better to eat or not??

Jamie_Moy
Jamie_Moy Posts: 40
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
I've had a few pretty crazy days where I haven't been able eat consistently all day, and then 7 pm rolls around and I still have 800+ calories to eat. Most of the dinners I eat I try to keep them healthy, and nothing I thought about eating for dinner was even close to that amount of calories, without going WAY over on the protein, and carbs.
What i'm asking is, is it better to a) just eat a regular dinner and small snack and still have like 300 calories left? or b)should I eat something really calorie infested, and go over the protein and carbs so that I get my calories for the day... I'm leaning towards A! lol I have just heard about the whole eating after 7 pm thing, and how it's bad to eat around and after bedtime...

Any thoughts?? Might sound kind of stupid, but I'm still a lil confused about the whole "body in starvation" thing...

Replies

  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
    Well, the default protein goals on MFP are kind of low IMO.... I consider my protein goal (which I set myself) to be a floor -- I want to eat at least that much, if not more. For carbs, I treat it like a ceiling and try to keep under it. Because, when I go over consistently, I get cravings for more carbs and junk food. But also don't worry about a single day... some days are over and some under so as long as I don't go over every day for a few days, I'm okay.

    Anyway, I think it's crazy to be stuffing your face at bed time because some online program told you to. :happy: I eat what I am comfortable eating and just add the calories I didn't eat onto my next day.

    That said, your body doesn't care what time you eat your calories. They've done some recent studies and found out that you can eat at night and not gain more weight than if you ate those same calories earlier in the day. You only gain if you eat more at night than you would have during the day. (Some people abstain during the day and then go nuts at night and over-eat.)

    Plus, your body won't think you are starving if you don't eat everything you burn one day. It takes a long time (weeks, months) of consistently under-eating to do that.
  • xonophone
    xonophone Posts: 474 Member
    I'm no expert, I can only tell you what works for me, and that is simply counting the number of calories. I generally eat pretty healthy foods anyway, so I don't worry about it if I go over on the carb/protein/fat counts because I know I'm eating the right type of carbs and fats, and I'm also exercising consistently. Once I reach my goal weigh I may consider cutting down the fats anyway, just to get a leaner look, but we'll see when the time comes. As for time of day, I work later shifts and so most nights I eat dinner about 2-3 hours before I go to bed. I have still been losing weight, and as I said, I am sure it's because I'm not going over my total number of calories. Maybe some of the nutritionists on here can offer you evidence-based advice on what is recommended? Oh, and I go to the gym in the mornings before work, so I don't know if that's why the late dinners aren't impacting my weight loss as well...
  • hjmygatt
    hjmygatt Posts: 79
    I think that MacMadame has good advice! I would only add that is you are really worried about not having enough calories, you might think about adding a nice big glass of milk to your dinner!
  • marmen
    marmen Posts: 4
    Is there any way you can sneak in even a can of SlimFast, and/or energy bar, some kind of snack or two during the day? Even a latte has calories that you can sip while you work. You will feel better if you do eat throughout the day, and it's better for your body, too. I wouldn't eat 800 calories in one sitting...I am just guessing that's like half your food for the day. Just eat what feels normal and good. If it's just once in a while it won't screw your metabolism up too badly, but if it happens a lot, then it could.
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
    Eat more at breakfast and lunch.
  • TGIBriday83
    TGIBriday83 Posts: 68 Member
    this is such a hard concept for me to understand. im always struggling to stay under. i guess thats one of the main differences between men and women.
  • LifeAfter50
    LifeAfter50 Posts: 38
    Jamie

    So happy to see your post.... I'm having the same problem... not sure about this starvation thing..... I can't believe my body as big as it is can be in starvation mode..... Anyway.... I'm reading all of the post and have found it very helpful.... I just have to get out there and exercise.... get up and get moving.... no more sitting on the couch watching the yoga... get up and do some of it.... Wipe off the wii and get going again!!! It's just hard for me to get motivated... but reading all of these post and seeing the weight everyone is dropping is helping me see the light!!!

    Thanks for all the responses!
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