Calorie counting

txbby4179
txbby4179 Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
Do you need to stop eating by 8pm . To loose weight

Replies

  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    Think about it... people who work overnight and sleep during the day can still lose weight and they - for the most part - will be eating most of their calories after 8pm.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,223 Member
    edited February 2023
    txbby4179 wrote: »
    Do you need to stop eating by 8pm . To loose weight

    Gee, I hope not: If it's true that you can't lose weight when eating after 8PM, that might mean that the 50+ pounds I lost were a figment of my imagination, and I've still been class 1 obese for the last 7 years since, instead of at a healthy weight like I (and my doctor) have the delusion I've been.

    Seriously: I don't like arbitrary rules. I've been eating from shortly after waking up until shortly before bedtime when I feel like it, for 8 years now, around a year of that was loss, the next 7 maintenance. It's all worked just fine.

    The one thing I'd say is that if one eats a really big meal right before bed, the next morning's early weigh in might be a little higher because the food waste is still somewhere in the digestive tract, hasn't yet made it to the toilet. That's not fat, so I don't see any reason to get excited about it, if that happens.

    Some people find that eating right before bed interferes with getting restful sleep, and some people find that if they don't get the necessary minimum sleep quality/quantity, they struggle more with hunger and cravings so can't stick to their calorie goal. If both of those things turn out to be true for you, then it might be useful to stop eating early enough to prevent that.

    Other than that, eat when you like, and on the schedule that makes it easiest for you to stick with a sensible calorie goal. Stick with that sensible calorie goal on average on the overwhelming majority of days, and you'll lose weight.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,221 Member
    edited February 2023
    If the calories that are putting you in a caloric surplus are the ones you eat after 8, then yes, don't do that. If you think there's some magic to weight loss by not eating after 8, then, no there isn't. Cheers.
  • nsk1951
    nsk1951 Posts: 1,304 Member
    I guess you've been answered by the previous posters. ... So, I'll restate it ... no, stopping eating at 8PM does not assure weight loss. What it does do is give your digestive system time to empty itself properly which has health benefits all it's own.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,225 Member
    nsk1951 wrote: »
    I guess you've been answered by the previous posters. ... So, I'll restate it ... no, stopping eating at 8PM does not assure weight loss. What it does do is give your digestive system time to empty itself properly which has health benefits all it's own.

    Except that, depending on the person, the whole process of digestion, from the time you swallow food to the time it leaves your body, takes about two to five days. Which means that not eating after 8pm does not ". . . give your digestive system time to properly empty itself . . .". It would still be active.

    OP: As others have said, eating or not eating after 8pm does not inhibit or increase your chances of losing weight. I've eaten at all times of day and and night and I average my calories weekly. When I was in a deficit, I lost. When I was in a surplus, I gained. Eat when you need to to control your hunger and maintain your deficit. It's different with everyone.

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