Eating the last of your day's calories...

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trentwiggly
trentwiggly Posts: 74 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Sometimes (like tonight) I find I'm still under calories and it is 9pm. I even ate an apple a little while ago. Yet, I still have 433 cals to go. Do I eat another snack to finish off the calories for the day? The scuttlebutt used to be that you don't eat after...fill in the blank, 7pm...8pm...whatever.

Should do I eat the rest of those calories or not?

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  • trentwiggly
    trentwiggly Posts: 74 Member
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    I should add that's on the net calories...still trying to get the hang of this eating back the calories thing.
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
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    That "don't eat after _____" is a myth. Eat whenever you want.
    With that being said, if these are exercise calories, then it's really up to you if you want to eat them. If you're hungry, eat them. If not, don't. Personally I don't eat back my exercise calories because I'm never hungry for them.
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    Eat 2 TBS of PB on wheat toast. You're welcome.
  • trentwiggly
    trentwiggly Posts: 74 Member
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    I'm eating some walnuts. :D Thanks!
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    I do that too. I usually keep nuts available for such days. I'm out.
  • squiggyflop
    squiggyflop Posts: 148 Member
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    9pm? Thats when I eat dinner. Im not even done with dinner and its nearly midnight. Ive still got hundreds of calories to go.

    If you are hungry, eat. If you are not, dont bother unless you feel like you will wake up later from hunger. As far as weight loss, the weekly calories are more important than the daily ones. So if you go to bed without eating them today, you can have a hot fudge sunday later in the week guilt free. It doesnt really matter much when you eat them, just that they are eaten at some point during the week.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I don't eat them back unless I am hungry.. I am trying to listen to my body and learn the signals it gives me to tell me to eat or drink or not eat or not drink.. I'm getting there.. and today was just a bad day..i didn't have breakfast.. i almost never skip breakfast.. when I do.. i come up way short..hence why i don't skip it.

    oh and yes very often I am sitting down to dinner at\ 7 or 8pm or later... hasn't hindered my weight loss. I've even had bar food at 2am and still managed to lose weight.. it's not when.. it what, how much and how often..
  • SparklySarah412
    SparklySarah412 Posts: 74 Member
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    Same as confuzzled4ev said. If I'm still hungry I'll get something, if not I won't. Last night I was peckish at 10pm so I used up the last of my calories on a slice of banana bread and a cup of tea, but if I'd not been peckish I wouldn't have bothered.

    Also, on mondays and tuesdays I have classes at the gym that don't finish till 9pm and on those nights I don't get my dinner until after I've got home, had a shower and cooked it- its never affected my weight loss.
  • Bettyeditor
    Bettyeditor Posts: 327 Member
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    I just now had the same problem. 400+ calories before bed. I did my usual in this situation: peanut butter and hazelnut milk (chocolate!). But I also had some tuna salad mix too. Trying to get enough protein so that I build muscle! :)
  • AleciaG724
    AleciaG724 Posts: 705 Member
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    I'm no expert, but I think it's more about nutrition - if you work out a lot, you need to eat a lot. You don't want to eat too little because you won't be able to fulfill your nutritional needs. I for one believe that it makes sense not to eat less than 1200 calories (net) because you can't get all your nutrients. I also I think it slows down your metabolism, but there is some debate about this... just mention "starvation mode" and you will hear many opinions about it.

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