Myth or True: Eating after 6pm

Is eating post 6pm harmful to dieting or does it make a difference? I've heard that it's not good cause it all turns into sugar. Educate me.
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Replies

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Myth.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited April 2016
    Total myth... Are you worried about sugar or weight loss? Weight loss is all about a calorie deficit.. does not matter what time you eat those calories..
  • KingFish1997
    KingFish1997 Posts: 14 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    Total myth...

    Thank you
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    Doesn't matter what o'clock you eat. Stay under your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and you will lose weight.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    myth
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    I usually eat until 9pm at night and I can see some ab definition - myth

    The only reason eating late would be an issue for weight loss is if it caused you to eat over maintenance calories. Other than that, a good reason not to eat later at night is if it causes issues with sleep or digestion.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Myth. I never eat dinner before 6:30.
  • Fernando618G
    Fernando618G Posts: 380 Member
    Is eating post 6pm harmful to dieting or does it make a difference? I've heard that it's not good cause it all turns into sugar. Educate me.

    big time myth. if you workout @ 7pm you need to feed your body so it can grow && your bodys metabolism will burn it up i read it in mens fitness
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
    Food/meal timing is a preference thing. Just eat when you want, with a focus on staying within your calorie goals.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Echoing everyone else and saying 'myth'.

    If eating after a certain time causes weight gain, then those on graveyard shifts are....screwed.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
    no eating after 6? that would blow. dinner 5? haha
  • eeejer
    eeejer Posts: 339 Member
    basically all of spain eats after 9pm and they ain't fatter than us.
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    My mom is currently into this myth which her coworker adamantly insisted that she try. She wouldn't listen to a word I said. Sad to see how people's minds are so fixed.

  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    Is it an extra snack or planned meal?
  • Negative_X
    Negative_X Posts: 296 Member
    LazSommer wrote: »
    Is it an extra snack or planned meal?

    Doesn't matter either way.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Absolute myth.
  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    Negative_X wrote: »
    LazSommer wrote: »
    Is it an extra snack or planned meal?

    Doesn't matter either way.

    It does if it puts you over your budget. That was my point. Otherwise it doesn't.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Myth
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
    edited April 2016
    For me personally, eating after 6 p.m. hinders my weight loss. So I have my heavy meal before 3, and if I need something it might be an apple, or some ryvita crackers.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I suppose cutting out dinner entirely might lower my calories. I honestly don't understand how people are even home to eat at (or before) 6 pm. I eat after 9 most of the time. (I lost weight fine.)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,615 Member
    Is eating post 6pm harmful to dieting or does it make a difference? I've heard that it's not good cause it all turns into sugar. Educate me.

    So what happens when Daylight Savings Time starts or ends ... all of a sudden your time limit drops back to 5 pm or moves up to 7pm? Or does the body know to make the time adjustment and the cut-off time remains at 6 pm?

    Or what if you travel? 6 pm your time might be 1 pm somewhere else in the world ... do you have to stop eating at 1 pm then?

    There's nothing magic about a time on the clock. It's all about how many calories you've eaten that day ... or really even that week or that month. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited April 2016
    Depends on your point of view.

    The idea that eating calories after a certain time of day is somehow worse than eating the same calories earlier is a complete and total myth.

    It's true from a different point of view - for those who don't directly regulate calorie intake (i.e. those who don't count calories), cutting out late-night snacking can help them lose weight. It does so because (and only because) it is a quick change that can help them eat fewer total calories over the course of the day.

    There are a ton of different things out there you'll hear that have an effect only because they indirectly reduce total calorie consumption in those who aren't counting calories. You don't really have to care about them if you're directly recording and planning your calorie input.
  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 666 Member
    I eat most of my calories after 6. Most of the time, I'm having calories right up until bedtime at 1 or 2 a.m--I usually have milk, protein powder, & some Hershey's syrup right before I go to bed. I lose weight consistently with no problems as long as I stay in my deficit.
  • Countryboy_83
    Countryboy_83 Posts: 946 Member
    That's horse poo
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    I have trouble with late night eating, however, if I leave enough calories for a snack between seven and eight pm, then it's much easier to not overeat before bed (usually I'm in bed at ten).

    Figure out what works for you.
  • RWClary
    RWClary Posts: 192 Member
    edited April 2016
    Is eating post 6pm harmful to dieting or does it make a difference? I've heard that it's not good cause it all turns into sugar. Educate me.
    In general this is a myth, but....
    Anybody else have night cravings?
    It stinks to do well all day only to blow out the diet at 10pm.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    I try not to eat after a certain time unless I'm extremely hungry or to the point I won't be able to sleep without a snack. I've always heard you should feel slightly hungry when laying down to sleep but not so hungry you gotta have food. And if you have the calories left for the day then why not.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    Myth.

    You know, in many countries (that don't have the obesity epidemic that we have in the US) people don't sit down to dinner til 8 or 9pm.
  • lindaloo1213
    lindaloo1213 Posts: 283 Member
    Myth. I eat pretty mich anytime of time. (I work nights). I eat whenever I am hungry.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,615 Member
    RWClary wrote: »
    Is eating post 6pm harmful to dieting or does it make a difference? I've heard that it's not good cause it all turns into sugar. Educate me.
    In general this is a myth, but....
    Anybody else have night cravings?
    It stinks to do well all day only to blow out the diet at 10pm.

    I plan for this.

    Dinner at about 8 pm.

    First snack at about 10 pm.

    Second snack at about midnight.

    And if I'm still up at 1 or 1:30 am, and if I have enough calories, I might even have a third snack. Like I did last night, for example. :)