Eating after 7, let's be real..

lizlovestrees
lizlovestrees Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I'm curious... We've all heard 'no eating after 7' but my schedule is far from regular. As unhealthy as it is, I never go to bed nor do I wake up around the same time. EVER. Therefore my eating habits are all over the place. One morning I'll be up at 6 eating breakfast and then dinner at 5pm. Next day I sleep until 3pm and have dinner around 4am. :/ I stick to my 'daily calories' and my dogs keep me out of the house and moving... so my question is, is it that bad? Should I make an effort to cut off the rumbles in my tummy after 7? Thanks in advance :)
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Replies

  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    You could eat at midnight and it wouldn't make any difference to weight loss. Eat when you like.
  • lizlovestrees
    lizlovestrees Posts: 47 Member
    you're my new best friend.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    It makes no difference. They whole 'don't eat after 6, or 7, or 8' thing is a myth.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    okay, i'm curious. what do you do that has you keeping such irregular hours?
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    It doesn't matter. Some people create an eating "window" outside of which they don't eat because it helps them control their eating. It is often done as a form of Intermittent Fasting. But the window can be at any time.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    I eat after 7 constantly.. After my work out and then I have to wind down and cook it's almost always 7 30 8pm before i eat. sometimes later.

    I'm starting to believe the people who say it doesn't matter when you eat.. lol Although I'm still not convinced that my 1am trip to IHOP last weekend was ok in any way shape or form. LMAO.. not to mention my tummy didnt like the food. lol
  • twinkiemon
    twinkiemon Posts: 216 Member
    As long as you stay under your calorie limit, you will lose weight even if you eat all those calories between midnight and 6AM - while your metabolism does slow down a bit while you sleep, it doesn't do so to the point that a later meal or snack will make that big of a difference so long as you are under your calories.
  • Fierylynx
    Fierylynx Posts: 2 Member
    I think the after 7 theory is that you will be going to bed on a full stomach, with lower metabolism, and won't sleep as well. But if you are going to be up for hours after 7 it doesn't make sense to go hungry. Just keep under your daily limit and try to stick to lighter foods that don't have much/any caffeine or sugar as you get closer to your bed time.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    Doesn't matter hon!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,210 Member
    Unless having a full tummy disturbs your sleep, eat when you like. I frequently don't eat until 9-10pm and it hasn't made a difference. That idea has been thoroughly debunked!
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    Yup, meal timing is a bunch of nonsense. I work split shifts and also usually have to work my sleep in around chores or the gym, so on days that I work the graveyard shift I'll go to sleep anywhere between 9am and 2pm, and on days that I work first shift I go to sleep anytime between 10pm and 1am. My sleep schedule is all over the place and my meal timing follows suite. I eat when I get hungry, and it has had no impact whatsoever on my weight loss (I've been working on getting into shape for around 2 years, but only have had the split shift schedule for about 10 months, and yet I've seen the most improvements in my body in the past 9 months to a year).
  • Pearlyladybug
    Pearlyladybug Posts: 882 Member
    I eat after 7 everyday, I don't get home till 8ish most nights and im loosing just fine.

    I dont no about anyone else but there's nothing i love more than going to bed after a good warm meal, Especially in winter
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    I eat the majority of my calories after 7 pm. Under 20% for breakfast most days, 30-40% for lunch and the rest is dinner.
  • ThatDamnRobyn
    ThatDamnRobyn Posts: 47 Member
    I eat dinner at 8:30ish most nights. I work swing shift, so what can I do? I don't feel like it matters when you eat.
  • maddiey
    maddiey Posts: 231 Member
    I usually always eat something like cottage cheese or greek yogurt before I go to bed. Helps keep your metabolism up :)
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    We've also all heard that the moon is made of cheese.

    The time that you eat has no metabolic effect. Some people sleep better when they eat right before bed.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    Your body doesn't know what time it is. Eat anytime you wish
  • kw85296
    kw85296 Posts: 265 Member
    Looking at your pics, I think you are doing quite well with your eating schedule. Eat when you want as long as you stay within your calories. You may want to avoid eating a couple of hours before you know you are going to bed, but some of that would be so you don't have trouble sleeping with a full tummy. :) Great job on your weight loss journey!
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    If that nighttime eating myth was anywhere near true, then us 3rd shifters would be totally screwed...

    Just echoing what everyone else already said, as long as you are meeting your calorie and macro needs, it doesn't matter when you eat.

    I typically have breakfast at 3pm, lunch at 7pm, dinner at midnight, a snack at 4am, and a second snack right before falling asleep around 8am. This is 4 days a week. On the 3 days that I am off work, I still eat at irregular times...typically between 1pm to 4am with the majority of calories after 7pm. I lose body fat consistently and have for a very long time. I started third shift 5 years ago, joined MFP just 3 years ago, so all my recent weight loss has been with this schedule. If I had to stop eating at 7pm, I'd literally have a 2000 calorie breakfast and nothing else. Hmmm...IHOP everyday!
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    We've also all heard that the moon is made of cheese.

    The time that you eat has no metabolic effect. Some people sleep better when they eat right before bed.
    It actually was but I devoured the moon years ago. The alien inhabitants weren't all that pleased. I did replace it with a huge cardboard cutout, though.
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
    well due to my past schedule after 7 became fourth meal. try to modify life if you're going over cals, unless it is working for u. then I wouldn't worry about it.
  • irishblonde2011
    irishblonde2011 Posts: 618 Member
    Eat whenever you want. A calorie is calorie no matter what time it is. I lost most of my weight when I was working 4pm-2am.
    Dinner would be around 10pm. It is what you eat not when :smile:
  • BigMan1979
    BigMan1979 Posts: 11 Member
    If that nighttime eating myth was anywhere near true, then us 3rd shifters would be totally screwed...

    Please don’t take this the wrong way, but this statement shows a real lack of understanding with the "Don't eat after 7" myth. What it boils down to in this myth is that the average person would be in bed at 9pm. This would then mean that you would be eating within a 2 hour window of sleeping. Of course this is a myth; however, saying it is a myth because you are awake and working at different hours is hardly any reasonable proof one way or another.

    Sadly I have seen this type of statement espoused a lot here. Anyway, I hope you know I don't mean this in a rude manner. This is just the 4th such statement of the like I have read on the 1st page!
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    the reason this myth exists is to help prevent people from mindless snacking before going to bed, something that's extremely easy to do without even realizing it for many people.

    the only reason eating a large meal before sleep is a bad idea IMO is that it can mess with your sleep patterns and give you a less restful, less restorative night's sleep, and if you make that a habit, it could actually cause issues with your weight loss. but a large meal will not all get metabolized as fat just because you're sleeping. that's the myth part.
  • jaf320
    jaf320 Posts: 33 Member
    I eat after 7 pretty frequently. I actually find that if I eat dinner TOO early - think before 6 - that I actually wind up more likely to snack too much/mindlessly eat because it's pretty much a given that I'll get pretty hungry again before I go to bed. It doesn't affect my sleep at all unless I really overeat or just eat a bunch of total junk.
  • cutiemexiz
    cutiemexiz Posts: 31 Member
    I'm bumping this since this was a myth I thought was true and I would go to sleep at like 2am starving because I didn't eat anything between dinner and then. You guys made me feel better when I had my fruit or snack inbetween :) So thanks for that :)
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
    There is 0 evidence to suggest meal timing matters. It's about macro nutrient content and calories in vs calories out.

    Also, there is 0 evidence that eating before you sleep makes you gain more weight either.

    About the only reason one might not eat just before they sleep would be heartburn.

    However, not eating after 7pm is completely unnecessary. Eat when you want :)
  • BigMan1979
    BigMan1979 Posts: 11 Member
    There is 0 evidence to suggest meal timing matters.

    Also, there is 0 evidence that eating before you sleep makes you gain more weight either.

    Well, I hardly think there is "0" evidence. Here is one reputable study that makes that clam, in part.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21527892

    Still a myth though :)
  • IFlover90
    IFlover90 Posts: 62
    Eat whenever you want.
  • FussBucket
    FussBucket Posts: 29
    My BFF is a nursing student. She works nights two times a week and goes to school, during the day, 4 to 5 times a week. Oh and did I mention she's a mom too? She knows her sleeping patterns are bad right now, but when she gets out of nursing school and gets a full time job, this will get better. All that said, her schedule is also irregular, but she is losing.

    I have had the same hectic schedule when I worked 3 nights a week at the bedside. I counted calories from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. Breakfst at 4pm, snack at 8 pm, Lunch at 11 pm, snack 130 am, dinner 530 am...ect.

    I had to pack every meal, but it worked. I alwas brought lots of food so I would not be tempted by whatever the other nurses or families brought us to snack on.... like chocolate, chips and dip, pastries, ice cream... That is really difficult too.

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