Dinner Calories Before Bed HELPPPPP

GlamNGlitter

my husband & i have been having this same discussion for a while now. when i go search online I can't seem to find any answers.

I'm 25, 195 & 5' 2"...

I work out in the morning.. I usually burn 862 calories. I try to stay under 300 calories for both breakfast and lunch with a 100 calorie snack in the afternoon. Then for dinner it's usually 400-450 calories (no more than 450 everyday except on friday nights which is my "cheat" night and we have pizza which at that 2 slices is 480 -little ceasers brand) we usually eat right around 5:30/6pm and then a cup of coco at 7 pm which ranges from 110-150 calories (depends on the brand)

My husband insists that it's bad for me to eat a larger dinner since in 4 hours we're going to bed. He says that since I'm not "active" after dinner, it doesn't burn off any calories from my larger dinner and that means my body will store the fat from dinner and hinder my weight loss.

I think that I'm fine because I did workout in the morning...???

Am I wrong.. ???
any helpful knowledge / advice


EDIT: btw, Yes, I know I'm not eating all my workout calories. That's the choice I made for myself. Thanks for not pointing that out and bringing it into the discussion haha

AnneElise

Do you have a heart rate moniter? What are you doing in the morning tat you burn 862 calories? If you don't have a chest heart rate moniter I would be worried that you are overestimating calories burned. For me thats about 9 miles of running.

It is better to eat bigger meals in the morning. You have time and energy to burn those calories. That being said, I do the same thing that you do by eating a bigger dinner. I just can't eat that little at night, if I try to I end up binge eating. So I think that different things work for different people.

You have lost 40 lbs! Thats great! You must be doing something right.

GlamNGlitter

I do have a HRM and I do 45 mins cardio every morning ... Biggest Loser DVD
and I enter that into my HRM as a moderate workout.

Plus I weigh a LOT more than you. So it takes you more to burn the calories that I would burn right now because my weight acts like ..weights in my hands lol...kinda too my advantage. the more I loose the harder I have to work out to burn the same amount of calories.

ali258

You've lost 40 lbs since June. Clearly, what you're doing is working for you. Your body burns calories all day long to keep you breathing and alive. You don't have to burn the calories you eat right after you eat them -- you just have to burn more calories than you eat. That doesn't mean work out and burn more calories than what you eat. If you just ate the calories you were given on here and never worked out, there is a built-in deficit and you would still lose weight, just not as fast as if you exercise. You also wouldn't be toned if you just ate right and never worked out.

GlamNGlitter

No haha sorry ya'll I've lost 40lbs since Oct 2008... I Joined MFP in June

songbyrdsweet

Your food takes 13-33 hours to travel from mouth to....toilet. What you eat before bed isn't being absorbed until almost the next morning.

I see that you're 5'2...would you like to join a group specifically for the fun-sized variety of ladies? We are all 5'4 and under at Fit & Fun Sized! :drinker:

GlamNGlitter

haha sure i'd love to

Nich0le

It is a myth that you will gain weight if you eat before bed, as long as you are within your calorie range for the day you can eat whenever you want.

MattySparky

Ur husband doesn't know what he's talking about, that's a bunch of BS. Your body uses calories to perform all of it's functions not just when you work out. Does your husband know that food can stay in your system before it's expelled for up to 12 hours or more... maybe you should stop eating at breakfast then if what he's saying is true LOL. In my opinion dont listen to what he tells you because he obvioulsy hasn't educated himself on how the human body processes food and uses calories. The main thing is not to go over on your calories... it's pretty much that simple. You can eat right before bed and it dont mean a damn as long as you aren't in excess of what you need PERIOD. The other thing to consider is this... even without working out your body needs calories. So if you're burning over 800 calories with your workout and then only consuming between1000-1200 calories then you're really only getting about 400 calories or so for your body to do it's thing (breathing, heart, digestion etc etc etc). You aren't going to do very well if you are only living on 400 calores or so. Believe it or not, you'll see.

MattySparky

Your food takes 13-33 hours to travel from mouth to....toilet. What you eat before bed isn't being absorbed until almost the next morning.

I see that you're 5'2...would you like to join a group specifically for the fun-sized variety of ladies? We are all 5'4 and under at Fit & Fun Sized! :drinker:

lol excuse my ignorance on this one but what the heck is "fun sized"??

cmriverside

Your food takes 13-33 hours to travel from mouth to....toilet. What you eat before bed isn't being absorbed until almost the next morning.

I see that you're 5'2...would you like to join a group specifically for the fun-sized variety of ladies? We are all 5'4 and under at Fit & Fun Sized! :drinker:

here's the link to the post songbyrd is referring to above:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/71696--fit-and-fun-sized-5-4-and-under-week-1

cmriverside

..............................and I'm 5'7". I'm fun too. neener neener. :ohwell:

Jenks

I read an article, I think it was on about.com, and it stated that it did NOT matter what time you ate at. Think of your calories like a bank account. Regardless of what time you make a deposit, it went in that day, same as regardless of when you spent (worked out) you still spent those calories.

Hope that helped.

Nich0le

..............................and I'm 5'7". I'm fun too. neener neener. :ohwell:

fun sized girls are pocket size! lol I'm 5'10" so I'm out of the "fun size" group too, darn it.

songbyrdsweet

Haha we still love you tall girls! We just all have our own unique height-related battles...like pants.

KaitieBug

Your food takes 13-33 hours to travel from mouth to....toilet. What you eat before bed isn't being absorbed until almost the next morning.

I see that you're 5'2...would you like to join a group specifically for the fun-sized variety of ladies? We are all 5'4 and under at Fit & Fun Sized! :drinker:

lol excuse my ignorance on this one but what the heck is "fun sized"??

Short people!! Hehehe I'm only 5'2", I know all the terms for pipsqueaks like me :bigsmile: