Do you stop eating after a certain time?

Shelley6591

I know I've always been told you should stop eating after 7 or 8 pm just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on that theory. Typically by then I'm at my calorie limit but sometimes I'm not, wondering if there is any sense in pushing myself to eat before a certain time or if I'm within my daily limit it's fine?

Thanks

2013sk

Calories cant tell the time......... : )

If your hungry.. Eat ... : )

I eat at all silly hours ... If your body is needing food, fuel it!!

SugaryLynx

I eat whenever I want. Meal timing is purely down to personal adherence. Do what makes you feel best. Your body doesn't care what time of the day it's being fed. I love my evening snacks

sarafischbach9

Hi, you can eat whenever you want, just as long as you are within your calorie goals in the 24 hour period. I try not to eat right before bed, UNLESS I ABSOLUTELY have to, but that is not because of weight gain or weight loss. I worry about digestion if I eat a big meal before bed.

Spiderkeys

For the last 6 months I fast after 6pm, it usually after my biggest meal dinner, I just think it's deadly going to bed with a full stomach.

tomwatso

I try to not eat after 7:00 pm.

MB_Positif

I try not to eat again after I lay down for bed, but honestly I get up sometimes and have a small snack. No sense going to bed hungry, I will just wake up grumbly.

sfbaumgarten

No, I eat whenever I want... I'm a notorious nighttime snacker.

karllundy

Nope. I had always heard this as well, but I eat 50-60% of my calories for the day between 6-10 p.m. before I go to bed. I have lost almost 100 lbs doing so.

irisheyez718

I eat dinner around 8 PM, have a snack at midnight, and then go to bed. So, I guess its when I'm sleeping

Lrdoflamancha

Many different opinions about this here. I recently read about a small study that showed, generally thin people tend to stop eating by 8 PM. I have a major problem eating at night so I have recently stopped eating at 8. So far I do not see any difference.

Jacwhite22

Once I go to sleep. I always stop eating once I am asleep.

_Zardoz_

I normally stop when I'm asleep because I'd choke

erialcelyob

I eat whenever I want food, think about it, your body is already fasting right through the night so why make that begin earlier?

birdiecs

No I eat a lot of calories in the evening. My appetite doesn't usually kick in until afternoon-evening. Has not affected my weight loss as far as I can tell.

dont_tap_my_aces

I follow IF... so i don't break the fast until noon and stop eating by 8. i've read a little evidence that the fast helps boost hormone levels that facilitate fat energy use, but not enough of a change over a normal eating diet to make me switch. I do it instead because i've never liked eating breakfast, and enjoy getting all my daily calories in 2 large meals rather than smaller more frequent meals.

honestly it doesn't matter when you consume calories. Even if you do so right before bed, the body doesn't just stop metabolism because you are asleep. if you are alive, you're burning fuel at some level.

in_the_stars

No.
I eat when I'm hungry... and drink when I'm dry.

Lately my largest meals are breakfast and lunch. If I wake in the middle of the night I eat peanut butter toast and drink milk.

auzziecawth66

I have before (not currently now) done that. I wouldn't eat anything after 6 so after supper I was done, really cut down on my night time habit of snacking out of boredom.

SoDamnHungry

I stop eating when I'm out of calories.

njitaliana

I see a GI doc. He said that eating close to bedtime can cause acid reflux. He said the pressure of the food in the esophagus can actually break the valve that separates the stomach and esophagus, allowing the food to sit in the esophagus all night. He said the acid churning in the esophagus and throat all night while in a lying position can eventually cause cancer.

So, yes, I have my evening snack at 8 PM and then don't eat anything else. I go up to bed about 11 or 12 PM, as the GI specialist said to stop eating 3 to 4 hours before bedtime.

I don't know if eating at night really affects weight any more than eating in the day time, but we aren't active at night, so the food doesn't digest quickly like it does in the daytime, especially if it's sitting in the esophagus all night instead of reaching the stomach and bowels and digesting.

EvenThatNameIsTaken

i like my midnight snacks and i have no intention of ditching them as long as they fit into my calories/macros. i find it too restrictive to try to cut off eating at a certain point, and i have one of those personalities where often if i try to tell myself *not* to do something, something in me will conspire to do it!

edited to add, i do try to wait at least 30 min before going to bed so the food can start digesting a bit. usually more like an hour.

seltzermint555

It is rare for me to eat after 7 pm unless it's a small snack like nuts or cheese to fill in gaps in protein/cals.

However it's not because I believe it will somehow assist me in losing weight. I just feel hungrier early in my day. For me 3 meals at 7, 11:30 or 12, and 5:30 or 6 feels right so that's what I usually do.

tristaj90

I typically try to grab my last snack by 830 because I'm normally in bed before 10.. some nights I may eat something light at around 9 if I'm not home at 830..

bradXdale

No. I do not have a specific cutoff time to stop eating.

In general though my last meal + snack is around 7:30 and I am generally very full because I like eating bigger dinners so it lasts me about 12-13 hours overnight until I eat breakfast.

Myhaloslipped

I have accepted the fact that nighttime snacking is something about me that just isn't going to change, so I always try to save an extra 300 of my daily calories for after dinner.

richardheath

Many different opinions about this here. I recently read about a small study that showed, generally thin people tend to stop eating by 8 PM. I have a major problem eating at night so I have recently stopped eating at 8. So far I do not see any difference.

I would suggest that this is probably because the people who eat later (a) eat high calorie snack food and (b) go over on their calorie requirements. If you are counting calories and staying in a deficit, meal (or snack) timing means virtually nothing.

richardheath

For the last 6 months I fast after 6pm, it usually after my biggest meal dinner, I just think it's deadly going to bed with a full stomach.

I had a protein shake right before bed last night. I haven't died yet!

Note: if you have acid reflux or other digestion problems, then it is wise to not eat when it upsets you. Other than that, it certainly isn't deadly.

IPAkiller

Yes, after "O" thirty...

And yes, I chose the Judge Judy gif for all of your viewing pleasure!

odusgolp

Yes, after "O" thirty...

And yes, I chose the Judge Judy gif for all of your viewing pleasure!

Feervi

I try to eat my last meal a couple of hours before going to bed, that's before ten as I go to bed at midnight. It is usually a small snack like tea or a small yogurt. It works for me

F00LofaT00K

YES! Whatever time it happens to be once I hit my goal!