Does it matter what time I eat?

teamAmelia
teamAmelia Posts: 1,247 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Is there any truth to the myth about eating at night before bed being bad for you? I tend to eat my heaviest meal about an hr before bed.

Replies

  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    No, it doesn't matter.

    ETA: unless it causes sleep problems. However, since it sounds like it's something you've been doing for a while, it shouldn't be an issue.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    If you weigh in every day how late you eat can affect the scale number without making a bit of difference to your actual weight loss.

    As for actual real weight loss, the jury is still out. Most say it doesn't matter. At least one new study says it might.



    Here is a recent study indicating that what times you eat might matter:

    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/01/29/you-are-when-you-eat-new-study-finds/

    "During the first few weeks of the 20-week study, run by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in collaboration with Tufts University and the University of Murcia, all 420 subjects lost weight at about the same rate. But starting around week five, weight loss for dieters who ate their main meal after 3 p.m. began to stall and remained sluggish for the duration of the study. In the end, they lost 22 percent less weight than dieters who ate the bulk of their calories earlier in the day."




    If you notice down at the bottom of the article it says possibly people who wait to eat are just eating more because they basically waited too long. So this must not have been a calorie-controlled study. That would make sense, actually, from the basic calories in calories out that is recited her often. If you wait you are more likely to overeat therefore will have a harder time losing weight.
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
    For me it does.. I weigh every morning when I wake up so if I eat a late meal it shows on the scale. If I don't eat past 7pm then it is actually better on the scale the next morning.
  • browneyes97
    browneyes97 Posts: 98
    Sometimes I eat dinner around 9 and go to bed after midnight...I have not seen a difference on the scale when I eat later as opposed to earlier.
  • weightloser122
    weightloser122 Posts: 87
    no i eat a midnight snack practically every night and it hasnt effected my weight loss
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    No, it doesn't matter.

    ETA: unless it causes sleep problems. However, since it sounds like it's something you've been doing for a while, it shouldn't be an issue.

    ^ this.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    bump
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    No it doesn't matter.
  • Diet_Soda
    Diet_Soda Posts: 124 Member
    I have never noticed a difference.
  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
    I work nights, so I have to eat at night. It doesn't matter what TIME I eat, as long as it is about 2-3 hours before sleep.
  • Myhaloslipped
    Myhaloslipped Posts: 4,317 Member
    The only reason I don't eat a big meal right before bed is because it gives me the craziest nightmares. Other than that, I just eat when I am hungry or when it fits into my schedule.
  • takumaku
    takumaku Posts: 352 Member
    No, it doesn't matter. I sleep a lot better when I eat some fat before bed time.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    No.
  • iamafoodaholic
    iamafoodaholic Posts: 46 Member
    I don't believe that it matters what time you eat as long as you stay within your calorie goal for your 24 hour time frame. I have always been a person that gets up and eats in the middle of the night. I can lose weight even doing that. I just make sure that I count everything. I have family members that don't agree with me, but I still lose weight. You will just have to see how it does for you.

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