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Which is worse?

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homesweeths
homesweeths Posts: 792 Member
in Social Groups
...eating after 9pm, or ending the day with 800 calories or less?

Didn't have time for dinner tonight before rushing the kids off to their game. On my way home now and wondering if I should eat when I get there, or just call it a day.

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  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    eh, if you aren't hungry ,just call it a day. If you want a light snack, go ahead and have something.

    ETA the occasional low cal day won't hurt you, just don't make it a habit
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
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    I believe being down 800 calories is worse, personally.

    But if you're really not hungry/too full, just make up for it he next day. I have to do that today, for example; I'm 100 calories down from the past two days, thus I eat around 2750 today. I've had days where I have to eat north of 3000... not easy, but an interesting challenge.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
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    I think its best to get enough calories, regardless of when you get them. some days I only get over 1,000 by eating after 9pm, and I find that I will be ravenous the next day if I decide to wait until morning.
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
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    My vote is that eating too late isn't worth it, and instead, try to eat a big breakfast.

    However, I do eat late one night a week, and it hasn't done too much trouble, as long as I take a walk afterwards.
  • justaspoonfulofsugar
    justaspoonfulofsugar Posts: 587 Member
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    I remember reading that when we eat late at night our body does not rest properly.
    Normally in rest,the body repairs itself and when we have eaten late,the body spends it's time digesting and we wake up tired.
    Lots of people do fasting so it won't kill you to eat too few calories,try and make up for it the next day
  • homesweeths
    homesweeths Posts: 792 Member
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    I remember reading that when we eat late at night our body does not rest properly.
    Normally in rest,the body repairs itself and when we have eaten late,the body spends it's time digesting and we wake up tired.
    Lots of people do fasting so it won't kill you to eat too few calories,try and make up for it the next day

    This makes sense. I did end up eating -- was hungry when I got home -- the little bite of Youngest's burger as we went out the door left me wanting more and lunch was early yesterday to boot. I'm dragging this morning (though that might also be due to really late bedtime and interrupted sleep).

    One of the kids got the bright idea of saving time in the morning by taking a bath at 2am!

    p.s. Thanks, everyone!
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    The eating at night rule just doesn't hold up. If you've only had 800 calories and you are hungry, by all means EAT. However, if you are not hungry and you don't make a habit of under-eating, then don't. I've always liked having a full belly at night (or I don't sleep well) and I usually don't eat until noon or later.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    It depends on two things:
    1) Did you get some good quality protein and some fat during the day?
    2) On days you don't eat enough, does hunger wake you up or otherwise disturb your sleep?

    When you sleep, your body is rebuilding muscle and managing some very important endocrine functions. Not having the building blocks or getting enough sleep are both problems I'd rather avoid. Having a small meal isn't going to hurt and may actually help.
  • aliciap412
    aliciap412 Posts: 170 Member
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    sometimes digestion can keep me up, although not so much now that I'm not eating things that irritate my gut.

    so if I'm off to bed within an hour, I either don't eat or eat and then stay up to digest, depending on if I have the time to spare or how hungry I really feel.

    very important points made by amisnercpa regarding muscle repair during sleep. that is usually my biggest concern when I'm under calories.
  • Lld320
    Lld320 Posts: 81
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    I don't think either one is going to affect your long term weight loss success.
  • ShannonKirton
    ShannonKirton Posts: 304 Member
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    If I've fallen short of my calorie goals (and I try my hardest to get to the minimum 1200 at least) I will call it a day if I'm not hungry. If you don't want the food and your body isn't calling for it, don't force yourself. The day where I usually have issues meeting calorie goals is my 24 hour fasting day. I have issues fitting 1200-1500 calories in one meal so I don't stress if I'm stuck at 800 or 1000, but I do eat breakfast the next morning for sure and as mentioned before, some days during the rest of the week are more calorie dense than others.

    Again, once it is not something that you do constantly or on purpose, don't stress too much. We all have our high days and our low days.
  • TriLifter
    TriLifter Posts: 1,283 Member
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    The eating at night rule just doesn't hold up. If you've only had 800 calories and you are hungry, by all means EAT. However, if you are not hungry and you don't make a habit of under-eating, then don't. I've always liked having a full belly at night (or I don't sleep well) and I usually don't eat until noon or later.

    QFT

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