Is it okay if I "binge" my calories at night before bed?

Makoce

I eat pretty healthy during the day I guess. I use to be a binge eater. And I still get bad cravings at night. So I've been leaving calories so I can still binge on certain junk or snack foods. I never go over my calorie goal, but I hear its bad to eat before bed? Is this a myth? As long as I am in my goal I can eat when ever right?

Textmessage

Think of it like fueling your car while on a road trip. As long as you get to your destination, does it matter when you gas up?

earlswimsuit

Best not to. I used to have the same problem as you but i now exercise at night and hop off to bed to distract myself... :laugh: you can do it! Once you get into the habit of not eating after 7pm it becomes soo easy!

sarahmonsta

I personally think that the worst part about this would be the fact that you are not learning how to eat properly. You're doing good during the day then gorging yourself at night with junk (even if it meets the calories). There is a huge difference healthy snacks will do to your body compared to the junky ones, even if you are under your calorie goal and you may lose the weight now, but in the future you may revert back into old habits. Eating junk food is fine, but moderation is key. Good luck.

trb85

Think of it like fueling your car while on a road trip. As long as you get to your destination, does it matter when you gas up?

This is pretty much my opinion too.

The whole "don't eat after 7/8/9 at night" argument never made sense to me. If you're within your goal, it shouldn't matter when you eat the bulk of your calories.

Makoce

I didn't do that bad tonight. An ounce of chips, crackers and cheese, and peanut butter on apples. I'm getting there

I stay up till like 2 am. So stopping eating at 9 would be way too long between them sleeping and waking up

crowunruh

I have never set a certain time to stop eating by. It hasn't stopped my weightloss. I try to eat every few hours, but if i'm hungry I eat, as long as I don't go over my calories.

boilerbabe69

I am also a late night person. I don't start eating until I am actually hungry in the morning. Sometimes that means I don't eat my "breakfast" until noon and then go from there. It makes no difference when you eat as long as you are logging everything you eat and dont go over your intake allowance. Good luck with your goals.

CristinaL1983

I practice intermittent fasting so I eat all my calories in the late afternoon and evening. It hasn't hindered my weight loss at all. I don't usually start eating until sometime between noon and 4pm (depending on my fasting time for the day) or if it's a 24 hour fast day, I only eat dinner. I usually try to stop eating around 8pm but I'm usually in bed pretty early. If I'm working late or doing schoolwork late, I still try to cut of my meals around 8pm because I'm going to be getting up early but I haven't really been working much lately mostly just school so less of a concern. If I'm working (where I usually get done at 3am) and know I will be able to sleep in the next day, I adjust my schedule accordingly.

I guess the short answer is that it's fine.

ninerbuff

Best not to. I used to have the same problem as you but i now exercise at night and hop off to bed to distract myself... :laugh: you can do it! Once you get into the habit of not eating after 7pm it becomes soo easy!

Why not after 7pm? Personally for years and years, I've eaten up to 11pm every night. The reason why the 7pm myth came about is because people reached their daily calorie goal by that time and then anything after was excess. If one is within calorie limits, there is no magical time that you have to not eat.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

I personally think that the worst part about this would be the fact that you are not learning how to eat properly. You're doing good during the day then gorging yourself at night with junk (even if it meets the calories). There is a huge difference healthy snacks will do to your body compared to the junky ones, even if you are under your calorie goal and you may lose the weight now, but in the future you may revert back into old habits. Eating junk food is fine, but moderation is key. Good luck.

80/20 rule applies here. If one takes in the correct amount of macro/micro nutrients needed in a day and still has calories left over, it really doesn't matter what you eat.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

sarahmonsta

I personally think that the worst part about this would be the fact that you are not learning how to eat properly. You're doing good during the day then gorging yourself at night with junk (even if it meets the calories). There is a huge difference healthy snacks will do to your body compared to the junky ones, even if you are under your calorie goal and you may lose the weight now, but in the future you may revert back into old habits. Eating junk food is fine, but moderation is key. Good luck.

80/20 rule applies here. If one takes in the correct amount of macro/micro nutrients needed in a day and still has calories left over, it really doesn't matter what you eat.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

geekyjock76

I personally think that the worst part about this would be the fact that you are not learning how to eat properly. You're doing good during the day then gorging yourself at night with junk (even if it meets the calories). There is a huge difference healthy snacks will do to your body compared to the junky ones, even if you are under your calorie goal and you may lose the weight now, but in the future you may revert back into old habits. Eating junk food is fine, but moderation is key. Good luck.

80/20 rule applies here. If one takes in the correct amount of macro/micro nutrients needed in a day and still has calories left over, it really doesn't matter what you eat.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

I do not believe her entire list of "binged" foods would be classified as junk, though.

alyssagilbert09

The only negative to doing that is that carbs give you energy during the day but since you're eating at night it's just getting stored as fat.. You can notice a big different on the scale if you eat late one night and then not the next. I always have a harder time losing weight if i'm eating at night.

sarahmonsta

I personally think that the worst part about this would be the fact that you are not learning how to eat properly. You're doing good during the day then gorging yourself at night with junk (even if it meets the calories). There is a huge difference healthy snacks will do to your body compared to the junky ones, even if you are under your calorie goal and you may lose the weight now, but in the future you may revert back into old habits. Eating junk food is fine, but moderation is key. Good luck.

80/20 rule applies here. If one takes in the correct amount of macro/micro nutrients needed in a day and still has calories left over, it really doesn't matter what you eat.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

I do not believe her entire list of "binged" foods would be classified as junk, though.

She posted her list, after I posted my comment. She said junk so I was assuming she literally meant junk food.

blu_meanie_ca

I always eat a snack after my kids go to bed (that's when I used to eat my supper). Some days I eat almost as many calories on my night snack as I do during the day (all depends on how many I've saved). My personal favorite is popcorn, though tonight I wanted something sweet, so I had brown sugar and pb on rice cakes, and then a whole bunch of snap peas.

carfamily08

I'm not a morning/early day eater. I also work out late at night so I eat a good amount of my calories later in the day and often snack past dinner and before bed. It hasn't effected my weight loss and unless I have something super sodium filled it doesn't effect my weight on the scale the next morning either. As long as I'm in my calorie goal, I eat around the clock

Fleshgodful

The only negative to doing that is that carbs give you energy during the day but since you're eating at night it's just getting stored as fat.

Nope. They get stored as fat if you go over your TDEE. Just because you're sleeping doesn't mean your body isn't burning calories.

geekyjock76

The only negative to doing that is that carbs give you energy during the day but since you're eating at night it's just getting stored as fat.. You can notice a big different on the scale if you eat late one night and then not the next. I always have a harder time losing weight if i'm eating at night.

There isn't some magical fat fairy that waves her wand after you eat something in the evening and changing it to fat.

sunsnstatheart

The only negative to doing that is that carbs give you energy during the day but since you're eating at night it's just getting stored as fat.. You can notice a big different on the scale if you eat late one night and then not the next. I always have a harder time losing weight if i'm eating at night.

There isn't some magical fat fairy that waves her wand after you eat something in the evening and changing it to fat.

^^ This. If the saving calories for night works for you, then use it. There's no reason to be concerned.

droneofvelvet

You're asking because you know its not the best option for your health. This habit is helping you meet your goals while satisfying cravings for the time being so it won't hurt, but you should slowly try to reincorporate some of these snacks throughout the day to give you the energy you need and to completely break the binging habit which is what got you here in the first place. Just add one of your planned snacks once a week or month depending on how much time you need to one of the later meals until you have them all balanced out instead of filling up right before bed. Then maybe in a few months you can focus on eating something better for your body and maybe save the goodies for the weekend.

jennifer_417

"binge"

You keep using that word. I do think it means what you think it means.

Otterluv

I looked through the past few days in your diary, and I'm honestly not seeing too much of an issue. Don't worry about it, it seems pretty balanced to me. Oh sure, there is room for improvement, but there is no reason to go too extreme in this.

If you find yourself inching back towards old behaviors, then rein it in. But until then, chill.

DavPul

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

But what if she didn't sign up for the Lifestyle Change? I only signed up for the Lose Weight and Look Hot package. So I eat whatever I want whenever I want and continue to improve my physique and vitals. The Lifestyle Change package required too much commitment, offered too little fun, and the people all seemed kinda preachy.

MyChocolateDiet

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

But what if she didn't sign up for the Lifestyle Change? I only signed up for the Lose Weight and Look Hot package. So I eat whatever I want whenever I want and continue to improve my physique and vitals. The Lifestyle Change package required too much commitment, offered too little fun, and the people all seemed kinda preachy.

^agreed.

however maybe later when i have lost a significant amount of weight and/or have this under my belt successfully i will feel ready to splurge on the whole lifestyle change subscription. [doesnt' like to be locked into cell phone plans either] p.s i looked at your diary and your food seems spread out. maybe you can go into settings and put the times in for your meals and that might help you get a better look at when you're eating if it matters to you.

sarahmonsta

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

But what if she didn't sign up for the Lifestyle Change? I only signed up for the Lose Weight and Look Hot package. So I eat whatever I want whenever I want and continue to improve my physique and vitals. The Lifestyle Change package required too much commitment, offered too little fun, and the people all seemed kinda preachy.

I find it entertaining that you always feel the need to comment on what I say lol.

sunsnstatheart

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

But what if she didn't sign up for the Lifestyle Change? I only signed up for the Lose Weight and Look Hot package. So I eat whatever I want whenever I want and continue to improve my physique and vitals. The Lifestyle Change package required too much commitment, offered too little fun, and the people all seemed kinda preachy.

^^ This.

Synapze

Think of it like fueling your car while on a road trip. As long as you get to your destination, does it matter when you gas up?

Works for me.

rebelate

I don't know what you mean by "binge" but if you're within your calorie range, hitting macros, and making generally good choices, then don't sweat it!


It doesn't seem like you're really "binging." It just sounds like you feel guilty for eating after a certain time, or for not eating traditional meals. I wouldn't worry.

Sarauk2sf

I didn't do that bad tonight. An ounce of chips, crackers and cheese, and peanut butter on apples. I'm getting there

I stay up till like 2 am. So stopping eating at 9 would be way too long between them sleeping and waking up

You are fine. That is not a 'binge' and it's not 'junk' food.

Eat when you want - hit your calorie and macro targets.

Sarauk2sf

That's nice. There is still a huge difference between taking in a bunch of calories from junk food and from healthier choices. It is a lifestyle change . Also, you adding all your lovely titles just makes me laugh, but good for you. =]

But what if she didn't sign up for the Lifestyle Change? I only signed up for the Lose Weight and Look Hot package. So I eat whatever I want whenever I want and continue to improve my physique and vitals. The Lifestyle Change package required too much commitment, offered too little fun, and the people all seemed kinda preachy.

^^ This.

Yep - also, many people do not want a 'lifestyle' that does not include some 'junk'.