Eating after 6:00pm

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  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,877 Member
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    Does anyone have an opinion about eating dinner after 6:00pm.

    I set down with a nutritionist at the end of February. I have taken off 63 pounds but in recent I am slowing down on the weight loss. I have gone back over my notes and I keep re-reading where she says to eat before 6:00pm and if I can't then I should just eat a protein bar and count that as my dinner. If I did this I would never eat dinner, most evenings I am just getting dinner started by 6:00pm. Even food prepping and crock-pot cooking, with my work schedule we can't get dinner consumed before 6:pm.

    Eating after 6 pm is fine. It's 6:54 pm right now and dinner should be on the table about 7 pm. That's OK. Sometimes it can be as late as 7:30 or 8 pm. That's fine too!

    There's nothing magical about 6 pm.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    I lost 125 lbs eating dinner as late as midnight. Sometimes I eat lunch after 6 pm. This rule is nonsense and has nothing to do with weight loss.

    The main thing is to eat in a way which helps you to make appropriate choices. If eating too early tempts you to snack later, eat later. If eating too late makes you feel starving by the time you get around to eating, and as a result you consume too many calories, or if you are tired and have less willpower late in the day, eat earlier.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    I pre-log and plan for a snack before bed. it's weighed and logged correctly to fit within my daily calorie allowance. can be smaller or bigger based on what i ate that day/how much exercise I did. Has not impacted my weight loss because it's about total calories in VS out

    do you use a food scale? slow down in rate of loss is normal and good (you have less to lose) but if it slows down too much and you can still safely lose faster, it could be that there are errors in calculating calories in. Sometimes the estimates that worked when we had lots to lose and lots of wiggle room don't work anymore with less to lose. So we need to double check everything (weighin all foods, and double checking entries used)

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
  • Caralarma
    Caralarma Posts: 174 Member
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    Meal timing has nothing to do with weight loss. In fact, the notion of even naming meals is silly. I mean what is lunch? What is dinner? What is a snack? These are simply names given by society in order to try tell people when to eat. Breakfast is still breakfast whether its eaten at 8am or 1pm. Just eat when hungry and track calories. Oh and fire your nutritionist
  • katarina005
    katarina005 Posts: 259 Member
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    I've given up on this and just eat if I'm hungry. I don't think our metabolism slows down much at that time, and if you exercise and put in the work, your metabolism etc might be different anyhow. This is hard enough, give yourself a break sometimes
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    I actually eat the majority of my calories after 6pm. I eat light during the day. I can't stand sleeping on an empty stomach so it's worked for me.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,902 Member
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    Motorsheen wrote: »
    vanityy99 wrote: »
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    Calories are the only thing that matter in terms of weight loss.

    Meal timing can help with compliance/satiety but will not have any effect on weight loss. Your nutritionist is using 'bro science' from the 80's/90's with that recommendation.

    What’s bro science?

    giphy.gif

    Love Bro Science guy!
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
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    chetan131 wrote: »
    My Dietician also advised me to move my dinner time from 7-7:30 to 6 pm. There are several reasons for this. I typically go to bed by 9-9:30pm due to early morning shifts. Its well known fact that one must allow enough time for dinner digestion before going to bed. And the advisable gap is about 3 hours. So, check your timings and take decision. Everyone could have different schedule.

    ummm no, there is no such science that supports that notion....in fact, most recent research is showing that a snack right before bed can be beneficial because it aides in muscle synthesis and decreases time to get into REM sleep

    I don’t know about all that stuff, but a protein snack at bedtime helps me sleep thru the night. Does that count? Bro science?
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
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    chetan131 wrote: »
    My Dietician also advised me to move my dinner time from 7-7:30 to 6 pm. There are several reasons for this. I typically go to bed by 9-9:30pm due to early morning shifts. Its well known fact that one must allow enough time for dinner digestion before going to bed. And the advisable gap is about 3 hours. So, check your timings and take decision. Everyone could have different schedule.

    ummm no, there is no such science that supports that notion....in fact, most recent research is showing that a snack right before bed can be beneficial because it aides in muscle synthesis and decreases time to get into REM sleep

    I don’t know about all that stuff, but a protein snack at bedtime helps me sleep thru the night. Does that count? Bro science?

    I would say that you're preference doesn't have to have a scientific basis as you've made no health claim. I also fall asleep better with food in my stomach. I think it's just a comfort thing.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    chetan131 wrote: »
    My Dietician also advised me to move my dinner time from 7-7:30 to 6 pm. There are several reasons for this. I typically go to bed by 9-9:30pm due to early morning shifts. Its well known fact that one must allow enough time for dinner digestion before going to bed. And the advisable gap is about 3 hours. So, check your timings and take decision. Everyone could have different schedule.

    ummm no, there is no such science that supports that notion....in fact, most recent research is showing that a snack right before bed can be beneficial because it aides in muscle synthesis and decreases time to get into REM sleep

    I don’t know about all that stuff, but a protein snack at bedtime helps me sleep thru the night. Does that count? Bro science?

    Also, for diabetics, a small snack high in fats such as an ounce of cheese right before bed can reduce “dawn effect” - high fasting blood glucose caused by elevated stress hormones first thing in the morning.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    I eat the vast majority of my calories at dinner, which is always after 6:00. I lost weight that way and have maintained the loss for years still eating that way.

    Meal timing doesn't matter for weight loss....spread out your calories in any way that works for you. Some people get heartburn if they eat too soon before going to bed, but that's a different issue.