No food after ____?

gmukris

When do y'all stop eating food for the night.? I eat dinner anywhere between 5 and 6 pm and would love to snack on something most nights, but I tend to cut myself off by 7:30--often feeling hungry and just itching to raid the cupboards. I go to bed between 9 and 10 pm.

gmukris

When do y'all stop eating food for the night.? I eat dinner anywhere between 5 and 6 pm and would love to snack on something most nights, but I tend to cut myself off by 7:30--often feeling hungry and just itching to raid the cupboards. I go to bed between 9 and 10 pm.

loreeb18

When the cookie drops from my hand as I fall asleep. :laugh: Just kidding.

My husband and I don't eat supper until 8 or 9 some nights but I try not to eat more than a 100 calorie snack after dinner.

Losing_It

I try not to eat after 7.

allaboutme

it depends on how many calories I have left. We don't eat til about 7 (I make them wait til I have my exercises done) if I have calories to spare, I will snack around 9 ish if I am hungry, I don't usually have enough left, I like to eat during the day:) I don't worry about when I eat, I just try not to let myself get too hungry so that I end up overeating.

Poison5119

I don't feel it makes any difference, although there are conflicting opinions.

If I have not gotten my allotted cals in and it's a half hour before bed, I eat, simple as that. My body doesn't really know what time it is.

Jackie_W

Once I've eaten my dinner around 5-6pm I try - and usually succeed in not eating anything else until breakfast.
I make sure I pile on the veggies - seems to help me.
:flowerforyou:

ChubbyBunny

I figure a calorie is a calorie.
Granted if you eat earlier you increase the potential to burn off food, more so then if you eat right before bed. However, if you follow the math...calories in vs calories out, you should still lose even if you have a snack later.

For me it depends on the snack...if I eat a higher carb snack (hot cocoa, popcorn, etc) at night I feel it the next day...so you may need to experiment with it.

I've heard both sides of the tale though...trainers who say, "Don't eat 3 hours before you got to bed..." and others who say, "Eat when you are hungry." So, depends... I sometimes sleep better when my stomach is empty though.

Poison5119

The source: http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/03/17/dont-deny-yourself-food-after-8pm/



What it says:

Remember the infamous diet rule of not eating after 8pm? Well, it's years later since many changes have been made to what was once considered to be sound dietary advice (has anyone seen the new food pyramid?), and most people now agree that cutting off your food this early may not be the best idea.

Unless you happen to go to bed at 9pm (which very well may be the case), you may want to keep eating up until an hour or so before you fall asleep. Eating any closer to bedtime may interfere with your sleep. Denying yourself food hours before bedtime, however, can actually cause you to slow down your metabolism over time.

Even though your body naturally slows your metabolism while you sleep, you are still burning calories. If you sleep for eight hours, for example, that's eight hours of calorie burning (albeit less than when you're awake), coupled with the amount of hours from the time you stopped eating until the time you fell asleep. So, you could be looking at upwards of 8 to 10 hours of not having any new food in your system, yet your body is burning calories the entire time. Seems like this should be a good thing, right? It is and it isn't.

It is a good thing because you need to burn calories to lose weight. We know that much. It's not a good thing because you are forcing your body to go into conservation mode. Our bodies, which are not as evolved as we would like to believe, respond to continuous periods of diminished caloric intake by slowing our metabolic rate. This, in turn, can cause some weight gain over time rather than weight loss.

Just be sure to eat something healthy at night. Everything I just said about weight loss and eating after 8pm is completely null and void if wolf down a tray of lasagna. Instead, try a healthy snack, such as a bowl of cottage cheese (if you can, or choose to, do dairy). The casein protein contained in cottage cheese digests very slowly, so it will stay in your system throughout most of the night. And, as an added bonus, foods that take longer to digest actually burn more calories in the process of their own digestion.

arjames82

For me, it really just depends on what time I am shutting down for the day. I work full-time and go to school part-time, so I often have a 14-16 hour day. I usually try to eat my last "meal" no more than 2 hours before I go to bed. However, if I get hungry, I'll allow myself a small snack like a handfull of nuts, a small bowl of cereal, or a mini-bag of popcorn.

firegirlred

Recent studies indicate that eating is eating. No matter when it occurs. And the less space between food intake, the less "bumpy" you are. Ask any diabetic. Eating frequently keeps your blood sugar on a more constant level. So a late night snack that decreases the time between dinner and breakfast is actually a good thing. Your body doesn't get used to fast/eat/fast/eat......

Just keep your calories in the recommended guidelines.

I'll track down the study if I need to.

Marla64

I'm asleep--

gmukris

Thanks everyone! Very helpful--now I won't feel guilty if I need to eat sometime between dinner and bed.

Renae_Nae

I try to stop eating after dinner...but it's more so that we will watch TV and if I start snacking I don't want to stop...not because I think it's unhealthy to not eat late

jenninsocal

I go to sleep early, usually 9 or 9:30, so I cut myself off at 8. however if I havent had my calories by then, I will eat or drink something to use all my calories

mellymlk

I've heard it's good to have a snack at night. t keeps your metabolism going while your sleeping

TaraJ16

i eat dinner at about 5pm, and then i have an apple for snack at about 7:30-8ish. i try not to eat after 8, cause i go to bed at 10 and if i eat any later my stomach hurts

Phoenix_Rising

I eat dinner between 6-7p.
I eat a night time snack between 9-10p.:devil:

I have an ucler, I've had a perforated ulcer (it blew a hole through my stomach), I have had acid reflux. I'm never supposed to eat "large meals", which translate in my language to "don't eat like a total gluttonous pig". I'm also not supposed to eat directly before before bed either. I usually lie down for bed around 11p.



In summation, my rule is no food after I'm asleep. :bigsmile:

Marla64

Here, here!!!

EvilPIB

9 Surprising Facts About Your Stomach

Check out the above thread it has some information on this

LovelyLady1977

Heck, I eat right up until the time I go to bed! :laugh: