Logic Behind Not Eating After 8?

cspong
cspong Posts: 260 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been losing weight just fine, and I'll eat right up till I go to sleep. I'm not planning on changing that, but I keep seeing people saying that it slows your weight loss to do that... Which, frankly seems dumb to me, lol. I know you tend to sleep better if you don't eat right before bed (because your body isn't working on digesting), but I really don't see how it could possibly affect weight loss...

Any clue?
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Replies

  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    It's a good idea for people who don't count calories, because it limits their intake. It's also good for people who tend to sabotage their day by mindlessly snacking all evening. If you're counting your calories and you stay within your goals, it doesn't matter what time you eat.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    It only affects weight loss by limiting amount of calories you consume. If you tend to over-consume in the evenings, having a cut-off time will be beneficial.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    i can't sleep if i'm hungry, so i always eat before bed. it doesn't affect me.
  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
    I always feel kind of bad about eating a late big dinner. By the time I get home from the gym I end up eating late every night and it is always my biggest meal of the day, but I am still losing weight so I have no idea how that works
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    I always feel kind of bad about eating a late big dinner. By the time I get home from the gym I end up eating late every night and it is always my biggest meal of the day, but I am still losing weight so I have no idea how that works
    Why would you feel bad about it?
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
    I think that the only logic is that a lot of people have the bad habit of binging before bed. Having a firm end time for eating can help end that.

    Besides that, I see no reason to not eat past certain times.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    I always feel kind of bad about eating a late big dinner. By the time I get home from the gym I end up eating late every night and it is always my biggest meal of the day, but I am still losing weight so I have no idea how that works

    Of course you have an idea - you're eating at a deficit.
  • kandrews24
    kandrews24 Posts: 610 Member
    I'm with you. Eating more often can increase metabolism and certainly protects against feeling ubber hungry and then over eating. I think the issue of night eating is really an issue of over eating. Many folks over eat at night and if they didn't they would not be so fat. If you can stay within your calories, I don't think it matters when you eat. There are other issues too like acid reflux that some have and some have bad dreams if they eat late at night. But again, if no issues, then who cares. I sleep better with something in my tummy too.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    I always feel kind of bad about eating a late big dinner. By the time I get home from the gym I end up eating late every night and it is always my biggest meal of the day, but I am still losing weight so I have no idea how that works

    You are still losing weight because you are still eating less calories than your body uses during the day. That's how it works.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    What they said. I have a feeling too that the 'forgot to log' stuff tends to happen later on.

    Some people say it's good for your body to not be digesting over night, just for better rest. I don't know. I think my body digests for a loooonngggg time. I guess maybe that intestine work is less taxing than the stomach part? I don't know. :ohwell:
  • barth76
    barth76 Posts: 1
    I completly agree. I work out of town and have a tendancy to eat late today is day 22 for me and and it hasent affected me yet.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    I know for me, when i don't eat late at night, i am hungry enough for a proper breakfast in the morning. If i eat late, i am not hungry until later. When i eat breakfast, i am less likely to binge at night. That's not very scientific, but based on my own experience, i get better weight loss when i eat my meals earlier in the day. And i sleep better, too.
  • Diadre1986
    Diadre1986 Posts: 1
    I had a dietician tell me evening snacking was fine, your body doesn't have a clock and at a certain time it shuts down. Just count the calories and stay within your limit and you should be fine.
  • cspong
    cspong Posts: 260 Member
    Okay, so the people who keep saying that as a rule are basically taking it out of context... Like, they don't realize it's to stop snacking and binging, rather than actually physically having an effect on your weight loss...

    I was like "What? My body keeps working... even when I'm sleeping..."
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Some people say it's good for your body to not be digesting over night, just for better rest. I don't know. I think my body digests for a loooonngggg time. I guess maybe that intestine work is less taxing than the stomach part? I don't know. :ohwell:
    I don't see that it matters which one is more taxing. You will have to digest it at some point, so why would it matter if you're awake or asleep? The only way it makes a difference is if it disrupts your sleep.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Okay, so the people who keep saying that as a rule are basically taking it out of context... Like, they don't realize it's to stop snacking and binging, rather than actually physically having an effect on your weight loss...

    I was like "What? My body keeps working... even when I'm sleeping..."

    Correct. There is NO scientific reason you have to stop eating at any specific time. It is all personal preference.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Okay, so the people who keep saying that as a rule are basically taking it out of context... Like, they don't realize it's to stop snacking and binging, rather than actually physically having an effect on your weight loss...

    I was like "What? My body keeps working... even when I'm sleeping..."
    Look at you, with the common sense! :drinker:

    Lots of people believe it just because they've heard it a million times. They never stop to think of what the reason might be. And then that weird logic creeps in, like "your body shuts down at night!" and "if you don't burn it off before you go to sleep it instantly converts to fat!"
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    Okay, so the people who keep saying that as a rule are basically taking it out of context... Like, they don't realize it's to stop snacking and binging, rather than actually physically having an effect on your weight loss...

    I was like "What? My body keeps working... even when I'm sleeping..."

    You're a smart lady.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    Oh I agree. I think the people who advocate it have a more Eastern approach. Your body is working on it, whether it bothers you or not, sort of thing. I think I've read it in yoga, feng shui and Ayurveda books. Probably some plain old American weight loss books, too. I don't bother. If I get too hungry I feel deprived and that's not good, especially if I'm tired and my discipline is low.
  • rosiecotton24
    rosiecotton24 Posts: 81 Member
    I just got done eating supper and it's 9:30. In the summer especially, I tend to eat late because I'm busy doing other stuff- it stays light so long. If I didn't eat supper this evening after 8:00 (I didn't get done walking until about 8:10) I would have been way under my calorie intake for the day not to mention VERY hungry by the time I went to bed!
  • cspong
    cspong Posts: 260 Member
    Okay, so the people who keep saying that as a rule are basically taking it out of context... Like, they don't realize it's to stop snacking and binging, rather than actually physically having an effect on your weight loss...

    I was like "What? My body keeps working... even when I'm sleeping..."

    You're a smart lady.

    Lol, I think that may have been sarcastic... but thanks :D
  • mamamc03
    mamamc03 Posts: 1,067 Member
    N/A
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    I start consuming food as soon as I get out of bed. And I eat up until bedtime (usually like a half hour before just so my stomach isn't super full when I lay in it). I do this everyday. I'm losing weight just fine.
  • wiltl
    wiltl Posts: 188 Member
    There isn't an impact to overall weight loss, but not eating a couple of hours before bed does help with other digestive issues. With reflux especially, not eating after eight (or whatever is 2-3 hours before bed) will help with this so that you aren't refluxing acid and food all night. All of my doctors and my own research strongly suggested this over the 12 years I had reflux, up until I had surgery to repair it all. Now, I still eat early just because its what I'm used to and hate going to bed full.
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
    Urban legend. Eating before you go to bed doesn't make you fat, eating too much food does though. Your body is a furnace that is on 24/7. :smile:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I know for me, when i don't eat late at night, i am hungry enough for a proper breakfast in the morning. If i eat late, i am not hungry until later. When i eat breakfast, i am less likely to binge at night. That's not very scientific, but based on my own experience, i get better weight loss when i eat my meals earlier in the day. And i sleep better, too.

    That's great - you've worked out what is right for your body and your lifestyle, so you should keep doing that.

    I think the point of this post is that some people get all caught up in these crazy "rules" and it makes them more stressed - when it isn't necessary.
  • HardyGirl4Ever
    HardyGirl4Ever Posts: 1,017 Member
    I read everywhere that you should "close your kitchen" after dinner. I don't. Like you, I eat until just before bed. Apparently if you go to bed on an empty stomach, it allows you to wake feeling thin, rested, and hungry for breakfast. Going to sleep without food awaiting digestions in your stomach keeps your body's metabolism in a fat-burning state. (Chalene Johnson)

    On the other hand:

    Dr. Tim Harlan (Dr. Gourmet) says
    MYTH: Eating late at night or just before you go to bed makes you gain weight.
    TRUTH: Calories are calories. Period. If you eat too many and don't exercise enough, you will gain weight. Eating late or just before going to bed simply doesn't matter.
    When you eat too much, your body has an amazing ability to store the extra calories as fat. Eating later, for most people generally means that they postpone their meal and then in response to their hunger, eat more calories than they need.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I agree with everything everyone said about that being a rule for people who can't count calories.

    That said, one thing I've learned in the last few months is that I will often feel hungry but if I wait a while, the hunger will pass. So if I have eaten dinner at 5, I'll often get hungry again at 7/8. I could eat then. Or I could wait until 9 and probably find I wasn't really hungry at all.
  • quantumpion
    quantumpion Posts: 8
    Eating pizza after 9 pm makes my tummy angry rawr.
  • sandyyy712
    sandyyy712 Posts: 94
    I heard that because when you eat carbs they immediately go to replenishing your glycogen stores and when you sleep you're burning calories and the first source used to burn calories is your glycogen stores, so by not eating right before bed your body will move on to different sources for calories....idk if that's true, it's just what I've heard before.

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