No Eating at Night?

nicarey19

Unless you are a Mogwai, it's fine to eat at any time, it won't have any bearing on your loss.

^best response:) And I agree.

boxem180

I have a protein shake around 9 pm (right after when I work out) and I've been losing steadily. I have about 16 oz. of unsweetened original almond milk (by Silk) and 1-2 scoops of Isopure zero carb vanilla powder. For me (and I stress for me), it's not the time I eat but what I eat. I avoid carbs after 7 pm at night and stick to mainly protein - keeps me full until breakfast.

JesterMFP

I had breakfast at half one this morning, so no i dont stop eating by a certain time, but remember if youre eating late at night you dont have chance to burn the cals off, how you would in the day. My sleeping patterns are pretty messed up too so i eat at all weird times.

You are constantly burning calories. I burn 1,800 (my BMR) calories per day just being alive...that's 1.25 calories per minute while I'm doing absolutely nothing...I don't even need to twitch a finger.

Yes i know this, i was comparing it to the day time, where you are active and can exercise and are just generally burning more cals.

Yes, but if you eat when you are less active, you may store excess energy. Then if you don't eat when you are more active, you'll use that stored energy. You are always storing energy and using stored energy. It all balances out in the end.

JesterMFP

Eating at night is how you gain weight that fastest. Your body is 'shut down' and automatically stores all that you eat.
I was on a 1700cal diet for jenny craig and couldn't manage to put my last meal in until and hour before I went to sleep. I ate a full bag of broccoli that you purchase in the frozen isle, with I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray alternative butter, which wasn't too bad. And then I ate my little meal. I never felt hungry by eating a huge salad before the actual meal, so it kept me full all night. Try that trick. It can be any type of veggie. Just try not to eat at night. There's always a breakfast waiting for you in the morning.

Not if I don't eat breakfast there isn't.

krhn

In theory your bodies metabolism slows down a bit at night since your bodily movement slows down compared to the day, hence digestion of food may slow down as well which is why most people eat more in the day...

bobbyunangst

I worried about eating late as well since I work till 7pm a few nights a week. I was told by many people not to stress it. That the hearsay about eating late was a myth. I try to eat every few hours including fruits and whole grain items. I switched from the really bad for you potato chips to brown rice and almond chips. They are made by Blue Diamond and are found at the grocery store.

I have taken the things that I loved but were not so great for me and found items that would replace it. For the most part I am happy with my food intake now and as long as I make sure to eat a good breakfast I dont get any hunger pains. However if I don't then I am very cranky by 10am or so.

carlenebouch

I have a sensitive stomach and need to eat a little something before bed or I will wake up in the night with tummy troubles. Popcorn, 1/2 cup frozen fat free yogurt or dry cereal, but my new fav is 5 wheat Ritz crackers with 2 T. strawberry flavored cream cheese for a total calories of about 130.

cwolfman13

I had breakfast at half one this morning, so no i dont stop eating by a certain time, but remember if youre eating late at night you dont have chance to burn the cals off, how you would in the day. My sleeping patterns are pretty messed up too so i eat at all weird times.

You are constantly burning calories. I burn 1,800 (my BMR) calories per day just being alive...that's 1.25 calories per minute while I'm doing absolutely nothing...I don't even need to twitch a finger.

Yes i know this, i was comparing it to the day time, where you are active and can exercise and are just generally burning more cals.

Yes, but if you eat when you are less active, you may store excess energy. Then if you don't eat when you are more active, you'll use that stored energy. You are always storing energy and using stored energy. It all balances out in the end.

Bingo...it's cyclical. Not to mention, if you're eating at a deficit, you can't really store.

Unknown

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paperpudding

I get the reasoning from those who have a digestion issue and get reflux if they go to bed too soon after eating.

And I take the point about snack eating at night being prone to junk food choices.

But theses sorts of things aside, the actual timing of food intake does not matter from a weight loss point of view.

We nearly always have tea (dinner to some of you?) at 7 or later and often a light snack after that - not a problem.
Just look at those posters who have also said this and have lost 2 or 3 hundred pounds for proof!

iWaffle

Eating at night is how you gain weight that fastest. Your body is 'shut down' and automatically stores all that you eat.

Bwaa ha! Did this person deactivate in shame after making this statement. There's no such issue. Eat when you like. The only instance I time food is with a protein shake after a workout. Other than that it doesn't matter.

teamstanish

I eat when I'm hungry and have had no problem losing weight.

doubleduofa

I get the reasoning from those who have a digestion issue and get reflux if they go to bed too soon after eating.

And I take the point about snack eating at night being prone to junk food choices.

But theses sorts of things aside, the actual timing of food intake does not matter from a weight loss point of view.

We nearly always have tea (dinner to some of you?) at 7 or later and often a light snack after that - not a problem.
Just look at those posters who have also said this and have lost 2 or 3 hundred pounds for proof!

I find I lose weight better when I don't eat late (as well as not getting reflux). Jillian Michaels has a book where she goes into hormonal responses and why eating at night is not beneficial. I like her explanation. It works for me.

MzzFaith

I set my self 2 personal goal not to eat after 6:00 p.m. to drink water no light or heavy foods. It's hard but Force myself & say I can.

focused48

i dnt kno wht kind of diet you are on but i drink a protein shake at night if i get hungry..

rawhidenadz

Eating at night is how you gain weight that fastest. Your body is 'shut down' and automatically stores all that you eat.
I was on a 1700cal diet for jenny craig and couldn't manage to put my last meal in until and hour before I went to sleep. I ate a full bag of broccoli that you purchase in the frozen isle, with I Can't Believe it's Not Butter spray alternative butter, which wasn't too bad. And then I ate my little meal. I never felt hungry by eating a huge salad before the actual meal, so it kept me full all night. Try that trick. It can be any type of veggie. Just try not to eat at night. There's always a breakfast waiting for you in the morning.

I eat my largest meal (1000 calories or so) about an hour before bed. I've lost over 60 pounds and maintained that loss for a year and a half now.

Meal timing does not matter in the slightest - any IFer could tell you that. As long as you have a calorie deficit going, you will lose weight. Eat whenever you want.

kazzsjourney

I stop eating when I run out of calories regardless of the time lol. Depends on the days...on work days then late gym nights i may not eat till as late as 9pm, and as you can see by looking at my stats...(186 pounds lost) its not adversely affected me

thisismeraw

Eating at night is how you gain weight that fastest. Your body is 'shut down' and automatically stores all that you eat.

False! I'm surprised people still believe this kind of stuff.

ashleey1000

I try to stop eating by 7pm and do not eat again until breakfast the next morning.

Sarahmeridith

I tend to eat most my calories for the day between 6 and 10pm

cityjaneLondon

I have the same thing so always save a couple of hundred calories to eat around 9 o'clock. Otherwise I go to bed hungry and toss and turn. Much better to be comfortable. It does not matter when you eat, to say otherwise is just jumping on some myth bandwagon. - when will people learn.

mistesh

I stop eating when I'm asleep. I'm not a believer in waking up to get more food. Eat whenever you want but do try and get enough rest for the next day. Sleep is important.

I agree, but Mark MacDonald in his Body Confidence: Venice Nutrition's 3-Step System That Unlocks Your Body's Full Potential appears to disagree. He says that your sleep should be six to eight hours and that you should eat within the first hour of waking up. He also recommends eating every three to four hours and has no problem with a meal before bed. All of that and at the same time suggests that everyone is different, lol. I spent a coffee break browsing the book, primarily pp 21-23, which adds the bonus of butchering the English language by way of the odd construct of "three times less than". The book no doubt has much to offer, but not any longer on my time.

See also Tell me again why eating before bed won't make me fat?
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/934166-tell-me-again-why-eating-before-bed-won-t-make-me-fat

schondell

It doesn't matter when you eat. Some people eat all their calories at night, I personally cannot fall asleep if I'm hungry.

moonbaby12

The real question is about hunger, Those who don't eat after 7 and that works for them great. If you are eating in the evenings because you are bored or emotional that will obviously not help, but if you are truly hungry and you like to have something in the evening, go for it. That being said, I personally feel better with a lighter, high protein breakfast, lots of snacks throughout the day and a lighter night time meal. I feel that I sleep better and digest better if my body is not working so hard to break down the food I just ate. For the sake of digestion, no full meals 2-3 hour before you sleep is smart, but if you are hungry snacking on fruits, popcorn, other light treats will not hurt. :happy:

montana_girl

Nope, I personally don't believe it matters what time you eat as long as you stay within your calorie goal for the day. I actually use a majority of my calories for night time snacking. I've lost over 100 pounds and kept it off for three years, all the while doing a lot of night eating.

But as with every aspect of weight loss, what works for one person may not work for another. Go with what works for you and helps you to stay on plan. :drinker:

willdob3

I had great results previously eating (planned food) late at night.

I'm currently eating 3 meals per day & no snacks. I do not eat after dinner, which is usually between 7-8 pm. It works great, too.

There is no "best" way. Just do whatever works for you & your lifestyle.

Qskim

If you are insulin/leptin resistant it can be a useful strategy. Not everyone has been tested for this but they use this strategy without understanding why it's useful. Helps regulate hormones that are skewed in these individuals. The closer you get to normal weight range the less important it is. Lose weight while sleeping? Frig win win if you ask me.

misskerouac

Because of my schedule and commuting we don't eat dinner until 8pm. I would say do whatever works for you. Keep it simple.

Lyadeia

I don't even wake up until 4pm and I don't go to bed until most people are on their 9-5 day shift jobs. If I ate only during the daytime, I would be dead.

On a more serious note, I agree with everyone else who has already said that this whole "eating at night" thing is a myth. It doesn't matter when you eat as long as you are meeting your macro goals and not overdoing it on calories.

IslandDreamer64

Doesn't matter when you eat, your body doesn't know how to tell time. As long as you have the calories to spare, you can eat at midnight if you want. I almost always eat something right before going to bed.