How late is too late to eat?

blueimp

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.

FatassFairy

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.

UsedToBeHusky

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.

ElizabethRoad

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.

Then why do you believe it? Because you heard it somewhere or because it makes sense to you?

Sidesteal

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.

RonSwanson66

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)?

HMonsterX

I believe sidesteals thing was "Stop micromanaging crap that doesn't matter", and is spot on for this.

CMmrsfloyd

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.

Umeboshi

If you're already asleep, it's probably too late to be eating.

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.

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 Sparrow

CaptainGordo

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)?

It's the little elves in my body. They flip a switch when I go to bed.

scottberrydsm

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.

Acg67

I eat when i sleep so my muscles don't atrophy when sleeping

Cold_Steel

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)

CMmrsfloyd

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.

HealthyBodySickMind

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)?

It's the little elves in my body. They flip a switch when I go to bed.

You eat ELVES before bed?!?!

taso42

If you're still awake, it's not too late to eat.

fallgoes

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.

ElizabethRoad

I know my metabolism is WAY higher before bed, while I sit and watch TV. That burns tons of calories.

RonSwanson66

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 Aragon