Snacking after 9pm?

I used to get hungry after 8pm and would eat something up to 200 calories. I would plan for it. But then someone on this site explained it like this, If that rule were true then all of France would be overweight because they have thier dinner at 8pm. And I thought wow, thats right. So I put a small meal in the spot I used for dinner (5pm) and moved my dinner to 6:30 to 7pm and now even though I budget for a snack after 8 I ususally do not want it.

It doesn't make a difference. I eat, literally, right up to the point of going to bed. I typically eat ~1500 calories between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM then right to bed. It hasn't hampered any of my goals, including weight loss. I just ate less when loosing weight, timing had not effect.

I agreewith everyone else - timing does not matter. I eat virtually every day within a half hour of sleeping (150 - 350 calories, usually) and it has not hindered my weight loss.

I've heard many times that you should stop eating a few hours before bed (8pm? 9pm?) so that the calories don't just sit there overnight not being burned, but I find I have to have a small healthy snack before bed or else I can't fall asleep!- 100-150 calories or so. Do others eat before bed? Or do you stop eating earlier?

Focus on total daily intake and how you feel. If you feel fine and you're eating the right total number of calories then you'll do well.

The problem with the "don't eat at night" theory is that it completely neglects looking at the big picture. To nerd out a bit here, when you're talking about fat loss you need to consider what happens over large periods of time and not what happens in very short snapshots.

Fat loss happens when fat oxidation exceeds fat storage. If you eat all of your calories at night, you are blunting fat oxidation and increasing fat storage during your sleep. However, if you eat all of your calories at night, you are also increasing fat oxidation during the day because you're not eating during the day.

Where you end up on this will be largely governed by total energy balance (calories). The more you eat at night, the less you eat during the day. Fat oxidation decreases at night and fat storage goes up, but during the day fat oxidation increases and storage goes down. In a calorie deficit, oxidation exceeds storage regardless of when you are eating.

The cliffs, as I said previously, are to just hit your daily intake goals and the short term periods of oxidation/storage will manage themselves without you having to pay any attention to it.

He is the only one who calls me "cliffs".......and yes listen to him!

I don't eat right before bed as it gives me a tummy ache.
But there's no reason why you can't as long as it doesn't go over your goal.

A lot of the time I work until 9:30 pm, have a full on meal around 10:30 and go to bed an hour or hour and a half later. It hasn't seemed to slow me down at all.

If I didn't eat past 7pm, I'd barely be able to eat some days.

I've heard many times that you should stop eating a few hours before bed (8pm? 9pm?) so that the calories don't just sit there overnight not being burned, but I find I have to have a small healthy snack before bed or else I can't fall asleep!- 100-150 calories or so. Do others eat before bed? Or do you stop eating earlier?

Some people here (who are in jealously great shape) summed this up pretty nicely with common sense and knowledge but I'll add a timbit from experience just to solidify things:

I've decided to take up IF (Intermediate fasting) last week. In other words, I eat the same amount of calories I did but I do it between 2-10pm. Haven't gained an ounce weight or width wise. Previously I usually ate breakfast at 7, lunch at about 12, and supper at 5. Out of all the things I've read I cannot find anything that shows timing matters when it comes to losing weight.

There's only one thing that I know of that affects timing when it comes to eating (not losing weight) and it's these little creatures:
http://phys.org/news170688849.html

Basically it says if you switch timing dramatically it takes time for your body to figure out when to tell you you're hungry because it likes to figure out when food is around. I guess it's a defense mechanism. Your body realizes traits in time when food is around so it makes you hungry when it thinks the clock is hitting food time if you haven't eaten then. If you change timing dramatically it well temporarily tell you you're hungry when you use to eat, even if you've eaten a crap ton throughout the day. Since I've dramatically switched my diet from eating smaller meals at different times I feel hungry at odd times even though I know I'm not because it's usually after I ate a significantly large meal. If you're changing routine and stick to it, that hungry feeling should go away if you're eating enough food...because you're body also tells you to eat when it knows you're starving yourself from food or nutrients.

If you eat at night, and you want to eat at night, keep eating at night...because as far as weight loss goes, it does not matter if you stop eating at night and eat all those night snacks in the morning. And You'll likely feel hungry for a while at that time if you stop eating snacks then.

I'm reading a book called "CLEAN". It's an awesome book with tons of valuable information. It's not the time of night that you eat, as much as the importance of making sure you have 12 hours before your next meal in order to let your body digest and detox. Detoxification takes place after the 8th hour. If you eat your last item an 9pm then don't eat anything the next day until 9am. This will ensure your body goes through the healthiest digestion possible. Google the book, you will love it!

I'm reading a book called "CLEAN". It's an awesome book with tons of valuable information. It's not the time of night that you eat, as much as the importance of making sure you have 12 hours before your next meal in order to let your body digest and detox. Detoxification takes place after the 8th hour. If you eat your last item an 9pm then don't eat anything the next day until 9am. This will ensure your body goes through the healthiest digestion possible. Google the book, you will love it!

My body likes to detox 24 hours a day even if I've eaten

I'm reading a book called "CLEAN". It's an awesome book with tons of valuable information. It's not the time of night that you eat, as much as the importance of making sure you have 12 hours before your next meal in order to let your body digest and detox. Detoxification takes place after the 8th hour. If you eat your last item an 9pm then don't eat anything the next day until 9am. This will ensure your body goes through the healthiest digestion possible. Google the book, you will love it!

After the 8th hour...as in when you haven't eaten for 8 hours? And then it takes 4 to detox?

Totally agree with everyone here, I doesn't matter when you eat. Just watch out for foods high in caffeine that way you're not up all night.

I eat and drink late everyday. This is only a problem if you go over your calories for the day.

I try to eat by a schedule every day. I eat 5 times a day. My last meal is scheduled at 9pm but sometimes I eat later.

It doesn't matter when you eat your food but having a constant energy release has helped me and discouraged snacking.

Meal timing is irrelevant, it's about calories in vs calories out. I eat my last snack an hour before going to bed and I've lost 6.6lbs in the last two months(I don't have alot to lose). Do what works for you, I personally like going to bed without a grumbling stomach:)

I'm the same way. I have to have a snack before going to bed. Also, sometimes I work night shifts so I don't even get a chance to eat dinner until I get home which may be as late as 11pm. My dietician also told me that the time of day doesn't matter because 100 calories at 3pm is still 100 calories at 11pm. I'm not an expert by any means, but I personally don't worry about what time I eat as long as I stay within my daily calorie range.