Eating back calories late at night?

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Mimigurken
Mimigurken Posts: 27 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I came home from the gym around 9pm and later realized that I still had 800 calories left (it was an unusual day, burned almost 1000 cal). Now I always try to eat back calories but what's worse? Eating late at night or just letting the calories be? I downed a protein shake for recovery but I didn't want to cook anything and then not sleep well.

Any ideas?

Replies

  • rfcollins33
    rfcollins33 Posts: 630
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    bump
  • DeeDeeLHF
    DeeDeeLHF Posts: 2,301 Member
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    You can eat a bigger breakfast today. I know you won't have the thrill of seeing that you were under on your home page for today, but your body doesn't care what your ticker says. You may find that you are more hungry today anyway and the permission to eat a couple extra hundred will be welcomed.

    D
  • TLC1975
    TLC1975 Posts: 146 Member
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    No real ideas, but I sometimes end up in the same situation, in fact i had to eat back nearly 800 calories last night, so I did most of it...around 10pm...I'd rather do that then end the day below net goal and be starving when I wake....that and I don't like leaving my metabolism without fuel for too long...Didn't interrupt my sleep at all.

    Since having m 3rd baby.....I pay very close attention to fueling my metabolism....having kids messes with the whole thing!
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Plan ahead , you know roughly what your going to burn, on the days i go to the gym i log the exersie in the morning then plan bigger meals through out the day! hope that helps!
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    You can eat at night. In fact the protein shake was probably a good thing to have. Our muscles repair while we sleep. The protein is good for it. I hear cottage cheese is a great night time snack. I've had protein powder, skim milk and frozen fruit blended and went to bed an hour or so later. It won't hurt especially if you haven't had that many calories that day.

    Of course don't have a huge meal then lay down right after but eating at night is fine.
  • deannarey13
    deannarey13 Posts: 452
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    If it was within 3 hours of bed, I would just have the protein shake for recovery. However, if you know you will be working out late or close (within 3 hours) of bedtime, eat more during the day.
  • ITSSODAMNHOT
    ITSSODAMNHOT Posts: 121 Member
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    What is considered to late to eat?
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    Just for the record... eating late at night isn't inherently bad for fat loss. It's the net calories and nutrients that matter most... emphasis on most.
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
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    Plan ahead , you know roughly what your going to burn, on the days i go to the gym i log the exersie in the morning then plan bigger meals through out the day! hope that helps!

    I agree. I also go to the gym @ night and I'm just not that hungry afterward. I can't sleep if I eat a big meal late at night and like to keep it simple anyway...usually just a protein and veggie. I don't overdo it though just in case something comes up and I don't make it to the gym.

    The protein shake is a good option, but quite frankly, if you aren't hungry don't worry about it.
  • carolsohn
    carolsohn Posts: 33 Member
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    Rather sleep, definitely.
  • Mimigurken
    Mimigurken Posts: 27 Member
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    I wasn't planning on working out that day but just ended up at the gym. I was definitely hungry when I woke up. Thanks!
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    Something else to consider is this....

    If you don't eat enough for one particular day... it's not as if your metabolism is going to crash. It takes months and months or pretty severe under-feeding to have what amounts to a pretty small drop in metabolic rate. One day isn't going to make a lick of difference.

    If you eat too much, it's not like you're going to go storing pounds of fat unless you're literally shoveling brownies down your throat by the dozen. Always keep in mind that one pound of fat has roughly 3500 calories so unless you're eating 3500 calories above and beyond your maintenance needs... most of any gain is going to be water weight.

    Personally, especially when it comes to resistance training, I advocate getting some protein and carbs in after training. It's when your tissues are most sensitive to favorable partitioning of incoming energy and it does good things for stimulating protein synthesis and halting protein breakdown, which is the essence of muscle maintenance/growth.

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