Eating times

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PlasticGains
PlasticGains Posts: 76 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know it's all CICO but isnt there some truth that eating let's say, a donut in the morning is better than saving it to until before bed?

If you think about it, that food will fuel you and might give you extra energy to function throughout the day while, even though calories in vs calories out is true, eating it before bed will probably make you store it as fat? And then you burn that fat when you dont eat the next day, thus CICO

I dont know... what's your guys' opinions and try not to say "it's all calories in vs calories out" or "calories are calories"

Thanks

Replies

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,716 Member
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    It depends on you personally. If you have a donut in the AM and it fits within your daily / weekly calorie goal then the time of day doesn't matter. However, for some people, having a high carb, high sugar breakfast would not work. For me, I would feel lethargic and hungry. It wouldn't satisfy me at all, but then again, I wouldn't have a donut at night either. Just not something I include in my diet. Some people eat them regularly. To each their own.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    I feel and sleep better when I have carbs before bed. now Im not saying a donut but to each their own. i have eaten a donut late at night before,all I got was indigestion lol. but i have more energy the next day too if I eat some carbs late at night. too many though and I feel like crap the next day. but thats my experience. it may not be the same for everyone
  • born_of_fire74
    born_of_fire74 Posts: 776 Member
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    Nutrient timing is generally only important for the most serious MFP users; competitive bodybuilders and athletes, that sort of thing, or those with medical issues. For most members the important things are sticking to your calorie allotment and getting enough protein. Of course you can play with nutrient timing as well as your macros to get the best satiety but it's likely not terribly critical to your overall progress.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited December 2018
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    PlasticGains wrote: »
    I know it's all CICO but isnt there some truth that eating let's say, a donut in the morning is better than saving it to until before bed?

    If you think about it, that food will fuel you and might give you extra energy to function throughout the day while, even though calories in vs calories out is true, eating it before bed will probably make you store it as fat? And then you burn that fat when you dont eat the next day, thus CICO

    I dont know... what's your guys' opinions and try not to say "it's all calories in vs calories out" or "calories are calories"

    Thanks

    For me, eating a donut in the morning is more likely to make me feel hungrier before lunch and to struggle with wanting to snack during the day. Eating it (or ice cream, which I prefer to a donut) in the evening will have no such effect. I'll happily stop eating after my dinner+dessert. So for me, timing matters, but it's not because it matters for calorie burning.

    Why it doesn't -- a day lasts 24 hours, not just the time you don't sleep. You don't automatically stop using energy when you go to bed. If you eat 1600 calories and burn 2200 calories in that day, you will lose weight (although it matters more what happens the next day and the next and may not be immediate). Many people don't eat in the morning, and they aren't low energy (if it's a pattern that works for them), because they have energy from what they ate the day before stored in their body (as glycogen stores) and they have fat stores, and we are burning both throughout the day.

    I do all runs less than about 7 miles fasted when I run in the morning, but still have plenty of energy (every bit as much as if I ate a donut). I do find that having some starchy carbs the night before might be noticeable in my morning energy levels when exercising.

    You burn fat when sleeping. Whether you put on fat or not depends on overall energy balance, not food timing -- can you see why claiming that eating a donut at night = weight gain even with a calorie deficit would suggest that we can make energy out of nothing?

    That said, you may find that HOW you eat affects overall energy levels. If an evening donut makes you sluggish the next morning or a morning donut makes you super energetic so you move more than usual, then for you individually it might matter, but I think those kinds of reactions to food timing are kind of rare (I think eating a healthy diet overall or not cutting too low on calories, on the other hand, are likely to lead to more energy in a larger percentage).

    Oh, and I'd say a diet made up of too high a proportion of donuts does not fuel your body in an optimal way because it lacks important dietary components like protein and micronutrients (not totally, but compared to many options), not because sugar (and fat, the donut is probably half fat) must be burnt off more quickly than other calories lest they turn to fat.
  • margbarco
    margbarco Posts: 128 Member
    edited December 2018
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    For me, having the donut in the morning would be worse because I would crave more food soon after and I’d probably have another one, or a similar refined carb or sugary food.

    However, If I skip breakfast (and have a bigger lunch) or have a high protein and fiber breakfast like yogurt and fruit, I will not be hungry afterwards. I’ll stay within my calorie allotment for the day and have enough calories left to enjoy a donut in the evening for dessert :)

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