Tell me again why eating before bed won't make me fat?

karenhray7
karenhray7 Posts: 219 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm not talking about a glass of milk or a small snack here. I'm talking to the people who believe that it doesn't matter when you eat your calories. I get that your body can't distinguish time and doesn't care when it gets food, but if a person eats during the hours he/she is up and moving then there is a greater immediate need for kcal and less is stored for later use. But if a person eats and then goes to sleep?

Let's say Bob's BMR is 1600/24hr. Basic math would say that Bob would burn 66.67 kcal/hr while sleeping. If Bob has a 6 hour sleep cycle, he would burn 400kcal during those 6 hours. Right?

If basic biochem holds true, when Bob eats, his body will use whatever kcal it needs to meet its immediate energy requirements and store the rest for later use. Yes?

Holding these first two statements to be true, if Bob eats 1200kcal of Ben and Jerry's while watching the Biggest Loser and then immediately goes to bed, how are the extra 800kcal used? Because if they're not used, they're stored. Right? And if only so many kcal go to replenish glycogen stores, what about the rest?

Discuss...
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Replies

  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    EATING BEFORE BED IS BAD!
  • imstrong4me
    imstrong4me Posts: 119
    yes it is don't eat after u go bed I have done that let me tell you I pay for it the next day I see 1 to 2 lbs weight gain no good
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I'm not talking about a glass of milk or a small snack here. I'm talking to the people who believe that it doesn't matter when you eat your calories. I get that your body can't distinguish time and doesn't care when it gets food, but if a person eats during the hours he/she is up and moving then there is a greater immediate need for kcal and less is stored for later use. But if a person eats and then goes to sleep?

    Let's say Bob's BMR is 1600/24hr. Basic math would say that Bob would burn 66.67 kcal/hr while sleeping. If Bob has a 6 hour sleep cycle, he would burn 400kcal during those 6 hours. Right?

    If basic biochem holds true, when Bob eats, his body will use whatever kcal it needs to meet its immediate energy requirements and store the rest for later use. Yes?

    Holding these first two statements to be true, if Bob eats 1200kcal of Ben and Jerry's while watching the Biggest Loser and then immediately goes to bed, how are the extra 800kcal used? Because if they're not used, they're stored. Right? And if only so many kcal go to replenish glycogen stores, what about the rest?

    Discuss...

    You're forgetting to account for what happens earlier in the day if Bob is eating his food at night.

    Lets use an extreme example and eat all of our food before bed. Lets suppose we store some fat because we're not utilizing that energy.

    During the day, Bob is not eating any food. He is oxidizing fat.


    All that matters is the net difference between fat storage and fat oxidation. Given the same total calories, the more you eat at night the less you eat during the day. So fat oxidation is blunted at night and fat storage increases, but fat storage goes down during the day and fat oxidation increases.

    The net difference is governed by energy balance.

    Essentially this is why it really doesn't make a difference.
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    if he's eating at maintenance or at a deficit, those calories would still get used later. it may not be in their most immediate form; they may be taken out of fat stores. just because it doesn't get used immediately doesn't mean it's not getting used at all.
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    it will. we only burn about 65 calories an hour while sleeping
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    So let's say in a 24 hour period you burn 2200 calories.
    And let's say within that 24 hour period you eat 1700 calories (suppose you at 700 of them in bed).

    What is 2200 - 1700?
  • ChrisinGA
    ChrisinGA Posts: 116 Member
    Seems most say if you go to bed between 10pm-12 midnight then you shouldn't eat anything after say 9pm, But I do, I always have and always will, I eat all my snacks between 9pm and 1130, I know I should stop but I can't.
    I have try to pick better things to eat at night and don't eat as much
  • vickyg1986
    vickyg1986 Posts: 14 Member
    I think it is better to eat dinner earlier than right before bed but my schedule doesn't allow it. I eat dinner around 9-10 pm almost daily and I'm still losing weight. You can still lose weight if you eat less calories than your TDEE.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    You need to extend your timeframe to account for the entire day.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    If there is going to be math can we at least use a 24 hour day? This stored energy Bobby packed away while he was sleeping, might it be put to use the next day since he is eating in a calorie deficit?
  • hyenagirl
    hyenagirl Posts: 206 Member
    I always eat right before sleeping. Full stomach puts me to sleep.
  • jimandpam87
    jimandpam87 Posts: 62 Member
    I'm not talking about a glass of milk or a small snack here. I'm talking to the people who believe that it doesn't matter when you eat your calories. I get that your body can't distinguish time and doesn't care when it gets food, but if a person eats during the hours he/she is up and moving then there is a greater immediate need for kcal and less is stored for later use. But if a person eats and then goes to sleep?

    Let's say Bob's BMR is 1600/24hr. Basic math would say that Bob would burn 66.67 kcal/hr while sleeping. If Bob has a 6 hour sleep cycle, he would burn 400kcal during those 6 hours. Right?

    If basic biochem holds true, when Bob eats, his body will use whatever kcal it needs to meet its immediate energy requirements and store the rest for later use. Yes?

    Holding these first two statements to be true, if Bob eats 1200kcal of Ben and Jerry's while watching the Biggest Loser and then immediately goes to bed, how are the extra 800kcal used? Because if they're not used, they're stored. Right? And if only so many kcal go to replenish glycogen stores, what about the rest?

    Discuss...

    You're forgetting to account for what happens earlier in the day if Bob is eating his food at night.

    Lets use an extreme example and eat all of our food before bed. Lets suppose we store some fat because we're not utilizing that energy.

    During the day, Bob is not eating any food. He is oxidizing fat.


    All that matters is the net difference between fat storage and fat oxidation. Given the same total calories, the more you eat at night the less you eat during the day. So fat oxidation is blunted at night and fat storage increases, but fat storage goes down during the day and fat oxidation increases.

    The net difference is governed by energy balance.

    Essentially this is why it really doesn't make a difference.

    THISSSSSSSS. The reason the whole myth of "eating before bed is bad" came about is b/c most people who were doing this were eating normally throughout the day and then eating lots of extra calories before bed. Yes, doing this, you will probably gain weight. However, if you eat at a number of calories that puts you in a deficit, IT WILL NOT MATTER WHEN YOU EAT THEM.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    It's fine because bob's day is a whole 24 hrs, not just the 6 hours he's sleeping plus however long it took him to down the Ben & Jerry's. As long as Bob maintains a deficit over his whole 24 hour day (give or take), it's fine. If you assume the "extra" calories are stored, then presumably, the extra energy his body needed early (but weren't consumed until later) would have been taken from those stores. The "extra" calories would replenish the stores, but assuming he kept a deficit, the stores would be replenished with less than they started with. Idk-I'm making that part up, but I eat most of my calories within an hour of bed, and my fat seems to find a way to go away.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    I eat literally in bed every night. I take a snack to bed with me cos I'm a piggy like that. My body obviously hasn't realised that I'm doing a bad bad thing....It doesn't seem to care...funny that. It doesn't just stop working while it's sleeping.
  • karenhray7
    karenhray7 Posts: 219 Member
    So let's say in a 24 hour period you burn 2200 calories.
    And let's say within that 24 hour period you eat 1700 calories (suppose you at 700 of them in bed).

    What is 2200 - 1700?

    I think you're missing the point. The body doesn't burn kcal at a steady rate. Even if Bob burns 2200 kcal in a 24hr period and only consumes 1000 during his day, giving the body more kcal than it NEEDS at any one time will result in storage. Even if Bob eats his ice cream in the middle of the day, any excess kcal will be stored for later use. And once the immediate energy needs are met and glycogen has been replenished, how are the extra kcal not stored as fat?
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    calories in, calories out. Doesn't matter when you consume these calories as long as you burn them.
  • sweetzoejane
    sweetzoejane Posts: 153 Member
    Because math.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    So let's say in a 24 hour period you burn 2200 calories.
    And let's say within that 24 hour period you eat 1700 calories (suppose you at 700 of them in bed).

    What is 2200 - 1700?

    I think you're missing the point. The body doesn't burn kcal at a steady rate. Even if Bob burns 2200 kcal in a 24hr period and only consumes 1000 during his day, giving the body more kcal than it NEEDS at any one time will result in storage. Even if Bob eats his ice cream in the middle of the day, any excess kcal will be stored for later use. And once the immediate energy needs are met and glycogen has been replenished, how are the extra kcal not stored as fat?

    I believe it's you who are missing the point.
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    your body burns cals 24 hours a day. Calories are energy your body needs energy to do things like say. pump your heart, digest food while sleeping, keep your brain active, you know lil things like that.
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
    calories in, calories out. Doesn't matter when you consume these calories as long as you burn them.

    I think this answers the question.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    So let's say in a 24 hour period you burn 2200 calories.
    And let's say within that 24 hour period you eat 1700 calories (suppose you at 700 of them in bed).

    What is 2200 - 1700?

    I think you're missing the point. The body doesn't burn kcal at a steady rate. Even if Bob burns 2200 kcal in a 24hr period and only consumes 1000 during his day, giving the body more kcal than it NEEDS at any one time will result in storage. Even if Bob eats his ice cream in the middle of the day, any excess kcal will be stored for later use. And once the immediate energy needs are met and glycogen has been replenished, how are the extra kcal not stored as fat?

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  • meredith1123
    meredith1123 Posts: 843 Member
    dinner...bad bad....
    a snack or small meal under 300 cal.. OK...

    but i never eat a meal of any size after 6pm (except on rare event occasions of course) and i usually just do a snack size meal for dinner, if that.

    dinner KILLS my weight loss... just kills it.
  • cschiff
    cschiff Posts: 209 Member
    I often have a snack late at night (because I am often up late and get hungry), so I try to keep it small. If I really want something sweet, I'll have a small handful of chocolate chips to satisfy the sweet tooth. Even if it is not the absolute healthiest, I do the best I can and am doing well on my journey so far. That said, I think it's okay to have a small snack before bed but ya can't get upset if the weight fluctuates in the morning (especially because weight fluctuation is totally normal and probably would have happened even without the small snack).

    Enjoy :)
  • Brad805
    Brad805 Posts: 289 Member
    Here is a summary about the reality of night time eating from a bodybuilder with a PHd in Nutritional sciences.

    http://www.biolayne.com/nutrition/carbs-at-night-fat-loss-killer-or-imaginary-boogeyman/
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
    But, you know what would make it even worse? If Bob doesn't eat breakfast. Then his metabolism wouldn't restart after sleeping. So now he stored all those calories that he ate right before bed AND he left his metabolism stopped, too!

    I just figured that would add in another myth and make Bob's situation even more disastrous. :bigsmile:
  • charmander89
    charmander89 Posts: 37 Member
    Hmm well I always eat right up until I go to sleep! As you can see from my ticker, it hasn't stopped me :P
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    Scenario 1:

    I'm awake for 16 hours and burn 2000 calories. I sleep 8 hours and burn 300 calories. Total calories burned for the day 2300. I eat 1 1800 calorie meal for the day right before I go to sleep. How many calories did I burn in that day?

    Scenario 2:
    I'm awake for 16 hours and burn 2000 calories. I sleep 8 hours and burn 300 calories. Total calories burned for the day 2300. I eat 6 300 calorie meals spaced evenly apart throughout the day. Total calories eaten for the day is 1800 calories. How many calories did I burn in that day?
  • Cadori
    Cadori Posts: 4,810 Member
    Fun shenanigans between bed and sleep.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    So let's say in a 24 hour period you burn 2200 calories.
    And let's say within that 24 hour period you eat 1700 calories (suppose you at 700 of them in bed).

    What is 2200 - 1700?

    I think you're missing the point. The body doesn't burn kcal at a steady rate. Even if Bob burns 2200 kcal in a 24hr period and only consumes 1000 during his day, giving the body more kcal than it NEEDS at any one time will result in storage. Even if Bob eats his ice cream in the middle of the day, any excess kcal will be stored for later use. And once the immediate energy needs are met and glycogen has been replenished, how are the extra kcal not stored as fat?

    They will be. And then the next day, when he is not eating as is moving, the fat will be oxidized. Net cals.
  • Rockstar_JILL
    Rockstar_JILL Posts: 514 Member
    I have been eating my supper most nights around 8-9pm for the last 2 years and I have lost 80+ pounds....it still works.

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