Does to help to not eat after 6 pm?

Lulu4597

I have been told that if you don't eat after 6 pm, it helps you to loose weight. is this true? How can you stay not hungry? Esp if you work full time like me until 4:30 pm (pacific time) and then get off work, go home, change, go hike for an hr 1/2 or go swimming and then come back home make dinner and by that time its already almost 8 or 8:30 pm? and you can't eat before a hard hike or swim sesh because you will feel sick to your stomach and probably throw up........ advise?

mcarter99

It doesn't matter when you eat, all that matters is your calorie intake (for weight loss). Not eating after some evening time probably just stops people from mindlessly snacking at night, which helps them control their total intake.

LoraF83

Honestly, it's a bunch of baloney. Your body is a fine-tuned machine. Your lungs, heart and other organs never shut off. Why would your digestive system?

I had dinner last night at 9:30pm. Steak, a baked potato, and corn on the cob. I'm down a pound this morning.

Eat when you want, as long as it fits in your calorie/macro goal.

beachlover317

It doesn't matter when you eat. It's what and how much you eat - averaged over a week. The only time eating after 6pm is going to hurt you is if you are a big snacker and it puts you over calories/macros. Your body does not know what time it is. Hope this helps. I'm sure you'll get a lot of different opinions. Good luck.

cobaltis

It doesn't matter, I skip breakfast and eat before bed... I lost 11 pounds last month... Works for me

_CiaoParis

Honestly, it's a bunch of baloney. Your body is a fine-tuned machine. Your lungs, heart and other organs never shut off. Why would your digestive system?

I had dinner last night at 9:30pm. Steak, a baked potato, and corn on the cob. I'm down a pound this morning.

Eat when you want, as long as it fits in your calorie/macro goal.

^ I agree.

lauren3382

Agree with the above posters. If I didn't eat after 6pm I'd be cranky and miserable. Heck, I eat two times after 6pm!

tlblood

It doesn't matter when you eat, all that matters is your calorie intake (for weight loss). Not eating after some evening time probably just stops people from mindlessly snacking at night, which helps them control their total intake.

Agreed! Some people have the will power to shut it down after a certain time. If that helps them control the night time snacking then good for them, but your body doesn't really care when it gets its calories.

LuckyLeprechaun

The only *risk* is some folks don't sleep that well if their stomachs are full. If that's true for you, you may wish to stop eating a few hours before you intend to sleep. But if you go to bed with a full stomach and it doesn't interrupt your restfulness, then by all means, eat whenever and whatever you want, as it fits into your calorie goals.

danwood2

I have been told that if you don't eat after 6 pm, it helps you to loose weight. is this true? How can you stay not hungry? Esp if you work full time like me until 4:30 pm (pacific time) and then get off work, go home, change, go hike for an hr 1/2 or go swimming and then come back home make dinner and by that time its already almost 8 or 8:30 pm? and you can't eat before a hard hike or swim sesh because you will feel sick to your stomach and probably throw up........ advise?

I am in the same boat that you are. With getting home around 5(ish) - playing with a 13 month old, feeding her, bath time, and bed time around 6:30... work out for however long - shower - then eat dinner. My wife and I normally eat dinner around the 8 o'clock time frame... sometimes around 9 depending on many overlying circumstances. NOW, with that said - I have been doing MFP for about 40+ days now and I haven't had a problem losing weight... I'm down 21lbs already. My wife lost 15 in 30 days... but we were hardcore on adding up everything that we took in and putting in our workouts as well. So, I'm no trained dietician, but if it is working for us... we aren't going to change anything because our schedules are pretty much set with the 13month old!!

Lulu4597

Thanks for the replies!! Really helps. Yes it is very hard to not eat after 6pm esp if you are doing night work outs or running errands. Thanks for the advise!!

BSBgirl337

I'm in trouble if I can't eat past 6, lol! I leave work and get to the gym around 5:45 and don't get home until about 7pm. I normally eat dinner then. I think it's fine as long as you're not going over your calories for the day. I also would be very hungry if I stopped eating at 6 because I'm not up until about 8am.

myfitnessnmhoy

Eating late can affect me in the very short term in terms of weight loss. If I have a heavy meal at bedtime, I don't generally tend to poop out the used food first thing when I get up, so the scale says I weigh more. But I know it's just the used-food department not having enough time to do their job.

VeganZombie13

I don't eat after 8 pm or eat carbs after 2 pm. Why, because, you will burn fat like crazy! The absence of carbs in your bloodstream will let your body produce the hormones it needs for better sleep. With good sleep comes other benefits like: Muscle repair, brain-chemical balancing, and increased energy durning the day.

A few of my Rules are:
Don't eat 3 hours before going to bed.
Don't eat after 8 pm.
Don't eat anything after dinner.

YOU decide. Your body will respond: denied fuel for more than 5 hours, your body WILL start burning it's own fat and sugar. That means if your dinner was at 8 pm, you're burning fat by 1 am.
[From the book "The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper.]

Sidesteal

I don't eat after 8 pm or eat carbs after 2 pm. Why, because, you will burn fat like crazy! The absence of carbs in your bloodstream will let your body produce the hormones it needs for better sleep. With good sleep comes other benefits like: Muscle repair, brain-chemical balancing, and increased energy durning the day.

A few of my Rules are:
Don't eat 3 hours before going to bed.
Don't eat after 8 pm.
Don't eat anything after dinner.

YOU decide. Your body will respond: denied fuel for more than 5 hours, your body WILL start burning it's own fat and sugar. That means if your dinner was at 8 pm, you're burning fat by 1 am.
[From the book "The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper.]

All that matters is that over the course of time, fat oxidation exceeds fat storage. This happens if you're eating at a caloric deficit over the course of time and additionally, it happens regardless of the acute effects of eating carbs at night or eating a large meal.

Assuming you are controlling your total intake, there's absolutely no reason to create more rules such as the above.
EDIT: In fairness, personal preference is a valid reason but I think that goes w/o saying.


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3508745
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9040548
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17483007
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21475137

LoraF83

Eating late can affect me in the very short term in terms of weight loss. If I have a heavy meal at bedtime, I don't generally tend to poop out the used food first thing when I get up, so the scale says I weigh more. But I know it's just the used-food department not having enough time to do their job.

LOL!! Used-Food Department! Love it :laugh:

caraiselite

i can't go to bed hungry. i love eating, then going to bed with that slightly too full feeling. mmm.

DangerMouse7

It doesn't matter, I skip breakfast and eat before bed... I lost 11 pounds last month... Works for me

I have a protein Shake for breakfast as I don't like having a heavy meal in the mornings. I workout in the evenings and then have dinner...just before bed. I average 2.5-3.75lbs loss per week. I still have 5-6 meals per day thou.
as cobaltis says...Works for me :-)

Captain_Tightpants

You mean like if you don't eat after 6pm ever again?