Eating at night

trdepalo
trdepalo Posts: 106 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Lately, I've been having a really hard time getting all of my calories in, especially when I exercise and I have to eat those back. During the day I feel fine but I eat pretty light because I'm always on the go and don't really have time to sit down and eat, but when I'm home and dinner rolls around and I still have at least 600 cals or often way more to go I have a hard time getting it all in. Not only that, but because I have this fear of under eating I tend to eat big 600 cal dinners just to make sure I'm hitting my count. Not to mention, I'm not exactly losing weight. Could it be because of these big night time meals? Would it be better to eat less at dinner and just run the risk of not eating enough? I literally can't eat more during the day either, I guess my stomach shrunk and while I used to be the bottomless pit now I struggle to eat a whole apple sometimes without feeling sick.

Replies

  • trdepalo
    trdepalo Posts: 106 Member
    bump
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
    Maybe you can try eating a big breakfast before you head out to start your day? That way you can get a big portion of calories in before you are on the go.
  • skinnyitaliannn
    skinnyitaliannn Posts: 187 Member
    No it doesn't matter what time you eat. I eat mostly from 5pm up because during the day I am so busy, but I still make sure to eat a breakfast and more during the day before the evening rolls around! Do you go to sleep right after eating? Unless you're eating something like cottage cheese (the casein protein actually helps while you're asleep!) then maybe you should try to make sure you get to sleep about 3 hours after your final meal to let the food digest. Really it helps. I've found when I fall asleep right after eating I wake up super bloated with tummy aches.
  • DarthH8
    DarthH8 Posts: 298 Member
    I really don't think timing makes a big enough difference to hinder your whole experience. I've done three separate 2-week long test runs eating about 500 calories between 8am-6pm and then eating about 1500-2000 calories between 6-12. One of the weeks I lumped on 1000 calories in one sitting at 9pm every night for 2 weeks. I saw little to no change in my weight or BF% fluctuations when compared with the previous or following weeks in all 3 cases.

    I weigh my food out to the gram.
    I use a body fat scale and calipers to calculate body fat changes.
    I weight twice a day and measure every two days.
    I workout 5-7 days a week and do not eat back workout calories. I eat a fixed number daily based on my estimated weekly burn.

    I've seen no major differences in when you eat your food. I also recorded two separate bulk periods one where I ate an even amount of food every waking hour and then another where I ate only after 5pm using intermittent fasting. I actually lost BF% when doing the IF bulk and eating only at night as opposed to eating all day. I gained a small amount of BF during the bulk where I ate all day. Each bulk lasted exactly 1 month.
  • emmeylou
    emmeylou Posts: 175 Member
    I honestly think that it doesn't matter when you eat your calories. But since it is obviously worrying you, have you tried eating more in the morning? Maybe not eating more in quantity, but switching your food to be more calorie dense? You could try regular yogurt instead of "low fat" (my favorite is plain fage 2% with a splenda and espresso powder... or some sort of sugar free syrup)... pick up a loaf of super dense bread (whole grains, nuts, etc) to switch out with what you normally eat (if you do eat bread), etc. That way you aren't forcing yourself to eat, but you are still hitting your calorie goals. You may even find yourself enjoying your meals/snacks more!
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    you can change what you're eating during the day. Eat more calorie dense food. avocado, nuts, etc.
  • trdepalo
    trdepalo Posts: 106 Member
    Thanks everyone! I guess the problem isn't so much that it's at night than I go to bed about an hour maybe two after I eat. It's hard because I have to wait for my boyfriend to get home which means we generally don't eat dinner before 9, often later, and I try to get to sleep by 11 or midnight the latest.
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