist advised me to consider that as well. It may be helpful but that calorie deficit is all important.

eccentric88

jasminemabry wrote: »

Has anyone cut off eating after a certain time, and how about if you work 2nd or 3rd shifts how do you set a cut off time

I have done this before and it works. When you are doing other shifts, can you eat at a certain time, and cut off a certain time before going to bed. Say 2-3hrs before bed is a cut off?

eccentric88

Azuriaz wrote: »

I prefer to do this for the rather stupid reason that late night eating tends to show up on the scale (as water/other not so nice stuff weight). And since I'm still way too dependent on that stupid thing for my progress reports, I hate seeing a number go up rather than down.

I found that when eating at night I am still slowly losing weight but my waist line continues to go up. Perhaps I do not eat a good enough supper..got to figure out how not to eat at night, I get tired then eat...then ok.

dizzieblondeuk

The thing with our sleep cycles is that there are numerous critical processes going on, and our body behaves very differently during deep sleep - lowered heart rate, blood pressure, increased blood flow to the muscles - that it ever does during waking hours, even if we're 'resting'.

Our body produces the critical growth hormones, and performs tissue repair - things that actually don't happen with any concentration during waking hours - only during the deep sleep section of our rest. Part of the hormone release is for ghrelin and leptin, the two hormones that dictate when we feel hungry and full. The really critical thing is that leptin (the 'fullness' hormone) has been discovered to have a circadian rhythm. This means that the timings of our meals are actually quite important, if we don't want to fool our body's natural hormonal patterns - especially during our sleep cycle. It's also been conclusively proven that leptrin and cortisol are intrinsically linked - and we all know that stress and eating too much is a fatal combination when trying to lose weight!

I do get that, for some people, shift work and very busy lifestyles mean that eating rather close to bedtime is unavoidable, but people should be aware that they are perhaps making life much harder for themselves, and their body, in doing so. Changing the main meal to earlier in their day is one way to counteract this, I'd imagine. After all, this was the norm several hundred years ago, before industrialisation - and many countries with traditional cultures still have their largest meal in the middle of their day (no matter what time they wake and sleep). That can't be an accident!

DeguelloTex

hamptontom wrote: »

there's a lot of "do whatever you want" in this thread so far, and frankly, i don't disagree. BUT...

based on some of what i've learned from some of the same individuals who've participated in this thread, here's another way to think about this.

i feel kinda dumb for not having figured this out before a conversation with @ninerbuff a while back, but when you exercise, when you engage in activity throughout the day, you're burning calories that you've consumed as fuel that are "in the pipe" at that point in time. he pointed out to me that people have this misconception that they're burning fat stores when they exercise, but the only time you're truly burning fat stores is when you're asleep - because at that point in time, your fat stores are your bodys' only source for caloric energy.

How quickly do you think food is completely digested and all energy extracted?

lemurcat12

hamptontom wrote: »

but it seems to stand to reason that you're forcing your metabolisms' hand in the direction of burning existing fat stores if you go to sleep on as empty a stomach as possible...wouldn't it?

People focus way too much on burning fat vs. burning what you are eating at any particular time (same issue with the arguments for fasted exercise or the "fat burning zone"). You burn a particular amount throughout the day (including when you sleep). If that amount is more than you eat, you are going to be burning fat. If you burn fat when exercising (or when sleeping) rather than the food you've eaten (or the glucose created), that food has to go somewhere, so it becomes fat. Basically I think of it as we are burning fat and adding new fat constantly. The goal is to burn more than we add, so we are net losers. You can't really cheat the process by not eating carbs or not eating before bed or exercising only long and slow or when fasted. It will even out anyway.

Thus, I think the most important thing is to eat in a way that will make you best able to keep calories where they should be and to help you be active. If you are more likely to be active if you eat earlier, do that. If you find you wake up raring to work out if you eat late, do that. If you find eating dinner late makes it easier not to overeat in the evening, do that. If you find it would be impossible to eat earlier and it would make you unhappy to skip dinner (this is me), then don't fret about it, it doesn't matter.

jasminemabry

eccentric88 wrote: »

jasminemabry wrote: »

Has anyone cut off eating after a certain time, and how about if you work 2nd or 3rd shifts how do you set a cut off time

I have done this before and it works. When you are doing other shifts, can you eat at a certain time, and cut off a certain time before going to bed. Say 2-3hrs before bed is a cut off?

Yes I can cut off at a certain time but I didn't know if it matter if it was a certain or just an amount of hours before I got home

jah1360

CjF1960 wrote: »

Being a diabetic, I find that my morning sugar readings are much better if I don't eat after 7:30 in the evening, especially have to go easy on the carbs in the evening.

I also a diabetic, but I other the way around I find a small snack around 7:30-8:00 before I go to bed I have better morning sugar reading, then when I don't have a snack before bed. So now I always plan a small evening snack.

MVG821

I don't really believe in meal timing. I eat whenever it is convenient for me or when I get hungry.

cnbbnc

I've never set a cut off time, and I really don't see any reason to.

Need2Exerc1se

I like to eat most of calories at night. Even if I'm really hungry I try to eat light throughout the day.

During the week I try not to eat anything before 1:00 p.m., usually I wait until 2:00 or 2:30. It helps me eat less if I start eating later. But even that is not a hard and fast rule. If I get really hungry I'll grab a snack.

This is the way I ate for the 40 years I was thin so I decided to go back to it. Eating during the day doesn't seem to work well for me.

randomsue

AlciaMode wrote: »

Some studies suggest that taking a break from eating, a short fast, for about 14 hours is beneficial to weightloss. Hence why many people do not eat for some hours prior to going to bed.

Intermittent fasting

Christine_72

I personally hate going to bed with a stomach full of food. Whether it's scientifically correct or not, I just feel it's best not to go to sleep right after eating a full meal. I try and give my body as long of a break from digesting food as possible. I finish eating by 6:30 ish at night and don't eat again til 12pm the next day. This just happens naturally for me tho.

CorydonCutie

I rarely eat after 7pm, which is about 12 hours after I get up.

Gingerspice45

I work a lot of night shifts. I tend to try to keep my eating on a daytime schedule most of the time. I stop eating before 10pm and try really hard not to eat again until breakfast (5am-7am). I drink water or no calorie beverages if I'm at work. If I'm home, I usually switch to sleeping at night if I can fall asleep.