Eating late at night? Y/N? Why?

jacksonpt

Eating at night is not a bad habit though, that's the difference between your argument and almost everyone else here.

Eating too many cals, be it at night or whenever is bad. But having a modest snack or a huge meal... as long as it fits in yoru cals is a GOOD habit.

The act of "eating at night" in and of itself is not necessarily a "bad habit." But it's a slippery slope if a person does not make overall good food choices and doesn't consistently burn more calories than they eat (as so many people have stated).

For ME...eating at night is problematic.

And it's not an "argument", it's my point of view. Calling it an "argument" implies that I am trying to change another's point of view, and I'm not. I was simply stating MY point of view.

People can think what they want to think, and they should do what works for THEM. THE END.

Why is eating at night problematic for you?

forgtmenot

Personally I do not eat late at night, or I try not to, because it keeps me awake. I do not subscribe to the idea that if you eat too late at night you will gain weight or stop losing weight... that just doesn't even make sense.

ETA: By "keeps me awake", I mean eating is like an extra burst of energy or something and I will toss and turn for hours sometimes if I eat to close to bedtime.

CristyMusicLovr

I eat at night if I am hungry It doesn't affect me! Have something light thats it! Take a shot of tequila haha

ryry_

The only reason I don't do it is because sodium late at night makes me bloat and I see it on the scale in the morning. I don't take it seriously because it's not real weight, but I still don't like to see it. Eat something healthy late at night if you are hungry, you will be fine.

I think this is what people see when they see a higher weight the day after eating late at night and it freaks them out. Or increased muscle glycogen storage. But over time this all gets evened and then you are freed from the thinking that eating after a certain time will cause you to store (This is from a guy that used to staunchly believe that if I ate after 7 PM my body would store fat, after controlling my overall intake over a long period of time and eating late at night almost every night, I have learned that is not true).

Deedsie

When I eat doesn't matter. What I eat and how much of it does matter. At night, I'm more likely to be in front of the TV with a family size bag of M&Ms within reach. It's just not a good idea for me to eat at night. Not because it is dark but because I will eat crap and a lot of it a lot easier in the dark.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I bet just as many people get better sleep on a full stomach.

http://health.ninemsn.com/whatsgoodforyou/theshow/694624/eating-just-before-sleeping-151-will-it-affect-your-sleep

Deep sleep is when the body rests and repairs itself ready for another day. And that deep sleep is what our late eaters missed, especially in the early part of the night.

"They had a lot more awakenings and a lot more movement than the early eaters so they didn't actually get a lot of the deep sleep that is normally associated with the early hours of the night," says Sarah Biggs.

The results of our test are no surprise to Professor Drew Dawson.

"This is what we would expect based on what we've seen in the literature before," he says.

Dr Clare Collins, a lecturer in nutrition at the University of Newcastle, agrees. She says the body simply isn't designed to cope with a heavy load before sleep.

I would want this defined. I eat my last meal around 730 or 8 and then snack through the evening until I go to bed at 10 or 11. If I stop eating after that meal I go to bed feeling hungry and wake up at least once feeling hangry . . . and if I don't put something in the pie hole I wake up more then once. Now I'm not saying that I eat a side of beef at 930, but a 1/2 cup of ice cream or some yogurt . . . generally around 200 - 300 calories.

mmapags

The act of "eating at night" in and of itself is not necessarily a "bad habit." But it's a slippery slope if a person does not make overall good food choices and doesn't consistently burn more calories than they eat (as so many people have stated).

For ME...eating at night is problematic.

First, I totally respect your choice. If eating at night makes it a struggle for you to stay on plan, then by all means, do what you need to do to manage it effectively.

Doesn't your first statement apply to eating at any time and not just at night? For example, rtlencar and I both skip breakfast to give ourselves more margin for later knowing our preference is going to be to eat more later. And if a person doesn't make good food choices or stay within thier calorie targets wouldn't they have an issue with weight no matter the time of day they eat? I understand this is more of an issue for some later in the day but it applies to any time of day.

WendyTerry420

Eating at night is not a bad habit though, that's the difference between your argument and almost everyone else here.

Eating too many cals, be it at night or whenever is bad. But having a modest snack or a huge meal... as long as it fits in yoru cals is a GOOD habit.

The act of "eating at night" in and of itself is not necessarily a "bad habit." But it's a slippery slope if a person does not make overall good food choices and doesn't consistently burn more calories than they eat (as so many people have stated).

For ME...eating at night is problematic.

And it's not an "argument", it's my point of view. Calling it an "argument" implies that I am trying to change another's point of view, and I'm not. I was simply stating MY point of view.

People can think what they want to think, and they should do what works for THEM. THE END.

Eating ANYthing can be a slippery slope for someone who struggles with appropriate food choices. My downfall was second breakfast.

supahstar71

I usually eat dinner between 9 and 10. Just works for me schedule-wise. It hasn't been a problem for me.

LoraF83

Eating at night is not a bad habit though, that's the difference between your argument and almost everyone else here.

Eating too many cals, be it at night or whenever is bad. But having a modest snack or a huge meal... as long as it fits in yoru cals is a GOOD habit.

The act of "eating at night" in and of itself is not necessarily a "bad habit." But it's a slippery slope if a person does not make overall good food choices and doesn't consistently burn more calories than they eat (as so many people have stated).

For ME...eating at night is problematic.

And it's not an "argument", it's my point of view. Calling it an "argument" implies that I am trying to change another's point of view, and I'm not. I was simply stating MY point of view.

People can think what they want to think, and they should do what works for THEM. THE END.

Eating ANYthing can be a slippery slope for someone who struggles with appropriate food choices. My downfall was second breakfast.

I don't think she knows about second breakfast, Pip.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Eating at night is not a bad habit though, that's the difference between your argument and almost everyone else here.

Eating too many cals, be it at night or whenever is bad. But having a modest snack or a huge meal... as long as it fits in yoru cals is a GOOD habit.

The act of "eating at night" in and of itself is not necessarily a "bad habit." But it's a slippery slope if a person does not make overall good food choices and doesn't consistently burn more calories than they eat (as so many people have stated).

For ME...eating at night is problematic.

And it's not an "argument", it's my point of view. Calling it an "argument" implies that I am trying to change another's point of view, and I'm not. I was simply stating MY point of view.

People can think what they want to think, and they should do what works for THEM. THE END.

Eating ANYthing can be a slippery slope for someone who struggles with appropriate food choices. My downfall was second breakfast.

I don't think she knows about second breakfast, Pip.

second breakfast was never my problem, but when you start adding on 11sies at my house on the weekend then we sometimes have issues.

laylaness

I don't eat at all before I go to bed because my body completely shuts down when I sleep. I mean it. It goes into a metabolic coma, I burn no calories, and I wake up much heavier every day. That's why I don't weigh myself in the morning; I gain a tremendous amount of weight the night before because my body did absolutely no burning of fat or calories. It was completely shut down.

lol

Unless you die every night, I can assure you this does not happen.

Perhaps I do. La petite mort.

i love you.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I'm a late night eater... So Yes! Sure! Make it ice cream!

werd!!

OP: as it seems to have finally been agreed to:

- intra-day meal timing is irrelevant from a weight loss perspective, however, personal preference, adherence and how it impacts your energy levels and sleep is relevant.

- if you are hungry and it causes you to get a worse nights sleep, then eating something later makes sense. The inverse also applies.

- if eating late at night aids in adherence then that makes sense. If eating earlier does, than that makes sense.

- in itself though, the energy balance still applies and should be looked at at the macro level - are you, on average, in a caloric surplus or deficit?

- I eat most of my calories after 9pm and usually after 10pm, and eat ice-cream in bed just before I go to sleep at about midnight. It has not affected my weight loss (and I am 45 year old so disagree that age makes any difference), helps my adherence, helps my gym performance and does not impact my sleep (being hungry would though).

eat when you're hungry and have the caloric availability.

No_Finish_Line

seems like most people in the first page at least have a good grasp on things.

I've seen quite a few articles by Joe Schmo fitness buff saying that anything you eat before bed will just turn into fat. And its certainly a popular 'old wives tale' around the office.

I've never seen a real research article from a peer reviewed journal that suggest that there is an difference in digestion/absorbtion while your sleeping as opposed to while you are awake, and certainly no magical biochem switch thrown that automatically turns carbs into fat.

Its just like any other time of day, if your under your calorie goal, you can eat, if your over you run the risk of gaining. Probably the only reason why eating before bed is potentially problematic is that most people are already at or above thier calorie goals by bed time.

I always do Casein or whey/casein and peanut better before bed. often wake up starving anyway.

IslandDreamer64

Your stomach doesn't have a clock. Eat when you're hungry. I often eat right before going to bed, I get hungry late at night.

witchy_wife

Yes AND no.

Eat all the way up to 11:59PM and then stop, any time after that you run the risk of turning into a gremlin.

LMAO, my fave reply of the day right here there!

x_pix_x

I'm not saying it's been said here but I've often seen on other weight loss forums people categorically state 'you must not eat after x pm'. It's probably the one thing that annoy me more than anything else. It annoys me because they think its ok to make a sweeping statement as fact to apply to every single person and if you get sucked into it it can end up being really detrimental to your weight loss, I'm not saying that people are wrong in thinking its best for them personally not to, it's not my place to say what's right or wrong for any individual. However it's when people use it as an absolute rule that applies to everyone and its irresponsible. I know in the past I've taken advice from posters on forums because they seem to know what they're talking about and are a 'respected' poster.


I often don't get home often til 8:30-9pm as I like to walk home from work which takes almost 2hrs, plus sometimes I can work til 8-9. This means by the time I've got in, showered, put a wash on, made a coffee and cooked it can be anytime between 9 and 10pm when I eat my tea, I also will usually have calories left so may well have some fruit or a bit of chocolate or both afterwards if I have the calories left (I often still have quite a lot left after work as I only have limited time in my break and if I eat too heavy at work it makes me sleepy) so if I listened to things like this I'd end up eating naff all which would only end in bad things for me. Slight rant there lol but the topic obviously brought out some unresolved annoyances in me haha!

methadoneugly

Wow Thanks for the replies guys I did not anticipate I'd get so many responses! Considering what most of you have said, If I am genuinely hungry and have calories left I will have some vegetables or small serving of protein. Thanks again

loneworg

Time of day has nothing to do with it. If you have calories left, eat if you're hungry.

I completely disagree with this statement. Every person's body composition is different, and the way our bodies breakdown calories is different. Also, depending on WHAT you eat before going to bed (and how often you do it) can be problematic.

I generally try to stop ALL eating/snacking at 9:00 p.m., regardless of the time I go to bed. The only exception is if I'm skating on a particular night (the session is from 9p-1a).

But if you're STARVING, then I suggest having some sort of protein, or a piece of fruit. Stay away from starches and foods that are high in fat and sodium.

facepalm