How late is too late to eat?

CaptainGordo

I'm sorry, but all of these people telling you "it doesn't matter" are comepletly wrong. I just learned about this in my physio class and there have been countless studies done on this matter. It does matter - see my previous post.

Here is some reading. I trust NIH studies.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390149-should-i-eat-at-night

With the references in that link, I would declare this...

RonSwanson66

Just a few ours b4 you go 2 bed. Coz when sleeping with a full stomach, it can store into fat, because no physical avtivity is taking place at the time. :-)

Myth

chevy88grl

For me, it doesn't matter when I eat. I've learned that if I don't eat something right before I go to bed? I will wake up in the middle of the night and will binge eat on junk. So, I make sure I eat before I go to bed because I'm in better control of what I'm eating when I'm not half asleep and starving.

czechsmate

In general, you're supposed to stop eating 1.5-2 hours before you go to bed so you don't disrupt sleep patterns.

This.... If I eat too late, it'll take me forever to go to sleep!

Thankfully this does not happen to me, I sleep like a baby! :bigsmile:

chevy88grl

Just a few ours b4 you go 2 bed. Coz when sleeping with a full stomach, it can store into fat, because no physical avtivity is taking place at the time. :-)

Myth

Your body is still completing basic functions, growing hair, etc while you are sleeping. So, you are still burning calories even while asleep.

Savemyshannon

Personally, I know that when I go to bed with a stomach full of heavy, greasy food, it really just bothers my sleep and I tend to wake up feeling full, bloated and just plain icky. Even if it doesn't bother my calorie count for the day, I just go by how I feel when I wake.

shanolap

Never to late to eat! It's simply calories in vs. calories out. I eat at all hours...and usually include wine in there, too!

You are a keeper! :drinker:

HMonsterX

In general, you're supposed to stop eating 1.5-2 hours before you go to bed so you don't disrupt sleep patterns.

This.... If I eat too late, it'll take me forever to go to sleep!

But it won't affect your metabolism. What you experience is a personal thing, and in your case, yes, you shouldn't eat late if it disrupts your sleep.

If, like me, it doesn't disrupt your sleep, then there is nothing stopping you eating right before bed, as i do! I skip breakfast, eat a 2-300 cal lunch, a 1k dinner, and the rest is snacks before bed

chevy88grl

In general, you're supposed to stop eating 1.5-2 hours before you go to bed so you don't disrupt sleep patterns.

This.... If I eat too late, it'll take me forever to go to sleep!

Thankfully this does not happen to me, I sleep like a baby! :bigsmile:

I sleep better if I eat before I go to bed. Otherwise, I simply lay there and think about food. Then if I do fall asleep, I'll wake up starving and consume an entire package of cookies. lol.

LabRat529

I'm sorry, but all of these people telling you "it doesn't matter" are comepletly wrong. I just learned about this in my physio class and there have been countless studies done on this matter. It does matter - see my previous post.

Some of the rest of us have taken physio classes too. One class does not an expert make.

I mean that kindly. I'm not trying to insult you... but I've TAUGHT physiology classes in the past and I'll tell you honestly, I've propagated a few myths before. Never on purpose, but because I didn't know better at the time. Professors don't know everything. They just pretend to know everything.

My opinion: It doesn't matter when you eat. Even if eating late leads to more fat storage or some other weird metabolism issues... it all evens out in the end and it's more important to eat than to not eat.

Someone... Sidesteal maybe?... used to have a "don't sweat the small stuff" on his signature. I really like that attitude. This diet and exercise stuff is hard. Don't make your life harder by some meaningless ritual that dictates when you eat or don't eat.

bry_all01

Personally, I know that when I go to bed with a stomach full of heavy, greasy food, it really just bothers my sleep and I tend to wake up feeling full, bloated and just plain icky. Even if it doesn't bother my calorie count for the day, I just go by how I feel when I wake.

why would the last thing you eat before you go to sleep be heavy, greasy food? Just curious....

MercenaryNoetic26

Just a few ours b4 you go 2 bed. Coz when sleeping with a full stomach, it can store into fat, because no physical avtivity is taking place at the time. :-)

Myth

^^agree
I have casein shakes at night before bed and usually eat something before that. I also eat 1/2 hr- hr before workout then have a shake right after, then a decent meal.

hottottie11

This diet and exercise stuff is hard. Don't make your life harder by some meaningless ritual that dictates when you eat or don't eat.

^^ THIS I

Slove009

The best rule is if you have to eat a full meal, wait 2 hours before going to bed. Ex: eat at 9pm, go to bed at 11pm. That's what my husband and I started doing a couple months ago. This was the first change we made in our weight loss efforts and it signifigantly impacted our weight gain. That was one of our largest problems. We went out, ate late, came home and crashed with our stomaches full. The only issue with this is if you are staying up too late and not getting enough sleep since lack of sleep can be another weight gain factor.

I would suggest have a shake if you want to make it into bed a little earlier. At a boot camp class I took, the instructor said to have 8-12oz of orange juice with protien powder (I used vanilla slim fast powder, yummy!) and to drink 1/4 before a workout, then the rest after to help with hunger and stay fueled up.

chevy88grl

I'm sorry, but all of these people telling you "it doesn't matter" are comepletly wrong. I just learned about this in my physio class and there have been countless studies done on this matter. It does matter - see my previous post.

I eat right before bed and I've lost 60lbs and kept it off.

Pretty sure that shows I'm RIGHT as to what works for me. I don't care what a textbook says - I KNOW what works for my body. It may not work for YOU - but that doesn't make it completely wrong.

judybrim

Good question! From everything I've read the overall opinion seems to be the same: Weight gain is affected by the difference between calorie consumption and calories burned in a 24 hour period. Studies have been done having participants eat varying sizes of meals at regular and irregular intervals and there has been no significant difference in weights. So it seems as long as you're monitoring your intake and output and burning off more than you eat in a day you'll be fine! Hope this helps! And good job getting your daily workouts in!

FatassFairy

I keep trying to figure this out. I do a lot of evening work out classes that last from 7-8 pm. There's no way I can eat before them (I would puke...) but I don't know how "ok" it is to eat that late after them?? I do need to make sure I eat enough to replinish myself otherwise I feel like crap so simply "eating less" isn't really an option...

Any suggestions?

its to late after you are asleep , because you might choke and that would be bad

vim_n_vigor

It is too late to eat for you if your eating makes it so you don't sleep well.

soccerella

I mean that kindly. I'm not trying to insult you... but I've TAUGHT physiology classes in the past and I'll tell you honestly, I've propagated a few myths before. Never on purpose, but because I didn't know better at the time. Professors don't know everything. They just pretend to know everything.

this exactly. I''ve taught college level classes, and currently work in a job where i write and constantly review other peoples scientific papers. Just because something is in a paper or textbook, doesnt necasarrily mean its correct. In many cases what happens is that someone reads a paper, interprets something from it in a certain way and then references that in their paper. ...this then goes on for several more papers, referencing the second one and then next thing you know its regarded as fact and showing up in text books.

My thesis advisor always told me to question everything - just because someone has a higher authority than you and a higher degree, doesnt mean they are right.

but back to the question at hand....i dont think it matters when you eat, as long as you're not going way over calories. Last night I ate at around 9:45 because, like you, I wanted to work out first. Some peopel might not be able to fall asleep right away, but as long as you're not eating a double bacon cheeseburger I dont see it being a problem

UsedToBeHusky

In general, you're supposed to stop eating 1.5-2 hours before you go to bed so you don't disrupt sleep patterns (which is important for weight loss). When your metabolism is up and running, it will prevent your bodily functions from shutting down and prevent you from entering the REM sleep stage.

That's ridiculous!! Your brain and your stomach are not intrinsically connected.

Savemyshannon

Personally, I know that when I go to bed with a stomach full of heavy, greasy food, it really just bothers my sleep and I tend to wake up feeling full, bloated and just plain icky. Even if it doesn't bother my calorie count for the day, I just go by how I feel when I wake.

why would the last thing you eat before you go to sleep be heavy, greasy food? Just curious....

This was before I started eating healthy, of course. Now, I don't do that

UsedToBeHusky

I'm sorry, but all of these people telling you "it doesn't matter" are comepletly wrong. I just learned about this in my physio class and there have been countless studies done on this matter. It does matter - see my previous post.

Someone... Sidesteal maybe?... used to have a "don't sweat the small stuff" on his signature. I really like that attitude. This diet and exercise stuff is hard. Don't make your life harder by some meaningless ritual that dictates when you eat or don't eat.

^This.

czechsmate

In general, you're supposed to stop eating 1.5-2 hours before you go to bed so you don't disrupt sleep patterns.

This.... If I eat too late, it'll take me forever to go to sleep!

Thankfully this does not happen to me, I sleep like a baby! :bigsmile:

I sleep better if I eat before I go to bed. Otherwise, I simply lay there and think about food. Then if I do fall asleep, I'll wake up starving and consume an entire package of cookies. lol.

hehe...and that would be disturbing your sleep!

HealthyBodySickMind

Personally, I know that when I go to bed with a stomach full of heavy, greasy food, it really just bothers my sleep and I tend to wake up feeling full, bloated and just plain icky. Even if it doesn't bother my calorie count for the day, I just go by how I feel when I wake.

why would the last thing you eat before you go to sleep be heavy, greasy food? Just curious....

Actually, most of the meals I eat are heavy, greasy foods, including the ones before snoozing.

Anecdotally (disclaimer: from someone who's never had to lose weight), I sleep better if I eat before bed. I usually finish the evening with a book, a glass of red wine or sleepytime herbal tea or sometimes a rum and cran, and something fatty and meaty. I'm thin enough that if I eat a big enough meal I can see it in my profile, my little pot belly, but it's flat again after my preferred nine hours of sleep, so yes, pretty sure my rather efficient metabolism runs just fine whilst I'm sleeping.

Sidesteal

We just learned about this in my Physio class. I'll find the chapter in my textbook and quote it for you

My apologies if you've already replied to this as I'm not done with the thread, but please cite the book title and date of publishing. What you are quoting is likely from an old resource.

CyberEd312

Well I can tell you from my experience that it just isn't true that eating before bed is to late.... My evening workouts get me home and eating dinner at 8 or later and I eat back my exercise calories to so it is normally my biggest me of the day. I then turn around at 10:30 and have a cup full of almonds and a glass of 1% milk (which keeps my Blood Sugar's from dropping to low overnight, I am a Type 2 Diabetic) and somehow or another I have managed to lose 285 lbs. So yeah I would have to say Myth Busted!!

FatassFairy

I'm sorry, but all of these people telling you "it doesn't matter" are comepletly wrong. I just learned about this in my physio class and there have been countless studies done on this matter. It does matter - see my previous post.

i sleep better if my tummys full

Sidesteal

Someone... Sidesteal maybe?... used to have a "don't sweat the small stuff" on his signature. I really like that attitude.
Don't make your life harder by some meaningless ritual that dictates when you eat or don't eat.

Thanks, it was basically "stop trying to micromanage the crap that doesn't matter" (one line in a list of 5 things).

And this part below that you said basically sums it all up:

Don't make your life harder by some meaningless ritual that dictates when you eat or don't eat.

kchabby76

Apparently it depends on your sleep cycle. IF you don't get enough sleep you don't burn as many calories. THAT is the main factor, not when you eat. If you are a good sleeper then it wouldn't matter when you ate. "A calorie is just a calorie."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/health/17really.html

bry_all01

Personally, I know that when I go to bed with a stomach full of heavy, greasy food, it really just bothers my sleep and I tend to wake up feeling full, bloated and just plain icky. Even if it doesn't bother my calorie count for the day, I just go by how I feel when I wake.

why would the last thing you eat before you go to sleep be heavy, greasy food? Just curious....

Actually, most of the meals I eat are heavy, greasy foods, including the ones before snoozing.

Anecdotally (disclaimer: from someone who's never had to lose weight), I sleep better if I eat before bed. I usually finish the evening with a book, a glass of red wine or sleepytime herbal tea or sometimes a rum and cran, and something fatty and meaty. I'm thin enough that if I eat a big enough meal I can see it in my profile, my little pot belly, but it's flat again after my preferred nine hours of sleep, so yes, pretty sure my rather efficient metabolism runs just fine whilst I'm sleeping.

I'm right there with you on never having to lose weight. I am also one of those people who eats whatever I want, whenever I want. The only reason I asked the previous poster about heavy, greasy foods before bed, was because of how she said it made her feel.