Eating past 6pm?

cgould02

Great advise. I never thought of reversing my meals, I'll try it tomorrow. Thanks

lilchicksta94

I personally believe if you have the calories left over then it's fine. I've had 2 trainers and a doctor tell me the same thing. My husband doesn't get home from work until 7:15 every night so by the time we get to eating it's 7:30/8:30 depending on if our son wants to go to bed early or not. I've always been more hungry at night and even after dinner I have a snack around 10 pm and the weight is just melting off of me. I guess it just depends on the person :-)

maryjay51

eating something healthy and low carb late at night is not a bad thing . keeps the metabolism going. if you stop eating at six then your body isnt going to eat until the next day and it knows that..therefore it will hoard food ..at least thats how i understand it to be..i eat my last meal anywhere from 9p-11p at night ..usually its just a whey and casein shake

alex6971

What happens if you work night shifts and wake up at 6 pm to eat before heading to work?

This is why I don't like or adhere to hard and fast "rules" of dieting/fitness. You need to figure out what works for YOU. Screw the rest. Most advice is so general it becomes useless. Try something. If you have negative results, don't do it again. If it works for you, tune out all the other BS and keep at it.

You're the one that's going to have to live with the consequences anyway, so who's opinion should matter the most? A diet expert's or yours?

Never really thought of it like that. Its probably why i havent lost weight in the past. I used to go to bed starving because i wouldnt each past 6pm.

gp79

They are definitely not experts if they are saying this. However that saying is said often because most people consume their breakfast, lunch and dinner and by 6pm (when dinner is done) anything they put in their mouth is likely causing them to be in calorie surplus.

Let's think about this for a minute.

You're very busy one day and you miss your regular breakfast in the morning AND your lunch! You have your regular dinner around 5-6pm.

You've now consumed 20% of your daily calories in your dinner. You've got 80% left before you will "theoretically" gain anything. By eating after 6pm in this scenario, you will gain nothing. Actually you should keep eating until you've given your body what it needs to function properly (whatever you deem that to be.)

Remove the mental blocks and apply simple principles and common sense.

enigrebua

Eating times are usually neither here nor there with regards to weightloss, but your meal times do set your body clock and activate your metabolism, that's why breakfast is considered to be so important. Eating after 6pm should not be a problem, but you may have an uncomfortable night's sleep and slower digestion if you eat something big close to your bedtime. If you're having a late day, for example due to working shifts or events that are outside the 'normal' times, then it really won't matter, just make sure you're eating ENOUGH in that case. You don't wanna be thrown off and end up starving yourself because you don't think you should eat past a certain time - very unhealthy.

jcstanton

I think "correct" eating habits depend largely on each individual. For someone whose body operates within normal metabolic and hormonal parameters (i.e. no thyroid issues, no insulin or blood sugar issues, etc...), there doesn't necessarily have to be a set schedule for meals. For them, it's more about calories in/calories out, and eating regularly enough to keep themselves from binging. For someone like me, though, who has insulin resistance issues, as well as a slow thyroid, it's important to keep my meals at regular intervals for the purpose of regulating blood sugar and keeping my energy levels up. This is a typical day for me:

7am--Breakfast (300-400cals)
9am--Light snack (100-125cals)
11 or 11:30am--Lunch (400-500cals)
1:30pm--Light snack (100-125cals, higher in carbs)
3:30 or 4pm--Dinner (350-400cals)
5:30-7pm--Workout (Burn, on avg, 500-800cals)
7 or 7:30pm Light snack (50-100cals, higher in protein)
9pm--Light snack (optional if I'm feeling hungry, 50-100cals, higher in protein)
10 or 11pm--Bedtime

jenlarz

Almost always eat after 6, and supper is usually my biggest meal. I have lost 9 lbs by logging my calories and exercise so obviously it isn't hurting anything

DBiddle69

Ask the experts to define the time zone! It's 6:00 PM someowhere! :laugh:

cds2001

it's between 8 and 9pm when I eat dinner on work days. after my first week I had lost 6 lbs. So I really didn't see where it mattered. Exercised each day - under cal goal each day & at least 8 glasses of water each day.

LovingMe19

Bunk. It's midnight you have to be watch out for....

:laugh:

gourmetgal77

So how about this for you -- yesterday once I entered everything I was about 500 calories short of my goal - I had a big workout that burned a lot of calories and I was bad and didn't each lunch. If you don' feel hungry and are still under your calorie daily goal, are you better off eating a little something because of the whole "starvation mode" concern, or not and just take a loss that day?

GemmaRowlands

I just have my meal whenever it happens. Sometimes it's at 4pm, sometimes it's at 8pm. Occasionally it's been as late as 10pm, and I've still managed to lose almost 6 stone, so I wouldn't worry.

sn0wd0gg

Fitbit has this interesting note on my food report and I'm not sure the "science" behind it ...

"Good eating habits spread calorie intake throughout the day and skew toward the morning.
Right now dinner takes up 33% of your calories. Try to keep dinner and evening snacks to below 30% if you are trying to lose weight and below 50% if you are trying to maintain your weight."

savage22hp

I sometimes don't get home until 9-10 . I try to not eat a heavy meal with a lot of carbs and try to stay up and moderately active for 1.5 - 2 hours afterward . I try but that's not always what happens which was a big part of being 100 lbs overweight .

hpynh2o

Lunch should be your "big" meal of the day. Eat light at dinner and snack time, no matter the time of day/evening.

"Don't eat before bed" is myth. Probably from the same people who sell the grapefruit diet.

It is important to eat something every 2-4 hours. Studies have shown that this keeps your metabolism up and helps you to maintain and/or build lean muscle tissue. Skipping meals has the opposite effect.

savage22hp

Fitbit has this interesting note on my food report and I'm not sure the "science" behind it ...

"Good eating habits spread calorie intake throughout the day and skew toward the morning.
Right now dinner takes up 33% of your calories. Try to keep dinner and evening snacks to below 30% if you are trying to lose weight and below 50% if you are trying to maintain your weight."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this in my opinion

witchywillow

It's fine. I eat IN bed.

lol luv it :happy:

my dinner is usually between 5-5.30pm and then if calories left i will eat snacks between 8 and 9pm :happy:

YcatsFursworth

I just try not to eat too close to bedtime. that way my body has a chance to burn off some of he calories before going into "sleep mode!"

NovemberJune

According to many diet experts they say you should not eat after 6pm.

I would not put much faith in any "expert" that makes this claim.

Is it really bad to eat this late?

Not at all, assuming that you aren't overconsuming calories.
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Totally agree. I almost always have a snack around 9:00 pm. I definitely always eat after 6:00 pm.