Eating times. How much does it matter?

i'd like to read some opinions on that too

It make no difference so long as you are staying at your calorie goal - and your goal is the correct one (I said in a previous post by you that you seem to be eating too little).

For example: I have my goal set at 1850 a day. I typically eat at least half of that, and sometimes up to 1200, between 6pm and 11pm. Makes no difference for my weight loss.

I agree with the above.

However, it's on your willpower really. Some people just have the urge to eat at certain times or else they might binge later. I know I do

The ONLY reason I don't eat within an hour before going to bed is because I have a history of bad reflux/heartburn.

I have read to eat about 5-6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism going. Like split your calories up about evenly for each meal. I have also heard to eat the denser foods earlier in the day, but that it doesn't matter as much.

Just don't eat carbs after 5PM otherwise they turn to fat while you are sleeping.

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At the end of the day, what matters is the calories. However, I know some people choose not to eat past a certain time of day (night) so that the next morning the number on the scale might be lower because if gives your body more time to digest/break down/ pee/poop etc.

Honestly, I don't think that eating later at night makes a big difference, but if that half pound or whatever it is being lower the next day helps you feel motivated and stay on track then I see no problem eating meals earlier.

Personally, I always have a late night snack..... usually some homepopped popcorn or chocolate chips when I get the munchies

I just look at it like this, in a 24 hour period, I have 1,690 calories that I can eat. It does not matter when in those 24 hours I actually consume them, as long as I try to keep at or below the 1,690. That is one reason my meals aren't labeled as such on here. I have them broke down into 6 different 4 hour time slots. And when I eat something, I record it in the appropriate time slot. I don't care if it's 01:00 or 23:00 or anywhere in between. I just try to log everything accordingly, and go on about my cat killing.

I'm kinda like that tryna save calories for later on in the evening otherwise i'm up in the middle of the night hungry :S

In the last few months, I have used myself as an experiment. I've done just about every timing thing you can do. I've eaten all my calories around 8pm-9pm. I've eaten many meals throughout the day, and now I'm intermittent fasting. I've got 30 minutes before my first 24 hr fast of the week begins. (I'm fasting for 24 hrs 2x a week right now....ESE method)

I have lost consistently every week, regardless of my method....or what foods are eaten when. The ONLY thing that slows down my progress is not eating enough. I don't pay as much attention anymore to daily calories. What matters most is my overall weekly count.

It make no difference so long as you are staying at your calorie goal - and your goal is the correct one (I said in a previous post by you that you seem to be eating too little).

For example: I have my goal set at 1850 a day. I typically eat at least half of that, and sometimes up to 1200, between 6pm and 11pm. Makes no difference for my weight loss.

I agree with the above.

However, it's on your willpower really. Some people just have the urge to eat at certain times or else they might binge later. I know I do

I agree with that!

I've heard that eating the biggest food earlier and eating later a smaller meal makes a world of difference.

What is your experience with that?

It makes NO difference at all. Your body is working doing it's job 24/7.

I have a very low metabolism, and without paying much attention to my body, I've been carrying on the average 100 pounds too much. I tend to get caught up in what I'm doing, and not eat meals for eight hours or more. Then hunger hits me like a savage beast and I eat to0 much. When you get that hungry, you're not too careful about what you eat. My son and his wife are coaching me to spread out my meals evenly throughout the day and eat snacks in between because they tell me that it will help ramp up my metabolism and make it easier to lose weight. Right now I'm looking for a job and recovering from some major health problems, largely induced by being so heavy for so long. It feels so strange to have so much focus on food. The doctor has warned me not to have ANY salt, so we are working on low sodium meals for me. It is quite a challenge, and my son is training me to approach it in a scientific way. I also need to watch my potassium and calcium intake as I am taking blood pressure medication that also has a diuretic, so I am learning about foods rich in potassium: not just bananas (which I knew about), but also baked potatoes, acorn and butternut squash, white beans, lentils, avocado, dates, melon, papaya, soy beans and chard. I am learning about sodium levels in food as well. My cholesterol is also high, so I'm watching the fats as well.

I am eating a lot more tofu now, salads every day, and roasting vegetables. There is no doubt about it, I must make major changes in what I eat and how it is prepared. This is what happens when you reach age 59, and have been neglecting your body. I really love this website because it makes it easy to count calories and also track the exercise you get. It is so wonderful that I am staying with my son and his wife, who jog five miles every day. I follow them to the park at my own pace, but it is a great support in getting out there to watch them do it all the time. They really encourage me to go walking every day, and there are beautiful parks nearby in Portland, Oregon where they live. It's a new city to me, so I'm enjoying the walks and exploring the neighborhoods around us, especially the Overlook neighborhood.

So my latest mantra is to baby my body, and give myself all the loving care that I gave my son when he was a baby.

What matters most is doing the same pattern over and over again until it is engraved in your hormones.