Can I eat at night?! (Please Read Explanation)

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chillakiss
chillakiss Posts: 33 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I had my meals all planned out for the day, and I left some of the food I was planning to eat for today in my fridge at work, so i wouldn't have to bring more tupperwares and stuff. It all equaled to 1,200 (which is the minimum amount that should be consumed by females)...and I work from 8AM to 6PM. However, when I got to work, someone had eaten all my food :'( And we're not allowed to go out on lunch breaks (cuz we don't really have one, we just eat whenever)...and the only food here was a vegan patty which is worth 100 calories.

My question is, I don't want to go under my limit (100 is WAYYY under 1200), since it'll make my body go into starvation mode, however, I won't get home til 6:30 to eat, and I heard that eating calories at night isn't good for you? Would it be okay to consume my remaining 1,100 calories tonight? :/
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Replies

  • Willowana
    Willowana Posts: 493 Member
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    I've eaten ALL my calories at night. Quite often as a matter of fact. Hasn't slowed me down one bit.

    Edit: I also eat dinner around 8-9 pm nearly every night. Sometimes after midnight if I'm not hungry until then. Timing does not affect results...at all.

    .
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
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    I'm still thinking about how somebody ate your food!!! WTH is wrong with people? Like they think the food just appeared there for THEM to eat??? Ugh...anyway...I don't think it'll affect you negatively to eat that much at night...if you can make it that long. :)
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
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    It won't hurt you one bit. I usually eat dinner about a half hour before I go to bed.
  • skinnydreams19
    skinnydreams19 Posts: 282 Member
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    It's fine to eat then, it doesn't matter when you eat - what matters is the total picture. If it's the same calories and same food you would have eaten, you'll be fine!
  • skinnydreams19
    skinnydreams19 Posts: 282 Member
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    I eat like 90% of my calories at night...
  • newdaydawning79
    newdaydawning79 Posts: 1,503 Member
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    I've read that the 'no eating at night' thing is a myth, and I honestly eat my dinner between 7-9PM (depending on how late I'm staying up) and have a snack even after that. And that's every night. It hasn't bothered my body whatsoever. In fact, I'm doing better than I expected just eating when I'm hungry! :)
  • MarioLozano16
    MarioLozano16 Posts: 319 Member
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    Your body won't go into starvation mode after one day
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    It's fine to eat at night. It's also fine to hunt down the person who ate your food and staple their ears to their desk.
  • Healeys711
    Healeys711 Posts: 1
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    I am glad to see all these responses. I try to avoid eating at night, but it disrupts my ability to sleep. I sleep a lot better if i have a full belly ;). Now maybe I wont worry so much about eating late dinners.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    A - there is no issue with eating before bed unless it causes you issues with sleep (indigestion, etc). It will not cause weight gain regardless of how many calories.

    B - one day of eating few calories will not cause starvation mode. Starvation mode is highly debated here, but tossing that phrase aside, prolonged underrating can cause issues, one day will not.

    C - 1200 is a random number. A good number of women should be eating more than just a minimum of 1200. Don't just assume that is the right number for you. It might be, but chances are, its not.
    check out this thread
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/963088-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy
  • Onperch
    Onperch Posts: 45 Member
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    It's 9 o'clock at night and I just polished off some broccoli, a mountain of pasta with meat sauce, and a giant piece of ham.

    I eat when I can. And on my workdays I always eat after 7. I've been losing weight for months so I can say that it hasn't
    affected me any.

    * We had a food thief at work. He used to help himself to whatever he liked. :mad: One of my coworkers made a delicious looking
    chocolate cake and brought it in to work. They put it in the fridge with a note that said "Do not eat". Well... the food thief helped himself to that too. Only he didn't know that it was loaded with the chocolate type of Ex-Lax. He had to go home early that day.:wink:
  • Plentiful_Tentacles
    Plentiful_Tentacles Posts: 115
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    The time I eat my foods doesn't matter as much as actually getting the calories in. I'm still eating at 3 am if I have to. You'll be fine.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Eat whenever it's convenient. Your body doesn't magically stop being able to digest food at any given hour unless you have some specific medical condition regulating when you eat.
  • chillakiss
    chillakiss Posts: 33 Member
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    WOW thanks for the replies everyone! So it is just a myth then huh? lol I guess the reason I believed that it was true was because whenever I eat at night, it takes my body like 2-3 days to uhm...expel the waste...which left me constipated...even if I take LOTS of fiber and eat lots of veggies, and drink a lot of water (about 100 ounces a day)...

    LOL ima put my food in a vault ;)
  • Willowana
    Willowana Posts: 493 Member
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    WOW thanks for the replies everyone! So it is just a myth then huh? lol I guess the reason I believed that it was true was because whenever I eat at night, it takes my body like 2-3 days to uhm...expel the waste...which left me constipated...even if I take LOTS of fiber and eat lots of veggies, and drink a lot of water (about 100 ounces a day)...

    LOL ima put my food in a vault ;)

    Actually, if you have problems passing food, I would think perhaps you aren't getting enough fat in your diet. Fats do not make you fat, either. That's another myth a lot of people have. Be sure you aren't eating no-fat, low-fat everything. Your body needs to "grease the gears", if ya know what I'm saying!
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    I'm still thinking about how somebody ate your food!!! WTH is wrong with people? Like they think the food just appeared there for THEM to eat??? Ugh...anyway...I don't think it'll affect you negatively to eat that much at night...if you can make it that long. :)
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    It's fine to eat at night. It's also fine to hunt down the person who ate your food and staple their ears to their desk.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
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    Your body won't go into starvation mode after one day

    This. You want to have an average at least 1200 over time. That could mean 800 one day, 2100 the next, and 1400 after that...just an example.
  • chillakiss
    chillakiss Posts: 33 Member
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    Your body won't go into starvation mode after one day

    This. You want to have an average at least 1200 over time. That could mean 800 one day, 2100 the next, and 1400 after that...just an example.

    Ohhh wait so how come they say that after a binge, you should just continue to eat your normal calories instead of consuming lesser calories the next day? They all say that it's bad to consume lesser calories (For example, 1200 is the person's limit, so on the binge day she eats 1800 calories, but articles say that eating only 600 calories the next day to make up for eating so much the previous day--is bad for you?)
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Your body won't go into starvation mode after one day

    This. You want to have an average at least 1200 over time. That could mean 800 one day, 2100 the next, and 1400 after that...just an example.

    Ohhh wait so how come they say that after a binge, you should just continue to eat your normal calories instead of consuming lesser calories the next day? They all say that it's bad to consume lesser calories (For example, 1200 is the person's limit, so on the binge day she eats 1800 calories, but articles say that eating only 600 calories the next day to make up for eating so much the previous day--is bad for you?)

    I'm both for and against this point. I eat more the day before or after a long run instead of eating all my calories the day of my long run (when calorie burned can be over 1000). Yes, it is over time. I pay more attention to my weekly deficit than I do daily, it does even out.
    However, if you are binging one day and starving yourself the next day to make it up, that's not fostering a healthy relationship with food. One day of binging isn't going to throw your whole weight loss out of whack. It would be more productive to log, learn and live than to punish yourself the next day to "even" it out. Not to mention restricting calories too severely can often trigger binges. I'd focus more on being close to goal everyday than "evening out" your calories.

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