Eating at night

i snack late, sometimes i even save up calories because i love a late night snack, and I've been doing well, it doesn't seem to be something that hinders me. I think if it's really a "snack" it's fine, though I might avoid going for all 500 left over calories right before bed.

It doesn't matter what time you eat - for weight-loss purposes anyway. Obviously, if late-night eating gives you indigestion or keeps you awake, then it might not be a good idea. I generally eat over half my calories after 7pm. I have my evening meal, and I usually have a snack right before I go to bed. I've not had any problems losing.

The body stores excess calories as fat, but then it still burns them off later when you're not eating. Don't be afraid of fat storage. As long as you're in a deficit, it all balances out and you'll still end up losing more fat than you store.

Some people eat every couple of hours, some people have three square meals and no snacks, other people just have one big meal with all their calories in the evening. I haven't seen any research showing that eating late in the day actually has an effect on fat loss.

I always have a 9pm snack, but I usually do not go to bed until 12pm. I usually have frozen cherries, greek yogurt, and wheat bran mixed together. I see it as another opportunity to get in my protein

No expert...but I eat at night esp if I'm far from goal. I try not to eat a lot or heavy because I get nightmares when I eat bad at night. However, sometimes I will have a piece of cheese or a 100 cal pack of almonds in the evenings. I also normally don't go to bed till 11 or 12.

I try not to eat after 7 which has been kind of hard since I get off of work at 6 but I have been sticking to it and lost 8 pounds in a week but I dont know if its because of that.

Good topic. I don't like to go to be hungry. So the no eating after 7 or 8 just didn't click with me. Mind you, I don't sleep well on a full stomach either, so a snack works for me. And of course, keeping it at or below my recommended intake. I usually have a snack unless I eat a late dinner.

Everyone is different but I do not eat after 4-5pm.

Night eating and weight gain is a myth. Here is one of the MANY articles talking about it. You eat when you're hungry. The problem isn't when you eat it's how much it is. People tend to overeat at night more often.
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/myth-debunked-late-night-eating-does-not-cause-weight-gain.html#b

Hi,

Food does not have a higher calorific value if eaten late at evening or night. If this was true I'm sure we would only see 3rd world countries, with only minimal amounts to eat, only eating at night.

Your stomach does not know the time!

I've heard from various fitness gurus that you shouldn't eat after your dinner hour for max. weight loss

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you won't burn the calories off since you're less active at night, etc. But, let's say you still have 500 cal. left in your calorie budget. Do you think you will gain weight by eating those at night? Some nights I am really hungry and I wonder if I'm eating something, let's say around 9pm, that it will turn to fat. Do you snack at night or not?

I usually try not to eat at night after 7pm, but that is just so i don't end up with heart burn or nightmares while sleeping LOL However, if I do want a snack, I get a large handful (about 15 or so) grapes or cherries to eat, that are well less than 100 calories and are filling

I've heard from various fitness gurus that you shouldn't eat after your dinner hour for max. weight loss

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you won't burn the calories off since you're less active at night, etc.

Alright, I'm going to be the one saying the opposite of everyone else.

So not eating after a certain hour is called "intermittent fasting" (IF) or "dietary restriction" (DR). Although it is true that many fitness experts say it is a method to reduce late night snacking/binging, there have been studies done on rats that prove IF & DR are effective.

These are just two of the research studies I have found:
http://www.fasebj.org/content/20/6/631.full
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2012/962012/

The first is from The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, and the second is from the International Journal of Endocrinology.

I go to bed every night with a 500-600 calorie snack (around 10:30 p.m.) and have lost a few pounds in the process.. It is a total myth, just make sure you hit your macros and caloric intake for that day... Best of Luck......

Just a few pounds Ed?
I'd say you're the poster boy for "meal timing doesn't matter"!

OP: meal timing doesn't matter.
Eat when it makes you feel good. If you don't sleep well with a full stomach, or you prefer not to eat late at night, then plan your day so you eat more calories earlier on.
If you like to eat later - go for it!

To yoobie: sure, intermittent fasting is all about eating all your cals for the day in a restricted "window" of time (I'm sure an IFer will correct me if I'm wrong.
But, I dont think that even the IFers say that your body clicks a switch at a specific time (is 7pm, or 5.30pm or 11:34:53?) and magically changes the way it digests and processes food.

I've heard from various fitness gurus that you shouldn't eat after your dinner hour for max. weight loss

---

you won't burn the calories off since you're less active at night, etc.

Alright, I'm going to be the one saying the opposite of everyone else.

So not eating after a certain hour is called "intermittent fasting" (IF) or "dietary restriction" (DR). Although it is true that many fitness experts say it is a method to reduce late night snacking/binging, there have been studies done on rats that prove IF & DR are effective.

These are just two of the research studies I have found:
http://www.fasebj.org/content/20/6/631.full
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ije/2012/962012/

The first is from The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, and the second is from the International Journal of Endocrinology.

The first study uses Intermittent fasting and calorie restriction interchangeably in it's effects. I quote:

"Both methods of DR produced decreases in the low-frequency component of DPV spectra, a marker for sympathetic tone, and the high-frequency component of HRV spectra, a marker for parasympathetic activity, was increased. These parameters required at least 1 month to become maximal, but returned toward baseline values rapidly once rats resumed ad libitum diets."

So it's as effective for the rat to be on a 40% calorie reduction as it is for the rat to be on an IF regimen. The effects kick in after a month in either case and almost immediately return to normal after stopping.

The second study shows the effects of IF on diabetic rats. It doesn't really seem a significant effect on weight was seen when compared to the control group. I quote:

"Over the last 30 days of the experiments, the changes in body weight failed to differ significantly, whether in the control or STZ rats, when comparing IF animals to NF animals, with overall mean values of + 3 3 . 8 ± 2 . 7g (???? = 1 0) in the control rats and − 1 5 . 9 ± 4 . 4 g (???? = 1 1) in the STZ rats. Expressed as a daily change in body weight, these two mean values were not significantly different (???? > 0 . 4 or more) from those recorded in the same type of rats"

I'm not saying that it doesn't have benefits over and above normal daily calorie restriction, just that experimental biology done on diabetic rats shouldn't be taken as a slam dunk for human beings..... There may be other benefits to pancreatic function, etc. But, I assume that most people reading this thread are thinking "If I eat after 8 pm, will it make me fat?" rather than "what will my pancreatic wet-weight be if I have a late night snack"

You need to come up with some research that shows in average human adults IF is much more effective than normal calorie restriction (to be worthwhile in it's effects to pursue by an individual) in terms of fat-loss, then post some links..... that's what, I suspect, people are more interested in......

Everyone is different. But so far with me atleast, I can eat when ever I want and still lose weight. I eat late sometimes, Sometimes right before the day is over, and it does not effect my weight loss at all. Though it might effect other people, I guess you'd just have to test it out and see how it works for you.