Question regarding night-eating

_Clarana_

For those of you who slip up and eat at say 2/3am...what do you do the next day? As in, eat as normal, eat when you're hungry, or wait til it's been 8/12/16 etc hours from when you last ate? As I've been reading that you should fast for around 12 to 16 hours overnight. What do you think?

Hope it's OK to post this here too - I hadn't got many replies and I'd really like some opinions!

_Zardoz_

Meal timing has no relation to weightloss. Eat whenever it fits into your life.

RodaRose

Eating at 2 or 3 is fine. Timing is not important. Eat at the time that works for you.

kelseyhere

It depends, if I eat a lot at night, I will usually skip breakfast. But also when I eat a lot at night I'm usually not as hungry in the morning, so it works out. If you wake up in the middle of the night and are hungry, I think it's fine to eat. If it's happening often, maybe you just need to eat more during the day. All in all, I don't think it's that important WHEN you consume your calories. If you overeat you will gain weight, regardless if you eat at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. In general I think the best rule of thumb is to only eat when you are hungry!

gary241069

Shouldn't you be more concerned as to why you are not sleeping.
Is there something troubling you, and you're too hyper to relax.
Maybe I'm being silly here, but these are just my thoughts

HeidiCooksSupper

I am also what my mother termed a "dirty stay-up." And here, in my 60s, I'm retired and get to be one again! For some of us, it's our natural way of being. In fact, recent research shows there really are those of us who are early birds and slug-a-beds naturally. Note: the early birds get credit for that whereas we who stay up late and sleep in only get grief from the rest of you.

What the others are saying is right -- time of day, intervals between, number of meals, etc. make no difference in eating. It is whatever works best for you. There is some evidence that those who eat a breakfast with protein are less likely to overeat the rest of the day but for those of us who are keeping track -- as long as we don't go over it doesn't make any difference.

I usually eat a meal somewhere between noon and 2 p.m., have a little snack, have supper at 7ish, and then eat again a couple times between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. Works for me.

_Clarana_

I don't know why I can't sleep. It's never been a problem before. I can't sleep unless I'm full, and then I wake up and can't go back to sleep until I'm even fuller..usually with some chocolate. It's disgusting. I'm just amazed that I'm not fatter.

cajuntank

As already stated by some, meal timing is irrelevant when it comes to weight loss; however, I know in my case, if I eat a higher carb and fat meal later at night, I tend to sleep better. So I tend to structure my eating around where I save the bulk of my calories for supper and like to eat a little later than some since I go to the gym when most people are eating, then eat my biggest meal after.

hastingsmassage

eating time has nothing to do with time:)

earthboundmisfit

I can't sleep on a full stomach, if I'm digesting food it interferes with my sleep. But I don't go to sleep hungry either or I'll wake up starving in the middle of the night. But calorie timing doesn't matter, as long as you're tracking everything.