Eating late at night? Good/Bad

elri1908

I'm new to this, and have a question....

I try to eat regular meals during the day and also eat back most (if not all) of my exercise calories. For various reasons, I often find myself eating dinner late at night - is this healthy? Does my body still burn the food that I'm consuming that late in the evening, or am I setting myself up for problems.

If someone knows, please help!

kayl3igh88

Bump - I want to know this too

hapoo100

Your body runs 24 hours a day. I started eating a light snack later at night so I wouldn't go to bed feeling hungry. It did not affect my weight loss one bit.

So for me it was good!

mmstgr

i often eat later in the evenings.
If this is a schedule that your body is used to, then don't worry about it.
Your body still absorbs and burns while sleeping.

pucenavel

If you eat late, do you get heartburn?

If you eat late, do you have bad dreams?

If you eat late, do you wake up needing to poop at 3am?

If you eat late, are you blowing your calorie intake for the day?

If you answer "No" to all of these questions then it's probably good for you. If you answer "Yes" to any of them and that's a problem for you, then it's probably bad for you.

The point is that it's neither good nor bad - everyone's body works a little differently.

Don't listen to axioms, listen to what YOUR body tells you.

usernamekelly1

You'll most likely get mixed responses to this. If I'm hungry I'll eat later at night. I see a day as 24hrs. As long as you are around you net calorie goal each 24hr period then I wouldn't stress it. This is only my personnel opinion on this.

silkandsugar

Doesn't matter when you eat all that matters is calories in calories out. You can spread them throughout your day however you want as long as you stay below your goal. Calories don't know TIME =D

mmstgr

If you eat late, do you get heartburn?

If you eat late, do you have bad dreams?

If you eat late, do you wake up needing to poop at 3am?

If you eat late, are you blowing your calorie intake for the day?

If you answer "No" to all of these questions then it's probably good for you. If you answer "Yes" to any of them and that's a problem for you, then it's probably bad for you.

The point is that it's neither good nor bad - everyone's body works a little differently.

Don't listen to axioms, listen to what YOUR body tells you.

Well put

Florawanda

Probably depends on what you do after a meal... I was brought up on the proverb "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a lord, and dine like a pauper." This on the grounds that most people are fairly sedentary in the evening. But I often eat late, and then after a little doze during the 10.00 News, come to again, and work at the computer - still sedentary, but working. My DH and I often have meetings in the evening, and are now trying to schedule the main meal at lunchtime instead of the evening, and I do notice when I do this it seems to affect my speed of loss.
And I do know about calories in, calories out... but I do worry when I see people's diaries with only coffee at breakfast, a very light, or no lunch, and then a huge meal in the evening, and lots of snacks as well - usually unhealthy ones.

elri1908

If you eat late, do you get heartburn?

If you eat late, do you have bad dreams?

If you eat late, do you wake up needing to poop at 3am?

If you eat late, are you blowing your calorie intake for the day?

If you answer "No" to all of these questions then it's probably good for you. If you answer "Yes" to any of them and that's a problem for you, then it's probably bad for you.



The point is that it's neither good nor bad - everyone's body works a little differently.

Don't listen to axioms, listen to what YOUR body tells you.

No heartburn, sleep like a baby, no pooping, and no blowing my calorie intake for the day, so guess the fact that my body wasn't telling me anything is a good thing!

elri1908

Probably depends on what you do after a meal... I was brought up on the proverb "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a lord, and dine like a pauper." This on the grounds that most people are fairly sedentary in the evening. But I often eat late, and then after a little doze during the 10.00 News, come to again, and work at the computer - still sedentary, but working. My DH and I often have meetings in the evening, and are now trying to schedule the main meal at lunchtime instead of the evening, and I do notice when I do this it seems to affect my speed of loss.
And I do know about calories in, calories out... but I do worry when I see people's diaries with only coffee at breakfast, a very light, or no lunch, and then a huge meal in the evening, and lots of snacks as well - usually unhealthy ones.

This seems logic, and I mostly try to follow this advice, but often find that I don't . Luckily I spread my meals out through the day, so it's not like I'm eating a truckload of food at night. I also try to keep it light e.g soup etc.

elri1908

Thanks for the advice - Appreciated!

elri1908

If you eat late, do you get heartburn?

If you eat late, do you have bad dreams?

If you eat late, do you wake up needing to poop at 3am?

If you eat late, are you blowing your calorie intake for the day?

If you answer "No" to all of these questions then it's probably good for you. If you answer "Yes" to any of them and that's a problem for you, then it's probably bad for you.

The point is that it's neither good nor bad - everyone's body works a little differently.

Don't listen to axioms, listen to what YOUR body tells you.

Well put

Yeah, stupid me... I only now read it carefully - not good/bad, should have only been "Eating late at night: Bad?"

CyberEd312

If you eat late, do you get heartburn?

If you eat late, do you have bad dreams?

If you eat late, do you wake up needing to poop at 3am?

If you eat late, are you blowing your calorie intake for the day?

If you answer "No" to all of these questions then it's probably good for you. If you answer "Yes" to any of them and that's a problem for you, then it's probably bad for you.



The point is that it's neither good nor bad - everyone's body works a little differently.

Don't listen to axioms, listen to what YOUR body tells you.

No heartburn, sleep like a baby, no pooping, and no blowing my calorie intake for the day, so guess the fact that my body wasn't telling me anything is a good thing!

Sounds like you have no issues with eating late so have at it... As long as it fits into you daily caloric goals.... I go to bed every night with a 600 calorie snack (a glass of 1% chocolate milk and 30 Almonds with 3/4 cup of Kelloggs Crave Double Chocolate cereal (eat it dry with my Almonds) and have manage to lose weight just fine... Good Luck to you.....

LifeOnMars_

Doesn't matter when you eat all that matters is calories in calories out. You can spread them throughout your day however you want as long as you stay below your goal. Calories don't know TIME =D

This

Sidesteal

Strictly comparing the timing of the meal and keeping all other variables constant (which may not be realistic due to behavioral reasons), eating late at night will not have a negative impact on your weight loss efforts, regardless of when you perform your physical activity.

Girlwithnoname77

Everyone IS different. Having said that, for ME since being on MFP I have been having smaller dinners. I used to have the hugest meal of the day at dinner. Now I try to make it a hefty lunch, and small or low carb dinner. I have started to feel "lighter" in the evening having changed this way, and noticed I am waking up hungry which is great because I used to skip breakfast all the time because I had no appetite for it. Now I have a fruit for breakfast and a decent sized lunch, and a one serve dinner (this is most days, not all days). This is me. Perhaps try out different things and see what works for you.
Good luck

joejccva71

Everyone is not different. I'm quite frankly tired of hearing this over and over.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html

Sidesteal

Everyone is not different. I'm quite frankly tired of hearing this over and over.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html

^ I love Lyle's work and this article is one of my favorites.

chevy88grl

I work second shift, so I don't tend to get home from work (and the gym if I go) until 11pm-12am. I eat "dinner" when I get home from work and am usually in bed by 2am or so. So, I eat a large meal (sometimes as much as 1000 calories) and then go to bed within a couple hours.

It isn't when you eat, it is what you eat. How many calories you're consuming in a day - NOT when you're eating them. People assume that eating after 7pm causes weight gain because let's face it.. after dinner, we have snacks - ice cream, chips, cookies, etc. THAT is why people gain weight - not because they ate them after a certain time. You would still gain weight if you overate on them at 2pm and didn't eat a dang thing later in the day.

vjrose

Eating at night is just a matter of choice, if it's after midnight lol, do you count it as a snack on the next day.
About the only reason to bump it up in the day is if you have a physical issue that is caused by eating late. Also, does the late night eating push your calories over the limit. If the answer to both of those is no then who cares if that works for you.

chevy88grl

Probably depends on what you do after a meal... I was brought up on the proverb "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a lord, and dine like a pauper." This on the grounds that most people are fairly sedentary in the evening. But I often eat late, and then after a little doze during the 10.00 News, come to again, and work at the computer - still sedentary, but working. My DH and I often have meetings in the evening, and are now trying to schedule the main meal at lunchtime instead of the evening, and I do notice when I do this it seems to affect my speed of loss.
And I do know about calories in, calories out... but I do worry when I see people's diaries with only coffee at breakfast, a very light, or no lunch, and then a huge meal in the evening, and lots of snacks as well - usually unhealthy ones.

But, it works for them - so I wouldn't worry about it.

I eat my largest meal at night - within hours of going to bed. I also work second shift (which you wouldn't know just looking at my diary) and am most active at night. So, don't assume that just because someone eats light in the morning and heavy at night that they're going to gain weight or not be able to lose weight.

I've been eating this same way for the last 2+ years and have lost the weight AND kept it off. I do what works for ME and honestly, I don't care what someone else says I should do. It works for me and my lifestyle. Worry about what works for YOU.

BrienJD

I don't think it really matters. I've eaten a ribeye steak dinner with Mashed taters and veggies at 10:30 at night. My meals are all over the clock with no set time for any and I'm doing well.

tigersword

Meal timing doesn't matter. Total calories do.

elri1908

Everyone is not different. I'm quite frankly tired of hearing this over and over.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html

What an awesome read - thanks for posting this, (and also for all the other input/advice of the other posters). I couldn't stop reading the articles on this site - they're very educational.

Anyway, I'm definitely not different - I'm fat because I was a lazy *kitten* and bad at counting - I was consuming much more calories than I thought, and much more than what was needed for an energy balance. Add to that that I'm IR (insulin resistant) and ate a lot of carbs, that would make me tired and even more hungry, no wonder I am where I am - a staggering 50kgs overweight!

I'm so glad that I started this journey - it's a slow start but I'm doing so many things different to what I was doing before. I'm controlling what I eat and try to stick to healthy choices (to the extent that I understand what a healthy choice is), and allow myself the occasional treat without stressing. I still have a slight mental block about exercising, but at least I now enjoy walking my dog, so it's a start. I'm not going to be hard on myself because I don't have the mental resilience to hit the gym and start exercising until I drop. For the moment I'm taking baby steps and I'm fine about that.


I have to confess: I always thought that there was something fundamentally 'off' about bodybuilders, but honestly in the short two weeks that I've been a member of this site, they are the guys that really seem to have this business of losing weight and living healthy down pat. Respect to you all!