Eating after seven??

shauna7531

I have been told that you should not eat after seven. Does this really matter as long as you don't go over your assigned calories?? What is your experience with this?

tinkerbellang83

Load of woo, you can eat what ever time you like and still lose weight, the only time it will make any sort of difference is if you have digestive issues from eating late or eating certain types of food later that impact your sleep.

EDIT: I've lost almost 40lbs eating dinner most nights between 8-10pm.

Seffell

This advice is to people who don't count calories because the majority of people overeat after 7.

amybkatherine

It might not be true for most people, but for me it makes a big difference if I don't eat after 7:30. When I do - even if it's healthy food - I wake up with a stomach ache.

misskarne

Nah.

I eat after 7 some nights of the week because the bus does not get me home any earlier. The only rule I have is not after 8, but that's because then I struggle to sleep.

rainbowbow

the only thing that matters for weight loss is your total calorie intake over long periods of time.

the only reason i'd ever tell someone not to eat past a certain time is if...

1. they've already eaten all their calories for the day and are therefore OVEReating at night.
2. they have issues with gerd/acid reflux in which eating a couple hours before bed can cause issues

I personally eat about 400-500 calories throughout the entire day, then go to the gym at night, and then eat almost all of my calories (~1,200) afterwards around 9 PM. I then shower and pass out.

KarenSmith2018

I regularly eat after 1900 as I don't get home from the gym until after this time. So long as the calorie deficit remains you can eat all your calories after 1900 or none. Its personal preference. It can help adherence to a deficit to say I won't eat after a certain time but if you are shoving in 3000 calories before than and only need 1500 you will gain regardless.

deannalfisher

i eat at around 9-10 every night - my bowl of cereal right before bed

malibu927

The only evening I eat dinner before 7 is Saturday, because I go to bed by 7 to work at midnight. It never hindered my weight loss.

JaydedMiss

I eat most my calories after 6pm and i eat icecream nightly right before bed and lost 110 pounds in 14-15 months. Doesn't matter at all, Whats 7pm for you is 7am somewhere else, Not sure how people think your body is like "its 7pm, Must stop being efficient" what about night shift workers, Or people who live in any timezone but you own. What timezone do our bodies follow O_O You were right to question this, Its illogical and untrue

Noreenmarie1234

I eat 90% calories 9-2 am, lost and have been maintaining for 4 years. It has absolutely no affect on weight if you are in your calories.

Noreenmarie1234

rainbowbow wrote: »

the only thing that matters for weight loss is your total calorie intake over long periods of time.

the only reason i'd ever tell someone not to eat past a certain time is if...

1. they've already eaten all their calories for the day and are therefore OVEReating at night.
2. they have issues with gerd/acid reflux in which eating a couple hours before bed can cause issues

I personally eat about 400-500 calories throughout the entire day, then go to the gym at night, and then eat almost all of my calories (~1,200) afterwards around 9 PM. I then shower and pass out.

Same here haha.

shauna7531

Thanks so much for the feed back!

hydechildcare

akb1249 wrote: »

It might not be true for most people, but for me it makes a big difference if I don't eat after 7:30. When I do - even if it's healthy food - I wake up with a stomach ache.

Me too. I also have better weighs the next morning if I make sure to eat before 7. Probably because I am not up all night with that full feeling.

RachelElser

only if by eating after 7 you go over your calories for the day.

Sunnybrooke99

It doesn’t matter calorie wise, but depending on what you eat, it could affect how you sleep, or how you feel the next day. I actually opt for some higher calorie snacks late at night bc I come home late, and usually have extra calories, but I don’t like to go to bed after eating a lot.

Need2Exerc1se

My experience is weight loss and decades of weight maintenance while eating 80% (m/l) of my calories after 7:00 p.m. I sleep well and according to all tests (of which there are many at my age) I'm healthy.

pinuplove

I eat after 7 most night simply due to my work schedule. Doesn't matter.

Tacklewasher

akb1249 wrote: »

It might not be true for most people, but for me it makes a big difference if I don't eat after 7:30. When I do - even if it's healthy food - I wake up with a stomach ache.

This is where personal preference can take precedence over what is best for weight loss. Eating after 7 doesn't impact long-term weight loss, but it can give me heartburn so I tend not to have a big meal after 7. Bear in mind I'm asleep by 9 and up at 5 most days, so after 7 is close to bed time. I need the couple of hours to digest.

But it does not impact how much weight I lose as long as I stay to my calorie goal.

ritzvin

shauna7531 wrote: »

I have been told that you should not eat after seven. Does this really matter as long as you don't go over your assigned calories?? What is your experience with this?

It could be good advice for [1] those who boredom snack and tend to go over their calories, or [2] don't sleep as well if they've eaten near bedtime (and go to bed particularly early).

(edit:typo)

lucerorojo

I think it depends what you eat and when your schedule is. I do eat after 7:00 pm, but I try not to eat meat after 9:00 pm. I work evenings and for a while did not even wake up until 10:00 am., so it wouldn't work for me not to eat after 7:00 pm. Sometimes I'm at the pool at 10:00 pm and going to bed between midnight and 2:00 a.m. I rarely get hom before 9:00 pm from work. I tried not eating after 7:00 pm with this schedule and just made me cranky and subject to binging. There are entire cultures that eat dinner after 8:00 pm, some as late as 11:00 pm.

callsitlikeiseeit

it makes no difference in regards to weight.

cwolfman13

shauna7531 wrote: »

I have been told that you should not eat after seven. Does this really matter as long as you don't go over your assigned calories?? What is your experience with this?

Logically, why would it matter. If you need XXXX calories per day, then you need XXXX calories per day regardless of timing.

The whole don't eat after X time or don't eat carbs or whatever after Y time are just "rules" people use to control calories. For example, I don't usually have starches or grains with my dinner when I'm cutting weight...there's nothing special about it other than I'm not logging and use methods/rules like this to control my calories coming in.

I eat dinner most every night at around 8:30 PM...sometimes I'm not even through my front door at 7.

NadNight

The only thing I've found is that if I start eating after 9 at night I tend to over-eat and just hit the sweet stuff, so I usually have my dessert around 8 ish and don't eat after that unless I get back from a workout late and am very hungry

leggup

Option A- 1,500 cals all at lunch time
Option B- 1,500 cals all at 8 pm
Option C- 500 cals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, adding to 1,500 cals.
Option D- 600 cals for lunch, 700 cals for dinner, 200 cals for late evening snack adding to 1,500 cals.

Which will help you lose more weight? Depends, which are you more likely to stick to? If you have a set number of calories to play with, eat them when you want. I am not as hungry in the morning and like big, early dinners with 100-200 calories to snack on in the late evening. The only magic of "don't eat after X pm" rules is that a lot of people graze/snack/overeat in the evenings plopped in front of the tv.

katnadreau

Eating after 7 can be an issue if you have acid reflux. However, I often eat a little snack before crawling in bed at 9 pm and have lost weight just by making sure that snack doesn't wipe out my deficit.

xvolution

It depends on when bedtime is. I work nights and usually don't get dinner until after midnight, but I also don't get to bed until after 3am. Just don't eat right before bed.

davidylin

One line of reasoning about when you should eat during the day is the idea that the act of ingesting food will alter the mix of metabolic processes occurring in the body in favor of those processes that break down carbohydrates for energy as opposed to those metabolic processes that break down fat for the same. I've read abstracts on a few studies that speak to this and while there appears to be something to that theory, CICO is still the gold standard.

Another line of reasoning is that, for many overweight people, most overeating is done toward the end of the day and heading off that time of the day for eating may be effective in helping people control their calories in.

Additionally, some theorize that calories consumed later in the day are more likely to be converted to fat (storage) because evenings are about winding down and preparing for sleep. I don't have any problems with the reasoning, but I think the overall effect on the average dieter that's tracking on MFP will be marginal or limited.

On a personal note, my advice is not to eat late in the day. Generally speaking, my willpower is lower late in the evening than it is in the day. My food diary bears this out with less nutritious snacks and cravings playing out in the evening after dinner more often than not.