Eating after 7, let's be real..

Iknewyouweretrouble

well due to my past schedule after 7 became fourth meal. try to modify life if you're going over cals, unless it is working for u. then I wouldn't worry about it.

irishblonde2011

Eat whenever you want. A calorie is calorie no matter what time it is. I lost most of my weight when I was working 4pm-2am.
Dinner would be around 10pm. It is what you eat not when

BigMan1979

If that nighttime eating myth was anywhere near true, then us 3rd shifters would be totally screwed...

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but this statement shows a real lack of understanding with the "Don't eat after 7" myth. What it boils down to in this myth is that the average person would be in bed at 9pm. This would then mean that you would be eating within a 2 hour window of sleeping. Of course this is a myth; however, saying it is a myth because you are awake and working at different hours is hardly any reasonable proof one way or another.

Sadly I have seen this type of statement espoused a lot here. Anyway, I hope you know I don't mean this in a rude manner. This is just the 4th such statement of the like I have read on the 1st page!

CoachReddy

the reason this myth exists is to help prevent people from mindless snacking before going to bed, something that's extremely easy to do without even realizing it for many people.

the only reason eating a large meal before sleep is a bad idea IMO is that it can mess with your sleep patterns and give you a less restful, less restorative night's sleep, and if you make that a habit, it could actually cause issues with your weight loss. but a large meal will not all get metabolized as fat just because you're sleeping. that's the myth part.

jaf320

I eat after 7 pretty frequently. I actually find that if I eat dinner TOO early - think before 6 - that I actually wind up more likely to snack too much/mindlessly eat because it's pretty much a given that I'll get pretty hungry again before I go to bed. It doesn't affect my sleep at all unless I really overeat or just eat a bunch of total junk.

cutiemexiz

I'm bumping this since this was a myth I thought was true and I would go to sleep at like 2am starving because I didn't eat anything between dinner and then. You guys made me feel better when I had my fruit or snack inbetween So thanks for that

honkytonks85

There is 0 evidence to suggest meal timing matters. It's about macro nutrient content and calories in vs calories out.

Also, there is 0 evidence that eating before you sleep makes you gain more weight either.

About the only reason one might not eat just before they sleep would be heartburn.

However, not eating after 7pm is completely unnecessary. Eat when you want

BigMan1979

There is 0 evidence to suggest meal timing matters.

Also, there is 0 evidence that eating before you sleep makes you gain more weight either.

Well, I hardly think there is "0" evidence. Here is one reputable study that makes that clam, in part.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21527892

Still a myth though

IFlover90

Eat whenever you want.

FussBucket

My BFF is a nursing student. She works nights two times a week and goes to school, during the day, 4 to 5 times a week. Oh and did I mention she's a mom too? She knows her sleeping patterns are bad right now, but when she gets out of nursing school and gets a full time job, this will get better. All that said, her schedule is also irregular, but she is losing.

I have had the same hectic schedule when I worked 3 nights a week at the bedside. I counted calories from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. Breakfst at 4pm, snack at 8 pm, Lunch at 11 pm, snack 130 am, dinner 530 am...ect.

I had to pack every meal, but it worked. I alwas brought lots of food so I would not be tempted by whatever the other nurses or families brought us to snack on.... like chocolate, chips and dip, pastries, ice cream... That is really difficult too.

MayaSPapaya

I always eat fruit after dinner (sometimes with a bit of nutella or peanut butter if calories allow), and that is around 8 pm, sometimes 9 pm, or it's even been as late as 10 pm.
Hasn't affected me in the slightest.

cwolfman13

I burn roughly 2700 calories in a 24 hour period...meal timing is irrelevant...I'm going to burn those 2700 calories regardless. If people just used simple logic it would put a lot of these old wives tales to bed.

heartofviolet

Let's be real: ain't never gonna happen that I'm NOT going to eat after 7. I'm the same as you--completely irregular schedule because of school and part-time work (and various other things, like having a social life), so I never know in advance when I'm going to get up or when I'm going to eat. That makes it hard to plan when I will eat and when I will exercise, but that's okay. It's the way I live my life, I'd rather not have a solid routine, to be honest. So if I want to eat after 7, I damn well will (and I'll also go for runs at midnight--the joys of being a night owl!).

pmteet

I think the problem of eating after 7 is not that it magically put weight on but the reasons you are eating. Are you eating out of boredom? or habit. If you had a nice healthy dinner and you are hungry at 7 or 8 I would eat a fruit or a small bowl of veggies. IF you are working late and do not get home until 8 of course you need to eat a healthy meal. I would recommend that if you know you are going to be late maybe try and eat a bigger breakfast or lunch. If you are going out on a date just relax. One or two days a week are not going to ruin anything.

kaylindeschanel

it's true, eat whenever you're hungry.
there is never going to be a blanket statement out there to applies to everybody perfectly.

tailor your eating habits to what your body demands.
take care of your body and your body will show results.