Will you gain weight if you eat before sleeping?

YaGigi

If credentials matter (which is questionable to begin with as I've seen credentialed and "educated" people make claims that have been readily established as erroneous) -- here you have it from Alan Aragon (bachelors and masters degrees in Nutrition and a very long list of accolades).

Alan: Whether fat oxidation is greater during waking or sleeping hours doesn’t matter. What matters is 24-hour fat balance, which is fat synthesis minus fat oxidation. See, those are the 2 sides to the equation. If you eat less during the day & more at night, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate during the day. If you do the opposite, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate through the night – & you end up at the same spot. After 24 hours, the body doesn’t know nor care which half of the day contributed to either a net loss, gain, or maintenance of fat balance. Unless you have a specific need for increased energy intake (ie, prolonged competition in a particular sport ocurring in the earlier part of the day), there’s no reason to assume that eating more during the day & less in the evening is INHERENTLY beneficial for body composition goals.

http://fitnfly.com/learn-about-food/nutrition-facts#_

Ok, and my doctor has a different opinion, and she has a post doctorate degree. If its a competition who's got better education, she'll beat your Alan's butt.

Anyway, Alan is not the last testament in this matter, there are thousands of researches done. It's the matter of personal preference which doctor to trust.

Edited to add: I'm not sure if post doctorate degree exists in the USA. It's what you get after your PhD. I think it's mostly European and Asian.

What if I find practicing medical doctors who disagree with you?
What if I show you peer reviewed research that shows you that you are wrong?

Will you believe it then?

Or are you just convinced you are correct, regardless of what evidence anyone may present you?

These are genuine questions.

And I'm giving you genuine answers.
I've posted before - Not eating after 6 helps me to lose or control my weight all my life. So I'm talking from my personal experience too, not just the doctors plan. And from my mom's experience - it's been her diet or should I say life style all her life, and she is 90-95 pounds now and never been heavier that 100 pounds. Except for her pregnancies of course.

Regarding researches, I've got my MBA and planning to start phd next year. I KNOW how researches are done, Ive done them myself. It all depends on the sponsors or/and the goal needed. I'm talking about legal/business/marketing researches but i guess medical research is not much of a difference. Honest advice - you shouldn't trust any research much.

Cindyinpg

Dr. Oz is a doctor and I'd take my garbage man's advice before his. I have a bachelor's degree in accounting, (1995) but because I don't keep up with current changes, I can barely do my own taxes anymore. I know for a fact that there are people here who do a lot of research and who are far, far more educated in weight loss than my own doctor, who expressed amazement at my weight loss.... and who then said he couldn't believe I did it just by eating at a deficit and that "that wouldn't work for most people". :huh:

SideSteel

If credentials matter (which is questionable to begin with as I've seen credentialed and "educated" people make claims that have been readily established as erroneous) -- here you have it from Alan Aragon (bachelors and masters degrees in Nutrition and a very long list of accolades).

Alan: Whether fat oxidation is greater during waking or sleeping hours doesn’t matter. What matters is 24-hour fat balance, which is fat synthesis minus fat oxidation. See, those are the 2 sides to the equation. If you eat less during the day & more at night, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate during the day. If you do the opposite, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate through the night – & you end up at the same spot. After 24 hours, the body doesn’t know nor care which half of the day contributed to either a net loss, gain, or maintenance of fat balance. Unless you have a specific need for increased energy intake (ie, prolonged competition in a particular sport ocurring in the earlier part of the day), there’s no reason to assume that eating more during the day & less in the evening is INHERENTLY beneficial for body composition goals.

http://fitnfly.com/learn-about-food/nutrition-facts#_

Ok, and my doctor has a different opinion, and she has a post doctorate degree. If its a competition who's got better education, she'll beat your Alan's butt.

Anyway, Alan is not the last testament in this matter, there are thousands of researches done. It's the matter of personal preference which doctor to trust.

Edited to add: I'm not sure if post doctorate degree exists in the USA. It's what you get after your PhD. I think it's mostly European and Asian.

What if I find practicing medical doctors who disagree with you?
What if I show you peer reviewed research that shows you that you are wrong?

Will you believe it then?

Or are you just convinced you are correct, regardless of what evidence anyone may present you?

These are genuine questions.

And I'm giving you genuine answers.

I meant answers to the above questions.

YaGigi

If credentials matter (which is questionable to begin with as I've seen credentialed and "educated" people make claims that have been readily established as erroneous) -- here you have it from Alan Aragon (bachelors and masters degrees in Nutrition and a very long list of accolades).

Alan: Whether fat oxidation is greater during waking or sleeping hours doesn’t matter. What matters is 24-hour fat balance, which is fat synthesis minus fat oxidation. See, those are the 2 sides to the equation. If you eat less during the day & more at night, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate during the day. If you do the opposite, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate through the night – & you end up at the same spot. After 24 hours, the body doesn’t know nor care which half of the day contributed to either a net loss, gain, or maintenance of fat balance. Unless you have a specific need for increased energy intake (ie, prolonged competition in a particular sport ocurring in the earlier part of the day), there’s no reason to assume that eating more during the day & less in the evening is INHERENTLY beneficial for body composition goals.

http://fitnfly.com/learn-about-food/nutrition-facts#_

Ok, and my doctor has a different opinion, and she has a post doctorate degree. If its a competition who's got better education, she'll beat your Alan's butt.

Anyway, Alan is not the last testament in this matter, there are thousands of researches done. It's the matter of personal preference which doctor to trust.

Edited to add: I'm not sure if post doctorate degree exists in the USA. It's what you get after your PhD. I think it's mostly European and Asian.

What if I find practicing medical doctors who disagree with you?
What if I show you peer reviewed research that shows you that you are wrong?

Will you believe it then?

Or are you just convinced you are correct, regardless of what evidence anyone may present you?

These are genuine questions.

And I'm giving you genuine answers.

I meant answers to the above questions.

Your questions are rhetorical and were answered in my previous post. IF you find research that dissagrees with my doctors opinion, I might consider it if I know te sources and circamstances of that research.
Hovewer, i replied to your questions and If you don't want to read and try to understand my comment, I'm not wasting my time explaining it to you.

YaGigi

Dr. Oz is a doctor and I'd take my garbage man's advice before his. I have a bachelor's degree in accounting, (1995) but because I don't keep up with current changes, I can barely do my own taxes anymore. I know for a fact that there are people here who do a lot of research and who are far, far more educated in weight loss than my own doctor, who expressed amazement at my weight loss.... and who then said he couldn't believe I did it just by eating at a deficit and that "that wouldn't work for most people". :huh:

Probably your doctor has a different speciality, not nutrition and weightloss.

When I say "my doctor" I mean a doctor who is specialized in weightloss, has post doctoral in weightloss, has been working in weightloss for decades, has weightloss clinics and published books and researches (not sure if translated in English).

SideSteel

If credentials matter (which is questionable to begin with as I've seen credentialed and "educated" people make claims that have been readily established as erroneous) -- here you have it from Alan Aragon (bachelors and masters degrees in Nutrition and a very long list of accolades).

Alan: Whether fat oxidation is greater during waking or sleeping hours doesn’t matter. What matters is 24-hour fat balance, which is fat synthesis minus fat oxidation. See, those are the 2 sides to the equation. If you eat less during the day & more at night, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate during the day. If you do the opposite, fat oxidation will occur at a greater rate through the night – & you end up at the same spot. After 24 hours, the body doesn’t know nor care which half of the day contributed to either a net loss, gain, or maintenance of fat balance. Unless you have a specific need for increased energy intake (ie, prolonged competition in a particular sport ocurring in the earlier part of the day), there’s no reason to assume that eating more during the day & less in the evening is INHERENTLY beneficial for body composition goals.

http://fitnfly.com/learn-about-food/nutrition-facts#_

Ok, and my doctor has a different opinion, and she has a post doctorate degree. If its a competition who's got better education, she'll beat your Alan's butt.

Anyway, Alan is not the last testament in this matter, there are thousands of researches done. It's the matter of personal preference which doctor to trust.

Edited to add: I'm not sure if post doctorate degree exists in the USA. It's what you get after your PhD. I think it's mostly European and Asian.

What if I find practicing medical doctors who disagree with you?
What if I show you peer reviewed research that shows you that you are wrong?

Will you believe it then?

Or are you just convinced you are correct, regardless of what evidence anyone may present you?

These are genuine questions.

And I'm giving you genuine answers.

I meant answers to the above questions.

Your questions are rhetorical and were answered in my previous post. IF you find research that dissagrees with my doctors opinion, I might consider it if I know te sources and circamstances of that research.
Hovewer, i replied to your questions and If you don't want to read and try to understand my comment, I'm not wasting my time explaining it to you.

They weren't rhetorical in the least.

verymissk

..if youre under your allotted calories for the day but eat, an apple for example, 1 hour before bed? Sometimes, work can be hectic and go on till 10-11pm. At this time, I get a tad bit hungry. So I was wondering if eating an apple or so (as long as Im under my calorie limit). But I read somewhere (cant confirm the authenticity) that if you eat before sleeping then it will be deposited as fat.

Is that trye at all? Or is that true for unhealthy junk food only?

I'm on a diet that doesn't allowed any food after 6 pm. My doctor is very strict about no food after 6, so it's not a myth.

But if I'm feeling really hungry, I can have a half glass of warm skim milk. It's allowed. It helps to calm the stomach.

My doctor recommends to have something to drink tat is easy to digest. This way my digestive system is also relaxing while I'm sleeping.

You should get a new doctor.

plipsurt

Nope, this is completely a myth. You can eat at any time of the day and not have a negative effect so long as you're meeting your calorie goal. However, I do not recommend eating while sleeping as this could present a choking hazard and you may forget to log what you ate.

Thank you for this! Quite possibly the funniest thing I have read in a while :flowerforyou: :laugh:

Fullsterkur_woman

And I'm giving you genuine answers.
I've posted before - Not eating after 6 helps me to lose or control my weight all my life. So I'm talking from my personal experience too, not just the doctors plan. And from my mom's experience - it's been her diet or should I say life style all her life, and she is 90-95 pounds now and never been heavier that 100 pounds. Except for her pregnancies of course.

So, it sounds to me like you should go ahead and keep doing what works for you. But the plural of anecdote is not data. The things that work for me absolutely do not work for everybody, I would never claim such, nor tell anybody they should do it the way that I'm doing it. If they want to give it a whirl, they can be my guest. I'm pretty sure it's not going to hurt them unless they're like, diabetic or some other condition that requires dietary intervention.

The data bear out that you won't gain weight if you eat before sleeping, if eating the same total amount of calories overall throughout the day in both cases would not lead to weight gain.

There's nothing stopping anybody from eating all their calories before 6 p.m. if they so choose.

extra_medium

You actually burn more calories while you are sleeping than you do exercising. I usually burn around 800 calories while sleeping, but only 300 in an exercise session.

Honestly I did not know you could burn more sleeping. That's pretty interesting. I would be curious to find out how much I burn at night. I think I'd go get an hrm just to see. Thank you for that information.

Urgh. Basic body functions burn calories over time. Working out burns a lot more calories than sleeping.

You honestly think I didn't know body function burns calories. What can you actually add to this conversation that will teach me something? I see you've done a great job at racking up the posts in the last 4 months. But what have you actually accomplished? What have you learned and applied to yourself that we might find interesting?

Well, you seemed to be buying into the concept that sleeping burns more calories than working out. Perhaps you spent 5 sentences being sarcastic. What can I add that will teach you something? I have no idea what you know. For anyone else thinking they burn more calories sleeping than working out, hopefully we can nip that concept in the bud.

Depending on body-weight/metabolism/etc most people will burn anywhere from 50-100 cal per hour sleeping. If you sleep 7-8 hours per night, that adds up to a lot more than one jazzercise class. No one is saying that you burn more calories taking a 45 minute nap than you do with 45 minutes on the treadmill. At least I hope not.

Anyways the point that keeps being made is that your metabolism doesn't just shut down overnight like people seem to be afraid of, and burning hundreds of calories over the course of 7-8 hours of sleep would take care of most pre-bedtime eating unless you went completely nuts. It would certainly burn up the apple the OP was concerned about eating before bed.

YaGigi

..if youre under your allotted calories for the day but eat, an apple for example, 1 hour before bed? Sometimes, work can be hectic and go on till 10-11pm. At this time, I get a tad bit hungry. So I was wondering if eating an apple or so (as long as Im under my calorie limit). But I read somewhere (cant confirm the authenticity) that if you eat before sleeping then it will be deposited as fat.

Is that trye at all? Or is that true for unhealthy junk food only?

I'm on a diet that doesn't allowed any food after 6 pm. My doctor is very strict about no food after 6, so it's not a myth.

But if I'm feeling really hungry, I can have a half glass of warm skim milk. It's allowed. It helps to calm the stomach.

My doctor recommends to have something to drink tat is easy to digest. This way my digestive system is also relaxing while I'm sleeping.

You should get a new doctor.

That's all you can say? Lol.

Elaborate much? I should get a new doctor because her diet plan is not what you've read from someone on this forum? Lmao.

YaGigi

And I'm giving you genuine answers.
I've posted before - Not eating after 6 helps me to lose or control my weight all my life. So I'm talking from my personal experience too, not just the doctors plan. And from my mom's experience - it's been her diet or should I say life style all her life, and she is 90-95 pounds now and never been heavier that 100 pounds. Except for her pregnancies of course.

So, it sounds to me like you should go ahead and keep doing what works for you. But the plural of anecdote is not data. The things that work for me absolutely do not work for everybody, I would never claim such, nor tell anybody they should do it the way that I'm doing it. If they want to give it a whirl, they can be my guest. I'm pretty sure it's not going to hurt them unless they're like, diabetic or some other condition that requires dietary intervention.

The data bear out that you won't gain weight if you eat before sleeping, if eating the same total amount of calories overall throughout the day in both cases would not lead to weight gain.

There's nothing stopping anybody from eating all their calories before 6 p.m. if they so choose.

The data my doctor has shows that it would cause weight gain AND health problems if eating all of your food before 6 pm.
So this kind of recommendations should depend on health circumstances of an individual. Therefore should be done by a medical professional after a medical exam. Not by someone on a forum. Would you agree?

verymissk

..if youre under your allotted calories for the day but eat, an apple for example, 1 hour before bed? Sometimes, work can be hectic and go on till 10-11pm. At this time, I get a tad bit hungry. So I was wondering if eating an apple or so (as long as Im under my calorie limit). But I read somewhere (cant confirm the authenticity) that if you eat before sleeping then it will be deposited as fat.

Is that trye at all? Or is that true for unhealthy junk food only?

I'm on a diet that doesn't allowed any food after 6 pm. My doctor is very strict about no food after 6, so it's not a myth.

But if I'm feeling really hungry, I can have a half glass of warm skim milk. It's allowed. It helps to calm the stomach.

My doctor recommends to have something to drink tat is easy to digest. This way my digestive system is also relaxing while I'm sleeping.

You should get a new doctor.

That's all you can say? Lol.

Elaborate much? I should get a new doctor because her diet plan is not what you've read from someone on this forum? Lmao.

Pretty sure you've gotten all of the information you need to understand why I would tell you to get a new doctor. But hey, science is hard.

Showcase_Brodown

The data my doctor has shows that it would cause weight gain AND health problems if eating all of your food before 6 pm.
So this kind of recommendations should depend on health circumstances of an individual. Therefore should be done by a medical professional after a medical exam. Not by someone on a forum. Would you agree?

Oh man, I better keep eating most of my calories after 6 pm, like I usually do. Yesssss.

The 6 pm or 8 pm or whatever time cutoff having anything to do with weight management given the same number of calories in a day has been dis-proven time and time again. Allow me to echo the wisdom again: Meal timing and frequency don't matter.

Of course this is a strategy that may work for you by placing limits so that you don't overeat, and if it does, good for you and your doctor. But the important thing to understand is that it is all about the calories in/out.

ninerbuff

But isnt is true because you're not burning anything or doing anything physical and the body stores the food as fat?

Body is always burning energy. This only stops when it becomes worm food.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

You actually burn more calories while you are sleeping than you do exercising. I usually burn around 800 calories while sleeping, but only 300 in an exercise session.

It does NOT matter *when* you eat your calories as long as you are in a deficit for the day under your TDEE. The calorie deficit is what matters, not when you eat.

TRU DAT! Not to mention that practically all energy burned in sleep is body fat. That's why sleep is important.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

YaGigi

The data my doctor has shows that it would cause weight gain AND health problems if eating all of your food before 6 pm.
So this kind of recommendations should depend on health circumstances of an individual. Therefore should be done by a medical professional after a medical exam. Not by someone on a forum. Would you agree?

Oh man, I better keep eating most of my calories after 6 pm, like I usually do. Yesssss.

The 6 pm or 8 pm or whatever time cutoff having anything to do with weight management given the same number of calories in a day has been dis-proven time and time again. Allow me to echo the wisdom again: Meal timing and frequency don't matter.

Of course this is a strategy that may work for you by placing limits so that you don't overeat, and if it does, good for you and your doctor. But the important thing to understand is that it is all about the calories in/out.

I might sound shocking.... But it's not just calories in/out. Your body is not a calculator to simply count in/out. It's a complicated machine that needs proper functioning. Not just energy which is calories but necessary nutritions and regularity. And during my weight loss the goal is not just to lose weight but also to stay healthy while supporting this complicated mechanism called human body.

If it was only about calories in/out, I could've starved all day and at 10 pm had only daily McDonald burger, French fries and a soda or pizza (within 1200 calories) and by your theory I'd lose weight. Probably I would lose weight. But I'd also ruin my health. My digestive system would be ruined, my stomach and goldbladder would die in pain after just a month of this 'diet'.

ninerbuff

thats crazy..that would mean the person would have to sleep with the strap on then..

it would be interesting to see if a person burns more calories if theyre tired...or days where youve burnt more vs days less (while asleep)..interesting topic to research.

Average calorie burn for most people will be 1.5 calories per minute. Do the math: 1.5 x 60 x 8= 720 calories. Obviously the lean muscle on a person will affect this to a higher degree.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Showcase_Brodown

When I say "my doctor" I mean a doctor who is specialized in weightloss, has post doctoral in weightloss, has been working in weightloss for decades, has weightloss clinics and published books and researches (not sure if translated in English).

My doctor has been practicing since medieval times. He has a Knighthood in medicine. He prescribes a good blood-letting for colds and for weight loss. He has many scrolls penned by his very hand. He is also a scribe.