How To Eat Later Dinners?

cee134

I am trying to figure out how people eat dinners so late.

I see people eating dinner at 8 PM or 9 PM and don't know how they wait that long.

I know if you eat a later lunch or a really big lunch it helps however that's not always possible. Also I'm curious if anyone know a way to do this without snacking between meals.

alyssa_rest

I typically don't eat lunch until 1:30-2. I have a high-protein snack at 10a and 3-3:30. I go home, workout, shower and then start cooking around 7-7:30. Dinner is usually done by 8.

I eat late because I know if I eat first instead of working out, I won't work out.

jjpptt2

I stay busy. Can't eat if you can't eat.

SteamPug

Split your lunch into two smaller meals, each lunch later or skip breakfast and eat a larger lunch? I guess it depends what time you wake up, I’m up at 6.30 so I couldn’t imagine leaving my dinner until that late. I usually eat my dinner at 4pm and then have a snack before bed at 9pm.
But I don’t see how it matters if you’re doing okay eating earlier.

inertiastrength

I eat lunch at 1pm; a snack when I come home at 5:30 then hit the gym and cook when I'm back usually 9 or 10

janejellyroll

I will often eat around 7:30 or 8 PM. I eat lunch pretty early (around 11:30 AM), but I find that when I have a run around 6 PM, it helps blunt my appetite. That and sipping a glass of wine while I cook dinner usually works to keep me satisfied until I eat.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

It's my normal as I don't get in from work until around 6.30pm.

I then run/walk/cycle for up to an hour then feed the dog before starting food for us.

I eat breakfast around 1-2pm, lunch around 5pm then dinner at around 8pm. I don't snack between meals but do eat a snack around 10pm before bed.

I eat large amounts of veg which I find filling so I don't feel hungry.

marissafit06

I've always eaten late since I was a kid. I do find that on occasions when I eat earlier in the day, I tend to snack less and eat more mindfully.

cwolfman13

cee134 wrote: »

I am trying to figure out how people eat dinners so late.

I see people eating dinner at 8 PM or 9 PM and don't know how they wait that long.

I know if you eat a later lunch or a really big lunch it helps however that's not always possible. Also I'm curious if anyone know a way to do this without snacking between meals.

I eat dinner around 8:30 PM...I usually have a relatively small breakfast, decent sized lunch, and I do have a later afternoon/early evening snack.

My wife gets out of work at 3:30 and picks up the kids from school...they're generally fed their dinner before I even get home which is typically a bit after 6 on a good day, but it's not unusual to get home around 7 PM...it's usually somewhere in between.

2-3 days out of the week I get on my bike...mostly on the indoor trainer right now because it's dark, but I'll get back out on the road more when the time changes...usually only get an actual rode ride in during the winter on Saturday to give me my 3-4 days of cycling.

So by the time I get my ride in and shower I'm usually already pushing 7:30/8:00. Time enough to get the boys into bed and read a story and get dinner started. I'm the primary cook, so that's my job...next thing you know, it's 8:30.

Maxxitt

Snacking between meals is fine as long as you include the calories in your daily goal. My evening meal is never before 7 PM and often later, and I very often have a snack between 4 & 5. It doesn't seem to matter much in terms of hunger when I start my first meal, but it very much matters that the calories I consume are selected for protein, fat and carb balance. I can tell you that a sleeve of "girl scout thin mint" cookies at 674 calories that I used to put away without thinking back in the bad old days is waaaaaaay less satiating to me than a peanut butter sandwich on sprouted wheat bread that I had as a snack yesterday for 233 calories, or the cup of greek yogurt, half cup of cottage cheese and 100 g of banana that I ate for breakfast (323 calories).

ashliedelgado

When I'm delaying a meal, I utilize water, black coffee, raw veggies, 100 calorie popcorn bags, and mints to help curb my appetite.

I work days, 7:30 to 4, and my husband stays home with our 16 month old, and works 11pm-7am. They take an early afternoon nap, and then he goes to bed as soon as I get home, and it's important for us to eat dinner together so we see each other at all during the week. Sometimes, he got a good nap and cooked so we can eat early dinner. Sometimes, we eat at 9:30. You find ways to get there. I usually have an evening snack, also. So if we're having 9:30 dinner, I have that small snack at 6:00.

malibu927

I usually eat lunch around 2-3 PM unless I'm working later. Dinner isn't until 6:30 at the very earliest. Usually 7-7:30, occasionally not until 9:30. I don't normally feel hungry in between.

fitoverfortymom

There's no way I could eat that late. I like to be in bed by 8:30 or 9 (although I get up at 4:15 am). When I get home from work around 5pm, I am HUNGRY and cook dinner right away.

BuffyBourbon

I have six meals scheduled in MFP, although i often only eat 5 of them. I have Breakfast, 11sies, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Dinner & Dessert all as scheduled meals. Usually i have EITHER breakfast or elevensies (often i'm not hungry right when i wake up so i eat my first meal at 11). Lunch is usually between 1 and 2pm. Then my Afternoon Tea is a small snack at about 4, usually a 90 calorie serving of cherries or something along those lines. That gets me through so that i get off work at 5, then start doing chores around the farm and then come in, clean up, and cook dinner. During the summer dinner at 7pm would be a luxury, it's usually 9pm. Then after i clean up the kitchen i'll sit down to watch tv and have dessert right then, or about an hour later. As long as i don't go to bed hungry i do fine so i like to eat light early so that i can have the other meals.

Lounmoun

I had dinner at 8 pm for several years because that is the way my schedule was. I usually had a snack about 3-4 pm.
I generally eat dinner about 6-7 pm these days. Still have an afternoon or evening snack. I don't have an issue with snacking.
I assume the way to do it without snacking is to eat a larger lunch or just get used to it.

Muscleflex79

OP, I don't understand, why are you trying to do this if it doesn't fit with your preferences? what are you hoping to achieve by eating dinner late?

lemurcat12

cee134 wrote: »

I am trying to figure out how people eat dinners so late.

I see people eating dinner at 8 PM or 9 PM and don't know how they wait that long.

I know if you eat a later lunch or a really big lunch it helps however that's not always possible. Also I'm curious if anyone know a way to do this without snacking between meals.

I eat lunch at noon (sometimes larger, if I plan a small dinner, but usually around 400-500 cal), and eat at 9. It's just habit plus usually being busy in-between (I either work 'til around 7:30 or else if I do leave earlier I work out or do some other planned activity -- I normally don't get home until around 8:30, which is why I eat late). I really dislike snacking, as for me it's not as satisfying and just takes calories away from when I want to eat.

But this has been my lifestyle/preference for a long time. Might not work for you.

aeloine

I literally have no idea. I eat every two hours, like clock work. 9, 11, then 2, 4, and 6. I can last 11-2 because my lunch typically takes me longer to eat.

Lizakabibbis

We tend to eat dinner before 6:30. I'm up at 4am so my eating schedule is way off and by 9:30 I only have one eye open and I can't sleep on a full stomach. If my day started later I'm pretty sure everything else would as well.

maybe1pe

I stay busy. I don't eat until lunch between 1-2 pm. I get out of work at 5 go home walk my dogs and/or workout, take a shower. By the time I've done all of that and am redressed I'm ready to prepare dinner or heat up leftovers it's usually around 7:30-8 sometimes a bit later.

I'm just not all that hungry until then. and days that I am hungry before then I have all these other things I need to do. My dogs can't wait to be walked, they've been waiting for 10 hours by then. If I eat I won't work out so I have to do that first. I obviously shower at night and my hair takes forever to dry so I have to do that ASAP after working out.

MeanderingMammal

cee134 wrote: »

I am trying to figure out how people eat dinners so late.

I see people eating dinner at 8 PM or 9 PM and don't know how they wait that long.

2000 isn't late to eat dinner, it's civilised

In any case, if it doesn't fit into your lifestyle, why do you want to?

fwiw it's currently 2115 and I'm about to eat.

I'm normally at work by 0830, get lunch about 1200 and I get back from work at about 1900. If I then train for 60-90 minutes it's reasonably easy to be eating at 2100.

If I feel the need I may have a snack at about 1700.

Christine_72

I don't know how people wait that long either! If i had to wait til 8pm or later for dinner, i'd break and snack beforehand which would inevitably put me over my calories. So i choose to eat dinner when I'm hungry (instead of white knuckling it and waiting til later), between 5-6pm, followed by dessert and then I'm done for the day.

I don't have breakfast, i eat lunch between 1-3pm. I'm also in bed at 9 most nights, so eating earlier fits my schedule.

My husband doesn't eat his dinner til 7-730pm, we very rarely eat together even though he's home when i have dinner. The difference between us is he eats by the clock, I eat when I'm hungry, I don't care how early it is or what the clock says.

inertiastrength

I wish I could eat dinner earlier but with my work and gym schedule I have time for a snack before (i hate lifting after dinner) and I have to eat late. At the end of the day, whatever works with your schedule but don't force yourself to eat or not at a specific time because it makes no difference.

JeromeBarry1

How to eat: Put food in mouth. Chew. Swallow.

How to eat later in the day: Put food in mouth later in the day. Chew. Swallow.

Every individual is different from every other individual. I, for instance, often have my main evening meal at 8 p.m. That is because I get home late. That is because I get to work late. That is because I sleep as late as I wish to and wait until traffic is less congested before attempting to drive to work.

How I wait that long: I have a breakfast at home of usually less than 500 calories. I have a lunch of usually less than 400 calories. My workplace lunch is not particularly recognizable as a meal. Three hours before I plan to leave work, I have part of my lunch. Two hours before leaving, I have another part. One hour before leaving, I have another part. The 5 hours between arriving for work and beginning to slowly eat my lunch are when I drink, and drink, and drink, coffee and tea.

The thing I have to manage is that once I start eating later in the day, I can easily eat too much, so I deliberately spread it out.

After my dinner, I almost always have more calories to consume. That is where I usually have tasty treats.
If I have time to exercise in the evening, I'll use my exercise calories to enough protein to hit my adjusted protein macro.

Francl27

It was that way in France, dinner at 8pm, but I also had a large snack around 4-5pm... An earlier dinner helps me consume less calories overall, and helps with reflux at bedtime, so it's a win/win situation as I can just skip the 4-5pm snack.

So yeah, I'm not sure how people do it either, lol. Especially with kids, as mine go to bed at 8.30pm and still need a shower and to brush their teeth after dinner... Heck I'm in bed at 9.30pm most nights. My mom always has a hard time with 6pm dinners when she comes over.

collectingblues

cee134 wrote: »

I am trying to figure out how people eat dinners so late.

I see people eating dinner at 8 PM or 9 PM and don't know how they wait that long.

I know if you eat a later lunch or a really big lunch it helps however that's not always possible. Also I'm curious if anyone know a way to do this without snacking between meals.

I typically don't leave work until 5:30. It takes half an hour to get home. So that's 6. If I go to the gym, I go straight there, and either run or swim -- so we figure 7:15 by the time I'm done, another 15 minutes to change, and then another 15 to drive home. 7:45. And then I still need to cook.

If I go to barre, I'm not going on a full stomach -- and I'm still getting home at 6, only to have to leave the house at 6:30 for a 7 p.m. class. Class is an hour, takes 30 minutes or so to get home. So 8:30. And then I still have to cook.

There's quite literally no time to eat dinner earlier. I might grab a snack if I come home before barre, but that's only if I have the calories to spend, and if I'm hungry.

Courtscan2

Just curious why you want to? The fact that some other people do it doesn't seem like a great selling point to me - I'm very happy with my 6pm dinner

Momepro

I've always been a late eater, but I don't like food too soon after I get up, and can't sleep hungry. Personally I prefer my breakfast and lunch to be pretty light (under 300 calories) and I seldom snack that early, but after 4 or so is when i start wanting munchies.

Danp

For me it's about routine. During the working week my day goes:
Breakfast (if I feel like/want breakfast) at about 7:30am
Work
Lunch at 12pm-1pm
Work
Snack at 4pm - 5pm while heading home from work
Home at 6pm
Housework/TV/Relax/Study/Whatever till about 7:30pm
Cook dinner and eat at 8:00pm
More whatever
Treat at about 9pm - 10pm
Bed

Rinse, repeat.

Weekends are a bit more relaxed. I tend to skip breakfast as I sleep in so my first 'meal' will be a mid-morning coffee followed by lunch and then I just kinda eat when I'm hungry regardless of set times and use my diary to choices so that I don't find myself running low on calories for the end of the day.

bbell1985

I can eat at 8:00. First meal is at 11:00, snack at 3:30, gym, dinner, dessert. I don't know...I'm used to it.

Aaron_K123

Meal timing has no effect on weightloss....just eat when you prefer to eat and hit you calorie target. No need to make things harder than they need to be.