Fact or Fiction???

BabyBubbles31

Is it true that it is crucial to not eat after like six pm to lose weight?? I am having a hard time not eating since I stay up late, usually going to bed around midnight or so. Any suggestions or advice? I would like to know the secret to not eating or if this is even mandatory to lose the weight?

VeganGal84

Fiction. It doesn't matter what time you eat, only what you eat and how much. :-) And really, it's more about how much if your goal is weight loss.

tiggerbounce411

Well, You really shouldn't eat after a certain time, but I too am a night owl and go to bed late. I would juggle around your fruit comsumption to allow for snacks in the evenings, even sugar free low cal jello or something of that nature. I eat after 6 all the time and I am losing consistantly. I just do light stuff after about 7 or so.

jaxson1974

Fiction. I eat snacks all the time at night before bed, and it doesn't change a thing for my weight loss.

ncqueenbee

I've recently heard on Dr. Oz that you shouldn't eat within three hours of going to bed.

reese66

Fiction, it doesn't matter.

asyouseefit

Fiction. Eat when you are hungry!

cheeksv

I try not to if I am going to weigh in the morning. But It is more like I do not eat after I have had dinner ( unless I have an early dinner and we have popcorn while watching a movie). Try a late dinner?

ber3023

I don't always eat in the evenings, but someday's I'm lower on the calorie side and feel I need to eat something after dinner to get more calories in. I'm usually up to around midnight as well. I just try to not eat say after around 9 or 10ish. At least then its had a couple hrs to digest a little before I get in bed.

PhilipByrne

Is it true that it is crucial to not eat after like six pm to lose weight?? I am having a hard time not eating since I stay up late, usually going to bed around midnight or so. Any suggestions or advice? I would like to know the secret to not eating or if this is even mandatory to lose the weight?

This is a complete fiction, but has been repeated so often, especially by celebs, that it has been accepted as fact.

Doesn't matter when you consume those calories or indeed when you exercise.

Slán
Phil

sharonsjones

I eat in the evening all of the time. As long as I am in my calorie goal I don't worry about it. I mantain just fine and don't gain any weight.

khartley535

Fiction. I have a co worker who routinely wakes up in the middle of the night because he is hungry and goes to have a snack or even a whole meal. He doesn't have any issues with weight.

I usually have some type of snack within 1 hour prior to going to bed, and I've managed to lose 11 pounds in the last 4 weeks.

jram70

The only truth is that if you add on 500 calories right before you go to bed, you may go over on your allotment for the day because you won't burn it off. Otherwise I say fiction. Just look around the animal kingdom. Almost every mammal does what after it eats - sleep. We are the only ones with the weight problem.

MinnieInMaine

Fiction!

lindaday

Anyone know why I am stuck at the same weight for the past month. started out @ 211, now weigh 201, which took several months to get down to. what am I doing wrong? How do I chANGE my stats?

alcon79

Because of work and gym schedules, I usually don't sit down to eat dinner until 845-9pm and generally go to bed around 1130pm. And it's a full cooked dinner, not a simple salad or something. I've eaten this late for 5 years, and since I started MFP in August I've lost 10 lbs because of what types of food I was eating, not when I was eating it.

liftingbro

I've recently heard on Dr. Oz that you shouldn't eat within three hours of going to bed.

Dr. Oz is a moron then.

Do you think the body says "Oh.. it's 8 pm , all of this food goes to fat!".

No.

The issue is that people think that if you eat then become active your body won't use the food you just ate and will turn it into fat.

COMPLETE BS.

When you digest food it enters the blood stream in the form of Carbs/Protein/Fats. Most of that is burned off for energy BEFORE it could be stored as fat. The vast majority of the macros not burned for energy are then absorbed by the body. Protein is absorbed and used to maintain and build tissue. Glucose will be stored as glycogen. Fats are stored as fats.

The key hear is that fats will not be stored if you are in caloric deficit!!!!

If you have 2000 calories per day to be in a deficit and you eat 2000 calories in fat at 12am you will not store any of it as fat!

alyssamiller77

Fiction. This theory comes from the idea that as you sleep your body expends less energy while your sleeping so if you're digesting food your body has no choice but to store that energy as fat. The reality however is that your body does a lot of recovery work while you sleep and that recovery requires nutrients and energy. While your body may burn fewer calories per hour while you sleep than when you're up and actively moving about, remember you sleep (hopefully) for at least 6 straight hours where you eat nothing. So whatever energy you've gotten from the food you've eaten over the course of the day needs to also support the energy needs during those sleep hours.

Personally, about a half-hour to an hour before bed I have a big ol' Casein protein shake. It hasn't hurt my weight loss goals one bit. I do drink it a half hour to an hour before bed so that my body has time to digest before I try to go to sleep. That's just a preference for comfort, I don't like going to bed with a full belly.

dshreiner

My mentality has been as long as you have calories to "spend" on eating in the evening, you can do it. Personally, I watch what I eat in the evenings. I lean towards fresh fruits, low fat, and low sodium foods. It's been working for me.

ilovedeadlifts

definately ficition.

i eat every night before bed.

monih10

I've recently heard on Dr. Oz that you shouldn't eat within three hours of going to bed.

That's what I've always heard; because it doesn't give your body enough time to digest the food.

alyssamiller77

I've recently heard on Dr. Oz that you shouldn't eat within three hours of going to bed.

That's what I've always heard; because it doesn't give your body enough time to digest the food.

It's a total myth that your body stops digesting at night.

Larius

Fiction. The basis behind this myth is that in the evening, willpower is lower, and you are more prone to eat junk and too much of it. If you can eat healthily in the evening, there is no problem.

liftingbro

I've recently heard on Dr. Oz that you shouldn't eat within three hours of going to bed.

That's what I've always heard; because it doesn't give your body enough time to digest the food.

See my post above.

Believe it or not many MDs are pretty clueless about nutrition beyond the basics.

godroxmysox

Not at all true!

sailed2japan

My personal way of doing things is to spread my calories out fairlu evenly across the day my meals run from 300-400 calories each and I eat 5 times a day Every 3 hours. I like a meal that has more sugars, from fruits, berries, etc., first thing in the morning and 1 hr before I work out, I eat something with more protein in t after I work out and my last meal of the day is always low in fat and carbs, usually raw veggies.

DopeItUp

I've recently heard on Dr. Oz that you shouldn't eat within three hours of going to bed.

That's what I've always heard; because it doesn't give your body enough time to digest the food.

Why would it change anything? You don't die when you go to sleep, you will continue digesting all night. In fact, it can take a day or two to fully digest food, so every night your body is digesting food regardless of when you ate.

loseiteli

The statement is fiction.

However, because I have little to no self-control, and tend to want to eat while watching TV at night, I dont eat anything after 730-8. this helps me stay in my calorie goal, as well as thinking about what I eat; rather than just getting something while laying on the couch.

ncqueenbee

I've recently heard on Dr. Oz that you shouldn't eat within three hours of going to bed.

Dr. Oz is a moron then.

Do you think the body says "Oh.. it's 8 pm , all of this food goes to fat!".

No.

The issue is that people think that if you eat then become active your body won't use the food you just ate and will turn it into fat.

COMPLETE BS.

When you digest food it enters the blood stream in the form of Carbs/Protein/Fats. Most of that is burned off for energy BEFORE it could be stored as fat. The vast majority of the macros not burned for energy are then absorbed by the body. Protein is absorbed and used to maintain and build tissue. Glucose will be stored as glycogen. Fats are stored as fats.

The key hear is that fats will not be stored if you are in caloric deficit!!!!

If you have 2000 calories per day to be in a deficit and you eat 2000 calories in fat at 12am you will not store any of it as fat!

To all of you Doctors out there that felt the need to comment on my post, I said, and I quote" that's what I heard" not that's what I do. The reason I said this is so that the person asking the question can go out an do his/her own research.
That's what aggrevates me about some of the people on this site. They think what they say is the absolute gospel and every one else is wrong. what works for you may not work for others. Every one's body reacts differently to food. Your way may not always be the right way either. I swear..l must lead a sheltered life..because some of your responses are just condesending and RUDE!

allysar

I am a night shift nurse and work 3-4 twelve-hour nights a week. How in the world would I survive if I didn't eat before bed? Calories in, energy out. Period!

HMonsterX

The statement is fiction.

However, because I have little to no self-control, and tend to want to eat while watching TV at night, I dont eat anything after 730-8. this helps me stay in my calorie goal, as well as thinking about what I eat; rather than just getting something while laying on the couch.

There is so much common sense in this post it's refreshing!

She totally understands that it is pure fiction. However, she also gets WHY this myth came about, and chooses not to eat later not because it WILL make her gain weight, but because it helps her hit her personal calories goals!

/respect