Should you not eat past a certain time?

christie1124
christie1124 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering if there is any benefit to not eating past a certain time at night. I don't make a habit of eating a 700-calorie meal before I go to bed, but having been on a 1200-calorie a day diet for a couple of weeks now, I have to eat every 3 hours or so. However, I have heard that you shouldn't eat past 6pm, or 7pm, etc. Do I suck it up and go to bed hungry or is a small meal around 6:30 ok with a snack before bedtime? Any thoughts would be appreciated! PS - I'm new to this site, and I have to say it has made counting calories so much easier than I imagined, and the weight is melting off!! ~~Very excited!
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Replies

  • Angie1366
    Angie1366 Posts: 85
    I was wondering if there is any benefit to not eating past a certain time at night. I don't make a habit of eating a 700-calorie meal before I go to bed, but having been on a 1200-calorie a day diet for a couple of weeks now, I have to eat every 3 hours or so. However, I have heard that you shouldn't eat past 6pm, or 7pm, etc. Do I suck it up and go to bed hungry or is a small meal around 6:30 ok with a snack before bedtime? Any thoughts would be appreciated! PS - I'm new to this site, and I have to say it has made counting calories so much easier than I imagined, and the weight is melting off!! ~~Very excited!

    Err... why are you asking if you are losing weight?

    Try being a shift worker - the clock does not matter.
  • shelly4113
    shelly4113 Posts: 18 Member
    Eat your body does not tell time.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    I eat whenever , as long as its in my calorie budget. i try and stay on a schedule, i generally eat dinner around 7pm just so i'm not hungry when i go to bed, and i eat slow, so i'm finishing up eating just about bedtime. that keeps me from after dinner snacking. sometimes i'm late with dinner and dont eat it until 9 or even later. i dont think it matters, as long as its in your calorie budget for the day.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    The only advantage to not eating after a certain time is that it keeps some people from overeating. There is no physical advantage, it's just a tool to restrict calories.

    I lost 27 lbs eating 900-1200 calorie dinners most nights within an hour of going to bed. I've maintained that loss for almost 2 years eating that way. Total calories consumbed vs total calories used is what matters.
  • eyeshuh
    eyeshuh Posts: 333
    Nope, your body doesn't care what time it is. Also, you should read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    It does not matter in the slightest. Eat when it is most convenient and feels natural to you.
  • kristenfaith93
    kristenfaith93 Posts: 17
    Yeah I don't get home from work until 9 or 10 every night so we eat pretty late around my house, but it doesn't seem to be effecting my weight loss ability. Losing weight just fine :) I was kind of concerned at first too.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    My BMR is roughly 1,880 calories which means on average I burn roughly 78.34 calories per hour in a 24 hour period...regardless of what time it is...and that's if I'm in a coma. I eat dinner every night between 8:30 and 9:00 and go to bed shortly when I'm done and it hasn't hindered me in the least. My metabolism has no idea what time it is.
  • Valera0466
    Valera0466 Posts: 319 Member
    Not eating after 7 is an old wives tale. Your body does not stop digesting in the evening. Eat whenever you want. You might want to consider upping your calories a bit if you are always hungry. No reason to starve when you can loose weight and not starve.
  • witchywillow
    witchywillow Posts: 143 Member
    i save some snacks for the evening and eat them about 8pm wen i start to feel hungry again and i have lost nearly 2 1/2 st as long as its still in my cals allowance i dont worry about wat time i eat it :)
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    That's a myth. Meal timing won't affect weight loss. I always have a huge dinner followed by evening snacks. I usually have my last snack between 10-11pm
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    You'll hear a lot of things, this one has no value.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    I was wondering if there is any benefit to not eating past a certain time at night...
    Yes. It's generally a good idea to ensure that the last bite is chewed and swallowed before you fall asleep, to alleviate choking hazards.

    Other than that, meal timing is irrelevant as long as you maintain a calorie deficit. Eat whenever works best for you in the context of adhering to your calorie intake, satisfying your hunger and maximizing your workout performance.
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
    Everyone's body has it's own schedule based off of how you live your life, if you are losing weight and doing what you are doing then it is fine.

    Edit: If you eat before bed you might have a hard time sleeping, that is one thing that I know for sure. When I stopped eating later at night I started falling asleep much easier in comparison to when I ate within 2 hrs of bedtime.
  • vkruithof
    vkruithof Posts: 227 Member
    I try not to eat within the 2 hours before I go to bed. That being said, I am sometimes up until 3 or 4 in the morning on the weekend and midnight or two on weeknights and I'm a first shifter. So, like everyone else has said; do what works for you. I'm still losing weight and if you eat within reason and exercise you will too. Good luck! :)
  • gettingfitnana303
    gettingfitnana303 Posts: 74
    Hello, I usually try not to eat after 6:30 pm but that is because if I do, I sometimes get indigestion. If I do snack later I try to make it something light. Got to admit, I want to hit the munchie type food, but since being on this site and having to log everything I consume, I try to eat something not with a lot of calories. ( a glass of red wine...yummmmmm)
  • SvenMagnusson
    SvenMagnusson Posts: 38
    Eat at natural times.Your organs are "asleep" and do not function optiamal efficiency at different times.


    THIS very recent study showed mice who ate during sleeping hours BECAME OBESE WITHOUT consuming any more clasories than the control mice

    http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2012/11/fitzgerald/


    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101011173249.htm

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903110800.htm



    There are at least 4 other studies like this on ScienceDaily demonstrating that you can fatten mice WITHOUT feeding them any more calories. Obesity is extremely complex.

    WHEN YOU ETA MATTERS. This is the message from science.


    The commercial weight loss industry is FRAUD. The caloric hypothesis is much too simplistic to explain obesity by itself. Science does not even understand the chemical behavior of fat cell receptors.


    I am in contact with genuine obesity researchers from mainstream science.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Eat at natural times.Your organs are "asleep" and do not function optiamal efficiency at different times.


    THIS very recent study showed mice who ate during sleeping hours BECAME OBESE WITHOUT consuming any more clasories than the control mice

    http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2012/11/fitzgerald/


    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101011173249.htm

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903110800.htm



    There are at least 4 other studies like this on ScienceDaily demonstrating that you can fatten mice WITHOUT feeding them any more calories. Obesity is extremely complex.

    WHEN YOU ETA MATTERS. This is the message from science.


    The commercial weight loss industry is FRAUD. The caloric hypothesis is much too simplistic to explain obesity by itself. Science does not even understand the chemical behavior of fat cell receptors.


    I am in contact with genuine obesity researchers from mainstream science.

    How did the mice eat "during sleeping hours"? Were they tube fed?

    Are there any studies showing similar results in humans?

    What is "The caloric hypothesis"?
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Eat at natural times.
    Define "natural times". The times that humans normally eat are artificially determined by their daily schedule. I've worked mostly graveyard shift (8 pm - 6:30 am) for the better part of the last thirty years. "Natural" eating times for me were completely opposite of somebody who works a 9-5 Monday-Friday schedule.
    THIS very recent study showed mice who ate during sleeping hours BECAME OBESE WITHOUT consuming any more clasories than the control mice

    http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2012/11/fitzgerald/


    There are at least 4 other studies like this on ScienceDaily demonstrating that you can fatten mice WITHOUT feeding them any more calories.
    But we're not mice.
    Obesity is extremely complex.
    Sure is. If you take in more than you expend over a long period of time, you become obese. Pretty complex stuff.
    WHEN YOU ETA MATTERS. This is the message from science.
    No. Other researchers would beg to differ:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17483007
    The commercial weight loss industry is FRAUD.
    Well, at least we agree on one point.
    The caloric hypothesis is much too simplistic to explain obesity by itself.
    Some things just really are "that simple". There's been plenty of research that validates the laws of energy balance. People who say otherwise are usually making excuses for why they're fat.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html
  • aadutton
    aadutton Posts: 87
    I was wondering if there is any benefit to not eating past a certain time at night. I don't make a habit of eating a 700-calorie meal before I go to bed, but having been on a 1200-calorie a day diet for a couple of weeks now, I have to eat every 3 hours or so. However, I have heard that you shouldn't eat past 6pm, or 7pm, etc. Do I suck it up and go to bed hungry or is a small meal around 6:30 ok with a snack before bedtime? Any thoughts would be appreciated! PS - I'm new to this site, and I have to say it has made counting calories so much easier than I imagined, and the weight is melting off!! ~~Very excited!

    The time you eat doesn't matter. Late-night or close-to-bed snacking just means you're more likely to go over your calorie goals. If you are within your goals and hungry, by all means, eat.
  • _Witsy_
    _Witsy_ Posts: 609 Member
    If you are hungry, eat. The time does not matter. Weight will fluctuate from day to day so those saying you eat late, and weigh more the next day...well of course...that's science. But the way you lose weight is purely through a deficit...so be cautious of that, not the time. Plus, who sleeps well when they're starving?!
  • jmc0806
    jmc0806 Posts: 1,444 Member
    Eat at natural times.Your organs are "asleep" and do not function optiamal efficiency at different times.


    THIS very recent study showed mice who ate during sleeping hours BECAME OBESE WITHOUT consuming any more clasories than the control mice

    http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2012/11/fitzgerald/


    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101011173249.htm

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903110800.htm



    There are at least 4 other studies like this on ScienceDaily demonstrating that you can fatten mice WITHOUT feeding them any more calories. Obesity is extremely complex.

    WHEN YOU ETA MATTERS. This is the message from science.


    The commercial weight loss industry is FRAUD. The caloric hypothesis is much too simplistic to explain obesity by itself. Science does not even understand the chemical behavior of fat cell receptors.


    I am in contact with genuine obesity researchers from mainstream science.

    cool, but I'm not a mouse. I eat whenever it fits in my schedule and I've lost 130 lbs, so something is clearly working
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Eat at natural times.Your organs are "asleep" and do not function optiamal efficiency at different times.


    THIS very recent study showed mice who ate during sleeping hours BECAME OBESE WITHOUT consuming any more clasories than the control mice

    http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2012/11/fitzgerald/


    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101011173249.htm

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090903110800.htm



    There are at least 4 other studies like this on ScienceDaily demonstrating that you can fatten mice WITHOUT feeding them any more calories. Obesity is extremely complex.

    WHEN YOU ETA MATTERS. This is the message from science.


    The commercial weight loss industry is FRAUD. The caloric hypothesis is much too simplistic to explain obesity by itself. Science does not even understand the chemical behavior of fat cell receptors.


    I am in contact with genuine obesity researchers from mainstream science.

    Good thing no one here is a mouse and therefore the above studies are not applicable. When you eat has no changes on weight loss/weight gain. There have been actual studies on humans to prove it.

    Post studies where it shows these results in people, not mice and maybe it will be credible.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Eat at natural times.
    Define "natural times". The times that humans normally eat are artificially determined by their daily schedule. I've worked mostly graveyard shift (8 pm - 6:30 am) for the better part of the last thirty years. "Natural" eating times for me were completely opposite of somebody who works a 9-5 Monday-Friday schedule.

    I could be mistaken, but I assumed that's what was meant. Eat at what is natural for you.
  • tgotthold
    tgotthold Posts: 7
    I was wondering if there is any benefit to not eating past a certain time at night...
    Yes. It's generally a good idea to ensure that the last bite is chewed and swallowed before you fall asleep, to alleviate choking hazards.

    Other than that, meal timing is irrelevant as long as you maintain a calorie deficit. Eat whenever works best for you in the context of adhering to your calorie intake, satisfying your hunger and maximizing your workout performance.

    This ^^

    If you are staying under your calorie goal, currently losing weight, and it doesn't bother you to eat late...then go for it. I wouldn't worry about meal timing unless you are trying to break through a Plateau (that works for me).
  • Emma_Problema
    Emma_Problema Posts: 422 Member
    I don't even care. All I'm thinking of is that Aziz Ansari joke in his standup routine.

    When I'm drunk and it's 2 AM, a quesadilla tastes like the best thing ever. There's no way I'd ever give that up.
  • wrotruck
    wrotruck Posts: 72 Member
    Umm Kay... Gonna take a swing at this 'cause I don't think that everyone looking at this the same way.

    1. If your goal is weight loss, if you finish each day with a net calorie deficit you will lose weight. Period. It doesn't matter what you eat. Calories Consumed < Calories Burned always = Weight Loss. So long as you do not send your body into a "starvation mode” this will work.

    2. If your goal is body composition at a sustained weight. (ie: change my body fat percentage and not my weight.) The research in the previous post is accurate. If you have a surplus of sugars (carbs) in your system as you enter your sleep cycle your body composition can change. Even if your calories in = your calories out. That doesn't mean that you'll gain weight, it means that you run the risk of a change in body make-up.

    Yes, I said carbs... The science says eat your carbs early and your proteins late. You want your body to use the sugars during your periods of high activity and the proteins during the long fast and repair cycle. Proteins are better building blocks than sugars.

    Does this matter in a weight loss situation? It depends on your goals and expectations. Personally, I want to gain muscle while losing weight so I try and keep my dinner time carbs low and I finish each day with a Casin Protein shake (Slow release protein). I'm not losing weight as fast as I could but I am gaining the desired strength.
  • christie1124
    christie1124 Posts: 3
    Thank you everyone for all of the great info! Really appreciated.
  • BACONJOKESRSOFUNNY
    BACONJOKESRSOFUNNY Posts: 666 Member
    My teachers always got on me about eating paste at any time, but I usually ate it in the afternoon during free time.

    Oh, wait...
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    The time to stop eating is when you've reached your calorie allotment for the day.

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