Saving cals for bedtime?

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BrookieHatesCookies
BrookieHatesCookies Posts: 54 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have decided to stop counting calories, eating only as my body REQUIRES food,
not necessarily when I feel just a twinge of hunger or whatever during the day.

Reason being is so I can eat larger meals at dinner and hopefully stave off midnight munchies!
And to get better sleep.
Maybe also adding in something protein-fortified before bed to prevent muscle loss.

Have you noticed if it's bad/detrimental to weight loss to eat late at night?
Does it lower your metabolism or something?

Replies

  • petrova9290
    petrova9290 Posts: 3 Member
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    I've heard that eating big close to bed is bad because the digesting keeps your body from getting a deep sleep which is bad for your energy levels-which affects weight loss.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    dont s top conting caleries and recording
    i dont eat a fter 9 pm
    if u eat a larger dinner u want want so many snacks at night
    u can still have snacks
    record evrything u eat. exercise and sttay under calorie goal
  • Shelby1582
    Shelby1582 Posts: 191 Member
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    I've heard that but if I don't eat a filling dinner I wake up starving in the am. I also work out around 5:30-6 pm so yeah I save my cals for later.
  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    The notion of not eating late has a lot to do with mitochondria in your body.

    Now, mitochondria does a lot of things, but the main function is the creation of cellular ATP. This is the fuel source for your body. The more mitochondria you have, the better. As an aside, there's a lot of stuff about free radicals, etc, etc. Not going to bog this post down with that, just mentioning there's many reasons to have lots of mitochondria.

    Mitochondria can either be breaking down food or they can replicate. They can't do both at the same time. So if you eat just before bed, you reduce the time in which mitochondria can be replicating.

    Is it really that big of a deal? In overall terms, probably not.

    Just like some of what you eat late at night will get directly converted into fat isn't that big of a deal. Unless you eat 7500 calories before bed you aren't going to notice it.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    It is not bad for weight loss, and it will not effect your metabolism in a negative manner. I would still suggest tracking your calories though.

    I assuming you are not very regimented with your eating habits (not eating the same exact meal everyday). Therefore, your calorie and macro numbers will be consistently changing everyday. You can eat like this and see progress, but it'll be a shot in the dark. If you atleast track, you can make adjustments accordingly because you'll have some data to base your decisions off of.
  • BrookieHatesCookies
    BrookieHatesCookies Posts: 54 Member
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    It is not bad for weight loss, and it will not effect your metabolism in a negative manner. I would still suggest tracking your calories though.

    I assuming you are not very regimented with your eating habits (not eating the same exact meal everyday). Therefore, your calorie and macro numbers will be consistently changing everyday. You can eat like this and see progress, but it'll be a shot in the dark. If you atleast track, you can make adjustments accordingly because you'll have some data to base your decisions off of.

    I pretty much eat the same thing everyday but just at different times, and am trying to still figure out the amounts. So pre-logging has caused my hunger fluctuate and it's hard to tell when I really need to calories. This is easier when I'm not thinking about it as opposed to a strict breakfast, lunch, dinner regimen if that makes sense.

    Maybe I could just log at the end of the night instead!
  • BrookieHatesCookies
    BrookieHatesCookies Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    The notion of not eating late has a lot to do with mitochondria in your body.

    Now, mitochondria does a lot of things, but the main function is the creation of cellular ATP. This is the fuel source for your body. The more mitochondria you have, the better. As an aside, there's a lot of stuff about free radicals, etc, etc. Not going to bog this post down with that, just mentioning there's many reasons to have lots of mitochondria.

    Mitochondria can either be breaking down food or they can replicate. They can't do both at the same time. So if you eat just before bed, you reduce the time in which mitochondria can be replicating.

    Is it really that big of a deal? In overall terms, probably not.

    Just like some of what you eat late at night will get directly converted into fat isn't that big of a deal. Unless you eat 7500 calories before bed you aren't going to notice it.

    Thank you! This really helps a lot, I am a very scientific person and this so far makes the most sense to me. During the day if I still have a deficit and burn off those cals it's not going to matter that much, it's just kind of an *kitten* backwards way of fueling your body. I am trying to even out my meal times, but to start I think this method will help me stay asleep and avoid witching hour binges.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    I pretty much eat the same thing everyday but just at different times, and am trying to still figure out the amounts. So pre-logging has caused my hunger fluctuate and it's hard to tell when I really need to calories. This is easier when I'm not thinking about it as opposed to a strict breakfast, lunch, dinner regimen if that makes sense.

    Maybe I could just log at the end of the night instead!

    Sure, and I didn't mean you have to be strict. For the most part I don't pre-plan meals. Typically i will pre-plan one meal, which i bring to work with me and eat around 3:00 PM. I'll go workout at 6:00 PM, and eat all the rest of my calories post workout around 8:30. At that point I have a bunch of macros left and I eat whatever (mostly nutrient dense foods) that fit into the remaining macros. If you look at my diary from yesterday - Meal 2 was preworkout around 3:00 PM, and then the other Meal 3 at 9:00 PM.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    I eat one meal a day and I eat it right before bed. I've lost weight just fine.
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
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    dont s top conting caleries and recording
    i dont eat a fter 9 pm
    if u eat a larger dinner u want want so many snacks at night
    u can still have snacks
    record evrything u eat. exercise and sttay under calorie goal

    Tracking calories is not a requirement to lose weight and have a healthy lifestyle.

    I regularly eat 1200 calories after 8pm. As long as your tummy doesn't hurt, eat as late as you want. Your body doesn't stop working at a certain time. FYI, I dont track calories any more and listen to my body. It is an incredible sense of freedom to not obsess over calories!! Do what'sroght for you in that regard.
  • ChaseAlder
    ChaseAlder Posts: 804 Member
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    When I read the title of this thread, I thought it said "Saving cats for bedtime?"
  • BrookieHatesCookies
    BrookieHatesCookies Posts: 54 Member
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    Sure, and I didn't mean you have to be strict. For the most part I don't pre-plan meals. Typically i will pre-plan one meal, which i bring to work with me and eat around 3:00 PM. I'll go workout at 6:00 PM, and eat all the rest of my calories post workout around 8:30. At that point I have a bunch of macros left and I eat whatever (mostly nutrient dense foods) that fit into the remaining macros. If you look at my diary from yesterday - Meal 2 was preworkout around 3:00 PM, and then the other Meal 3 at 9:00 PM.

    Whoa, sorry about all the typos :P Your diary looks good and what you said makes sense. You're probably not too strict on cals considering you take in 2000+ daily but I'm trying to create a deficit, which somehow is disrupting my sleep :( My body doesn't like this anymore and I used to be fine, which is weird.

    Btws how is Peanut Butter Marshmallow Whey? It sounds soo yummy I'm contemplating different protein supps
  • BrookieHatesCookies
    BrookieHatesCookies Posts: 54 Member
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    When I read the title of this thread, I thought it said "Saving cats for bedtime?"

    Hahah!! I don't have problems with that.. I'm a crazy cat lady :/
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
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    Im currently on a very mild deficit/recomp and I'mm strict with my macros. I have three types of days that I work with:

    Workout Days: 2,695 Calories (256 Protein, 283 Carb, 61 Fat)
    Non-Workout Days: 2,381 Calories (256 Protein, 179 Carb, 71 Fat)
    Refeed Days: 2,900 Calories (254 Protein, 399 Carb, 30 Fat).

    I'm typically spot on or within +/- 5g for the macros. Obviously my goals are different than yours though, so no need for you to be as strict.

    I find that Fasting works well for me, as when i used to eat small frequent meals they didn't keep my filled. Eating 2 very large meals I'm able to stay satiated and still eat the foods I want (granted the majority are nutritionally dense). If your main issue is late night binging, i was post pone eating during the day so you have a "bank of calories" to work with later on to prevent overeating.

    The cellucor peanut butter marshmallow whey is fantastic, one of the best I've had to be honest. They also have a Cinnamon Roll flavored one you should check out.
  • krissynicole787
    krissynicole787 Posts: 121 Member
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    I always eat before bed, and I still lose weight! If not, I will be up all night because I am hungry. And no sleep is bad for weight loss! :drinker:

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