No food after 8pm??

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NatashaAlexandra
NatashaAlexandra Posts: 70 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Recently I've seen a few people saying they stop eating at around 7-8pm for the rest of the day, because apparantley eating after those hours increases weight gain?

Personally, I ALWAYS eat after 8. Infact it is the only time of the day when I actually snack.
At around 9 o clock I usually have a cup of tea, and something along the lines of crackers with cheese or cereal.. so it's really a small meal rather than a snack.
There is no way around me doing this, as even if I snacked during the day I am still the same at night (tried that method)

So basically what I'm asking is, does this affect my weight loss AT ALL?
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Replies

  • seobstar
    seobstar Posts: 169
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    In my opinion (and you'll get about a million and one different opinions on this) it's not about WHEN you eat, as long as you're within your calorie goal, it doesn't matter how late at night you eat the food. Calories in v. Calories out is much more important than the time of day you actually consume the calories.
  • NoExcuseTina
    NoExcuseTina Posts: 506 Member
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    not sure...but I eat after 10 PM some nights...my husband and I work out at 9:30 PM some nights and eat after

    I think for some people if the stop eating at a certain time, it just helps them to eat less calories...for me, I watch the calorie numbers all day so I have enough left for my late meal...I have no medical degree or nutritional degree, so this is just what works for me
  • 6Janelle13
    6Janelle13 Posts: 353 Member
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    I can't speak for you but for myself, my weigh in differs by a few pounds if i eat late verses early. I have just started trying to stay out of the kitchen after 7 pm so i can not say if it is true weight loss or if i am just more empty in the morning when i weigh in.
  • susancelli928
    susancelli928 Posts: 190
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    It all depends on what you eat during the day and if you go over your calorie intake than yes you are harming yourself obviously, but if you are within the range than eat when you like. A lot of people say they stop eating around 7 or 8 and wake up hungry in the morning. As long as you are losing then keep doing what you are doing
  • susancelli928
    susancelli928 Posts: 190
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    It all depends on what you eat during the day and if you go over your calorie intake than yes you are harming yourself obviously, but if you are within the range than eat when you like. A lot of people say they stop eating around 7 or 8 and wake up hungry in the morning. As long as you are losing then keep doing what you are doing
  • crozierb
    crozierb Posts: 61 Member
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    A Dietician friend of mine completely agrees with this- total calories are what count :)
  • pilotgirl2007
    pilotgirl2007 Posts: 368 Member
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    It used to be common theory that if you ate late at night you would store it as fat because there wasn't any activity to burn it off. I believe that this is no longer the common thought on this and it is basically what seobstar said, doesn't matter when you eat them as long as you aren't going over. Just try to make your choices at night healthier. There are so many factors that go into it other than calories in vs calories out, you are still burning calories while you are sleeping so I suggest not worrying about it to much just try to keep it light and healthly. I often eat dinner at 8 or 8:30 because I am teaching aerobics classes up to that point.

    Eating later at night is better than starving which WILL hinder your weight loss effort.
  • My3Rayz
    My3Rayz Posts: 373
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    not sure...but I eat after 10 PM some nights...my husband and I work out at 9:30 PM some nights and eat after

    I think for some people if the stop eating at a certain time, it just helps them to eat less calories...for me, I watch the calorie numbers all day so I have enough left for my late meal...I have no medical degree or nutritional degree, so this is just what works for me

    I do the same thing...watch my caloric intake all day just so I know I can have my snack at night. I've lost 33 lbs since the beginning of the year so the 100 calories i eat at night can't be hurting me too much :)
  • stroutman81
    stroutman81 Posts: 2,474 Member
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    It's the net calories and nutrients that matter most. Not when you eat them.
  • Lizzgeorge77
    Lizzgeorge77 Posts: 52 Member
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    The most important thing is calories in vs calories out overall, but if you want to get technical there is a physiological difference in how your body processes food - especially sugars - while sleeping versus while being awake. If you eat a bunch of sugary snacks and then go straight to bed it can disrupt your sleep (i.e. your muscle repair) and also those sugars are more likely to go straight to fat cells because you aren't moving at all to burn them off. Because of this I've read that some trainers advise eating most of your daily carbs/sugars in the morning and off and don't have any after about 4pm (this is if weight loss is your goal). This is to make sure the body can burn them off before bed.

    But again, the most important thing - the only thing that matters to the vast majority of us unless you are a body builder or in a medical study - is to be as active as possible and eat fewer calories than you burn.
  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
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    I am not sure where that idea came from: something about your metabolism slows through the night, but with my job I sometimes dont get to eat supper till 10 or later and then to bed by midnight. So far (only 2 weeks) but I am losing. I think it all boils down to a simple math equation---Calories in vs Calories out. The out needs to be more than the in and you lose. The nuances of the loss may be in what exactly you eat and when, but it is still overall the basic in vs out equation. Good Luck to you
  • harryblack83
    harryblack83 Posts: 3
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    I don't think it affects your ability to lose weight, but I agree it will probably affect your weight first thing in the morning as your belly will probably still be digesting your late night food. The only things I avoid eating late are carbs as they take longer to digest and I also hate going to bed feeling full as it feels like the food is just sitting there.

    You have a daily calorie allowance, as long as you don't go over it will work - simple! I couldn't not eat at all in the evenings as that is when I'm at my most peckish.
  • cbotti
    cbotti Posts: 3
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    I used to believe eating late caused weight gain, but after some research I'm not so sure.

    I found this really great article about it...take a look.

    http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSI/9273/35323/432544.html?d=dmtHMSContent
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
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    I think it depends on if you're hungry or if you're eating for some other reason. Listen to your body. Keep track of your calories.
  • CaraRadz
    CaraRadz Posts: 169 Member
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    I go to spin class from 6:45pm-7:45pm several nights a week. I don't like eating before a workout like that, so I routinely eat dinner around 8:30pm or 9:00pm after I get home from the gym and shower. I haven't seen any negative impacts on my weight loss from doing this.
  • JulsDiane
    JulsDiane Posts: 349 Member
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    I have to agree with everyone, a snack shouldn't matter, but to me it is important to eat the majority of your daily calories during the time you will be the most active. I am still working on getting my intake up through the day and lowering my dinner reserve ;)
  • popsicle33
    popsicle33 Posts: 108 Member
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    I have read that it depends on around when you plan to go to sleep. I don't remember what my source is, but our metabolism DOES slow down once we are going to bed. I believe the article I read (Yahoo Shine! ???) said we should eat no later than 2-4 hours before bedtime. So, 8:00 is just a rule of thumb for "normal" people. I am learning that most of us aren't exactly "normal!"

    I don't usually go to bed until about 10:30 and I eat dinner between 8 and 9. I have a hard time eating much earlier because I get home from work by about 6, work out for 1 or 1-1/2 hours, then I cook dinner (another 20-30 minutes).

    A good rule of thumb is (in my opinion), get your heaviest meal in earlier in the day and make dinner light so you sleep with fewer cals.
  • RaeannO29
    RaeannO29 Posts: 3
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    Some people don't have regular 9-5 jobs, so this theory doesn't really work if you're someone like me, who doesn't get off of work until 11p. And trust me, when I get home from a day's work, I'm starving. It's hard, but I think if you're gonna eat after a certain time, WHAT you eat is what counts. I have a friend at work who's a fitness buff (this guy is ripped from head to toe) and he told me if I'm gonna eat that late, to make it low carb, high protein. Like cottage cheese or greek yogurt.
  • LaDiablesse
    LaDiablesse Posts: 862 Member
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    I try my hardest not to eat anything within 2 hours of going to sleep. A lot of times this doesn't work, because I'm not able to eat dinner until 8:30 - 9:00 pm after taking care of the family & working out. I think it's just best to go with what your body is telling you.
  • jessicajoy87
    jessicajoy87 Posts: 905
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    It is good for you to eat a small healthy snack before bed. It helps keep your metabolism going faster throughout the night. Don't over do it.

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