How late is too late to eat?
Replies
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When I worked out in the evening after work, the aerobics instructor suggested waiting 1 hour after class was over before eating. Since I had to be up very early in the morning, and since I don't sleep well after eating I worked out my own system. It took me about 30 minutes to get out of the facility and get home. By the time I preped a small meal, it was generally about 40 minutes after class and 30 minutes before I went to bed. It worked for me. Listen to your body and know what your other needs are. You can work it out.0
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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.
now if i eat greasy food before bed that will interrupt my sleep patterns, getting up to vomit is interrupting.0 -
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 don't have any documentation of this, so don't demand it from me people, but I honestly believe that sleep is when our bodies hit up the fat stores. Most of the rest of the day we rely on consumption calories, but at night, since no one eats in their sleep, is when the fat burning actually takes place. AGAIN... I have no idea if I am right in this assumption or not.0 -
Then why do you believe it? Because you heard it somewhere or because it makes sense to you?I don't have any documentation of this, so don't demand it from me people, but I honestly believe that sleep is when our bodies hit up the fat stores. Most of the rest of the day we rely on consumption calories, but at night, since no one eats in their sleep, is when the fat burning actually takes place. AGAIN... I have no idea if I am right in this assumption or not.0 -
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
IMO:
And even if you don't burn any calories when you sleep, it STILL doesn't matter. This is why context is so critical when we make decisions based on very short time-frames or on a lack of scope.
24-hour fat balance is a much more important (and accurate) thing to concern ourselves with as it pertains to losing fat.
If I eat all my calories before bed and I burn ZERO calories in my sleep, when I wake up the next day I'm fasting until the evening (by definition-- remember we are only eating at night). I'm burning calories during this period and assuming my calorie intake is correct, I will still not gain any fat because I'm cancelling out what happens overnight, essentially.
The whole idea of metabolism slowing at night is completely irrelevant when you look beyond that short window of time. What happens before and after it needs to be taken into consideration.0 -
The whole idea is ludicrous.
Why do people believe that some metabolic processes occur during sleep (digestion, fat storage, etc), but others don't (fat burning)?0 -
I believe sidesteals thing was "Stop micromanaging crap that doesn't matter", and is spot on for this.0
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It's never too late as long as you have calories leftover AND as long as you know it doesn't bother YOUR sleep. Some people might have issues if they eat certain things too close to bed time. For me, I can't get to sleep on an empty stomach. I'll toss and turn for an hour or two and then go downstairs to the kitchen which is NOT good as I make sure to consume all of my calories before bedtime. Takes a dent out of the next day before the next day even starts. LOL So for ME I eat right up until bedtime if I have calories left. Others' experiences will vary. But there's no hard and fast rule saying you shouldn't eat after X-o'clock.0
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If you're already asleep, it's probably too late to be eating.0
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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.
now if i eat greasy food before bed that will interrupt my sleep patterns, getting up to vomit is interrupting.
that only happens to me if i go too, too heavy on the rum(s)
"Why is the rum always gone? Oh, that's why." --Jack Sparrow0 -
It's the little elves in my body. They flip a switch when I go to bed.The whole idea is ludicrous.
Why do people believe that some metabolic processes occur during sleep (digestion, fat storage, etc), but others don't (fat burning)?0 -
For me whenever I eat after 9:00 pm I pig out - just made a committment to myself to NOT eat after 9:00 pm unless I'm at a party and/or haven't eaten dinner yet. What happens to me is when I eat later at night, I tend to get the sense of "oh crap, I've blown it, might as well go to town on it!" which is of course, very counter productive. I've found that as long as I log, it works well.0
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I eat when i sleep so my muscles don't atrophy when sleeping
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Behold, I have the answers to this thread. I will execute this thread like a Libyan dictator... now...
The answers you seek come from within.
Meaning...
"Eat when you are hungry."
Woah woah I know this is groundbreaking advice, every one calm down now. I promise you, it works. We have so much of mfp, doctors, Webmd, HRMs, Jillian Michaels, The Flamboyant guy with the short short shorts, George Foreman taking a POW out of fat. etc that we forget to do one simple thing.
Listen to our bodies... Try it, its awesome. (Just dont talk to your body, people look at you strange unless of course you have something in your ear that looks like blue tooth or hold your phone out like an idiot, people will think your on the phone)0 -
Behold, I have the answers to this thread. I will execute this thread like a Libyan dictator... now...
The answers you seek come from within.
Meaning...
"Eat when you are hungry."
Woah woah I know this is groundbreaking advice, every one calm down now. I promise you, it works. We have so much of mfp, doctors, Webmd, HRMs, Jillian Michaels, The Flamboyant guy with the short short shorts, George Foreman taking a POW out of fat. etc that we forget to do one simple thing.
Listen to our bodies... Try it, its awesome. (Just dont talk to your body, people look at you strange unless of course you have something in your ear that looks like blue tooth or hold your phone out like an idiot, people will think your on the phone)
I have to be careful listening to my body, sometimes it tells me to hit the drivethru and get a cheesecake along with a milkshake and fries and forget the protein or veggies. LOL Have to filter that 'body voice' b/c that chick doesn't always know what she's talking about. :-) I used to listen to her before MFP but now I'm like 'Look, B*, you're gonna listen to me!' Haha.0 -
It's the little elves in my body. They flip a switch when I go to bed.The whole idea is ludicrous.
Why do people believe that some metabolic processes occur during sleep (digestion, fat storage, etc), but others don't (fat burning)?
You eat ELVES before bed?!?!0 -
If you're still awake, it's not too late to eat.0
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I'm just spitballing here, but a dietician once told me that it was far more important WHAT you ate later in the evening, particularly with carbohydrates. The way it was explained to me was that it was key to generally keep blood sugars level throughout the day, and eating large amount of carbohydrates (which break down into sugars) just prior to bed will induce a spike in those sugars later in the evening.
I was always told that if I was hungry in the late evening (and usually that's between 9-11pm for me) to go for protien first to feel fuller for longer, than veggies, THEN carbs. No one ever told me not to eat later in the evening, but just to be careful what it was I ate. Which made sense, since those pastries and ice cream right before didn't seem to be helping me much.0 -
I know my metabolism is WAY higher before bed, while I sit and watch TV. That burns tons of calories.0
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I'm just spitballing here, but a dietician once told me that it was far more important WHAT you ate later in the evening, particularly with carbohydrates. The way it was explained to me was that it was key to generally keep blood sugars level throughout the day, and eating large amount of carbohydrates (which break down into sugars) just prior to bed will induce a spike in those sugars later in the evening.
I was always told that if I was hungry in the late evening (and usually that's between 9-11pm for me) to go for protien first to feel fuller for longer, than veggies, THEN carbs. No one ever told me not to eat later in the evening, but just to be careful what it was I ate. Which made sense, since those pastries and ice cream right before didn't seem to be helping me much.
" Purposely omitting or avoiding carbs pre-bed is like telling someone to avoid carbs immediately before starting their 8-hour shift sitting at a desk"
~Alan Aragon0 -
It's too late to eat if you have a hard time digesting foods at night, and if eating before bed disrupts your sleep. At my age (64), eating late in the day will cause sleeping problems and is more likely to cause heartburn. That's all. As far as I can determine, there's no *scientific* evidence that eating something after some arbitrary hour of the day will cause you to gain more weight than eating the same thing earlier in the day ... but there are a lot of *pseudoscientific* claims and plain old Just So Stories that this is the case.
http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_250/285_metabolism-myths.html
Also, I think we need to look at the choices we make later in the day ... are our portion sizes bigger at night? Are we making healthful choices? Are we "treating ourselves" with junk or binges for being "good" earlier in the day?0 -
Hi,
Sorry but I agree with leanmean. I've just started to diet bey my doctor and we had a long discussion about my eating habits. he pointed out That I ate little all daywhen I was busy so burned it off storage(which is harder to do) then pigged out in the evening while sat watvching tv, burning nothing off and just allowing it to turn bac k into surplus. I could not understand why my weight was going up, over the day I didn't eat a ridiculous amoun, just at the wrong times. Checked it out on google and can't find any Reliable source to confirm it as a myth, A few state theer is no evidence but most medical sources agree eating before you can burn it off before sleep is not good. This appears to be backed up by the incidence of obesity in shift workers whose eating habits ldont conform to standard patterns eg going home from the night shift having a full fry up then going to bed for 5 or 6 hours, many then get up around 12, stay up till teatime and after tea go to bed for a couple of hours before going to work. Makes sense to me0 -
Since plenty of people have already corrected the misinformation in your second sentence, I will address the first.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.
I think you are correct in your first sentence. At least partly/indirectly. Sleep patterns can ultimately have an affect on how I eat, and often lack of sleep = more waking hours = more snacking. So *for some people* it's a good idea stop eating 1-2 hours before bed *because doing so may disrupt their sleep.* That point is true. I know it to be true for me. I can sometimes eat late at night and doing that will keep me up till all hours.
But the time of day that you consume calories doesn't affect the calories in/calories out equation. Nor does it affect metabolism. I would be surprised if your textbook is in conflict with this, and suspect that perhaps what you are remembering is the part about eating food disrupting sleep patterns.0 -
I was always told that if I was hungry in the late evening (and usually that's between 9-11pm for me) to go for protien first to feel fuller for longer, than veggies, THEN carbs. No one ever told me not to eat later in the evening, but just to be careful what it was I ate. Which made sense, since those pastries and ice cream right before didn't seem to be helping me much.
That's good advice for whenever you eat . Personally I sometimes workout around 9pm and eat 11pm; It doesn't matter as long as it fits your calorie goals. I've never lost or gained weight due to timing of meals.0 -
Thanks, it was basically "stop trying to micromanage the crap that doesn't matter" (one line in a list of 5 things).
That's it
I couldn't remember the wording exactly. I liked your list of 5 things. Sad that they took it away when they stole all our signatures
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Behold, I have the answers to this thread. I will execute this thread like a Libyan dictator... now...
The answers you seek come from within.
Meaning...
"Eat when you are hungry."
Woah woah I know this is groundbreaking advice, every one calm down now. I promise you, it works. We have so much of mfp, doctors, Webmd, HRMs, Jillian Michaels, The Flamboyant guy with the short short shorts, George Foreman taking a POW out of fat. etc that we forget to do one simple thing.
Listen to our bodies... Try it, its awesome. (Just dont talk to your body, people look at you strange unless of course you have something in your ear that looks like blue tooth or hold your phone out like an idiot, people will think your on the phone)
I have to be careful listening to my body, sometimes it tells me to hit the drivethru and get a cheesecake along with a milkshake and fries and forget the protein or veggies. LOL Have to filter that 'body voice' b/c that chick doesn't always know what she's talking about. :-) I used to listen to her before MFP but now I'm like 'Look, B*, you're gonna listen to me!' Haha.
I am pretty sure your body isnt telling you it wants Drive thru and cheesecake, I think I would have to leave that to the brain box, which technically is your body but I digress.0 -
Behold, I have the answers to this thread. I will execute this thread like a Libyan dictator... now...
The answers you seek come from within.
Meaning...
"Eat when you are hungry."
Woah woah I know this is groundbreaking advice, every one calm down now. I promise you, it works. We have so much of mfp, doctors, Webmd, HRMs, Jillian Michaels, The Flamboyant guy with the short short shorts, George Foreman taking a POW out of fat. etc that we forget to do one simple thing.
Listen to our bodies... Try it, its awesome. (Just dont talk to your body, people look at you strange unless of course you have something in your ear that looks like blue tooth or hold your phone out like an idiot, people will think your on the phone)
I have to be careful listening to my body, sometimes it tells me to hit the drivethru and get a cheesecake along with a milkshake and fries and forget the protein or veggies. LOL Have to filter that 'body voice' b/c that chick doesn't always know what she's talking about. :-) I used to listen to her before MFP but now I'm like 'Look, B*, you're gonna listen to me!' Haha.
I am pretty sure your body isnt telling you it wants Drive thru and cheesecake, I think I would have to leave that to the brain box, which technically is your body but I digress.
IDK, my stomach surely growls at me when I see my husband's chocolate milkshake... LOL ;-)0 -
It's the little elves in my body. They flip a switch when I go to bed.The whole idea is ludicrous.
Why do people believe that some metabolic processes occur during sleep (digestion, fat storage, etc), but others don't (fat burning)?
You eat ELVES before bed?!?!
now that would disrupt sleep patterns0 -
It's the little elves in my body. They flip a switch when I go to bed.The whole idea is ludicrous.
Why do people believe that some metabolic processes occur during sleep (digestion, fat storage, etc), but others don't (fat burning)?
You eat ELVES before bed?!?!
now that would disrupt sleep patterns
Is this a new Elf Cleanse I haven't heart about? Are the elves pregnant or will any old elf do?0 -
WOW! Apparently this is a heated debate! Well I eat consistently throughout the day to avoid feeling starved at night. I am always really hungry after a good workout. I will eat (keeping within my calorie intake).
If eating before bed disrupts my sleeping (which I don't think it does, but I honestly haven't paid attention to it), then I will change it up.
I am not micromanaging the crap that doesn't matter
Thanks everyone!0
This discussion has been closed.
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