Eating after 7pm

USMCnetty90
USMCnetty90 Posts: 277 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi -
It seems like everything I have learned about the rules of dieting were all a myth - am wondering how people feel about eating after 7pm or 8pm -with the idea that when you eat that late if you are not active that the food just sits and you are not burning it off....

I have recently learned that breakfast is NOT the most important meal of the day - my coworker just started the diet where he eats all his food within a 8 hour window... but he'll eat two hamburgers at 10:00 at night... sounds like a bad idea.

Just curious about how others think about this ( I have no desire to eat late) I think I just need to be re-educated
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Replies

  • coop52
    coop52 Posts: 27 Member
    The time of day doesn't really matter. Your body doesn't know if it's 7pm or 8pm, only that it's time to sleep. Keep in mind that there are people who work night-shifts, and they lose weight just fine.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Doesn't matter when you eat.. its totally up to you. Some people don't like to eat before bed because of indigestion or whatever, but other than that, eat what you like when you like....IIFYM. (If It Fits Your Macros) I like a big breakfast, and most evenings a snack. Do what works for YOU.
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
    It depends. Are you a Mogwai?
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I eat AFTER 7pm and all the way up till I hit bed...past midnight. I usually don't eat till dinnertime so my whole day of eating is after 7 anyway
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    It depends. Are you a Mogwai?

    /thread
  • lambchristie
    lambchristie Posts: 552 Member
    I eat AFTER 7pm and all the way up till I hit bed...past midnight. I usually don't eat till dinnertime so my whole day of eating is after 7 anyway

    How do you function not eating all day? I would not be able to.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Depends on the timezone
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
    That is a myth. No scientific basis and on a personal level I eat after 7, 8, 9, even 10 pm all the time. It has not kept me from losing.
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
    I find if I have something really light of an evening I'm fine but if I eat a normal sized dinner I don't shift the weight. I don't know why. Maybe it's in my head?
  • camila_scl
    camila_scl Posts: 238 Member
    In my country we eat breakfast at 8 am aprox, lunch at 14:00 and dinner is usually arund 20:00 or 21:00 even 22:00.
  • USMCnetty90
    USMCnetty90 Posts: 277 Member
    It depends. Are you a Mogwai?


    I am definitely as short as one but not as cute
  • shutupandlift13
    shutupandlift13 Posts: 727 Member
    Meal frequency and timing are purely preferential. Find something that allows you to stay within your calorie deficit and still eat foods you enjoy.
  • LongIsland27itl
    LongIsland27itl Posts: 365 Member
    Nutrient timing has little to o effect on body composition
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    i dont eat a fter 9 pm
  • freckledrats
    freckledrats Posts: 251 Member
    Time of day doesn't make much difference, so I would pick a pattern that works best for you. I'm often VERY hungry when I wake up and am always pretty excited about breakfast, but once in a while circumstances interfere or the planets align and I'm not hungry, and I find if I somehow miss breakfast, I won't remember to eat until the afternoon, which is kind of ridiculous, since ordinarily I have a need to snack here and there during my work day.

    Whatever makes sense for your needs, as long as you're eating within your goal range in a 24 hour period. I think some folks go by weekly caloric goals instead, which, heck, sounds like it might work well for people with varying activity levels on different days. I am not exactly a paragon of willpower, but I prefer to try for the high end of my goal on lifting days, and the lower end on rest or light cardio days. :)
  • thesupremeforce
    thesupremeforce Posts: 1,206 Member
    It depends. Are you a Mogwai?

    That is the important question.

    I eat after 7pm every single day.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Meal frequency and timing are purely preferential. Find something that allows you to stay within your calorie deficit and still eat foods you enjoy.

    qft
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    If you're trying to lose weight, not eating after 7 p.m. may be a good idea, although perhaps not for the reasons you might think. Health experts have different opinions on whether nighttime eating can cause weight gain; while some, like Beth Kitchin, M.S., R.D., of the University of Alabama Department of nutrition feel that food eaten at night is no more likely to cause weight gain than food eaten during the day, others disagree. If you suffer from gastroesophageal reflux, eating after 7 p.m. could worsen your symptoms at bedtime.

    Extra Calories

    One risk of eating after 7 is that you're likely to consume unnecessary calories. You're more likely to sit down to watch TV with a bag of chips than a bowl of carrots, and it's easy to mindlessly consume too many calories while you're watching TV, Kitchin says. Excess calories will be stored as fat no matter when you consume them.






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    Gastroesophageal Reflux

    Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) affects around 20 percent of Americans at some point in their lives, says John Chiesa, D.O., of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine. A floppy muscle between the esophagus and stomach that opens at the wrong time allows stomach acid to flow into the esophagus, causing the discomfort, burning, belching and coughing associated with heartburn. Eating two to three hours before bedtime can definitely worsen GERD. Not eating after dinner plus sleeping with your head elevated on several pillows can help relieve nighttime symptoms.

    Theories

    Some experts believe that eating at night does cause extra weight, for several potential reasons. Eating at night may change glucose metabolism or insulin resistance, Angie Chen of the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California reported in the journal "Nutrition Noteworthy." Slower metabolism at night may also contribute to more weight gain from late night eating. Changes in levels of leptin, which regulates appetite and growth hormone, which controls glucose metabolism at night, might also change the way you metabolize food eaten after 7 p.m.

    Considerations

    There's certainly no health benefit to eating after 7 p.m. and there may be health benefits to avoiding food at night, especially if you suffer from heartburn. If you're trying to lose weight, you have nothing to lose by cutting off the food train right after dinner and not hitting the snack foods while you're relaxing watching TV.



    ARTICLE FROM LIVESTRONG
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
    when you eat if you dont have time to burn what you ate, it turns to fat. The "myth " is not a myth. Eating before bed leaves food with no acticivity to burn it for energy werareas eating during the day or early evenoing, we do things, like walking, doing the dishes requires more energy than sleeping. This is the biggest myth myth on MFP that is wrong it does matter! Also, our bodies use light to give off hormones such as melatonin ect at certain times, eating during the night or not sleeping at night throw all of these out or whack.
  • Eandretta96
    Eandretta96 Posts: 119
    What pisses me off is that doctors still recommend "you don't eat after 7 pm." They follow their advice because they have "MDs."
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Eating at a certain time will have no appreciable impact on weight loss. What will, is adherence - so eat when you want to and in a way that gives you the most energy, especially for gym performance.

    I eat most of my calories within an hour or two of going to bed and often eat ice cream in bed about 20 minutes before going to sleep.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    Meal frequency and timing are purely preferential. Find something that allows you to stay within your calorie deficit and still eat foods you enjoy.

    qft

    I agree
  • FunkyTobias
    FunkyTobias Posts: 1,776 Member
    when you eat if you dont have time to burn what you ate, it turns to fat. The "myth " is not a myth. Eating before bed leaves food with no acticivity to burn it for energy werareas eating during the day or early evenoing, we do things, like walking, doing the dishes requires more energy than sleeping. This is the biggest myth myth on MFP that is wrong it does matter! Also, our bodies use light to give off hormones such as melatonin ect at certain times, eating during the night or not sleeping at night throw all of these out or whack.

    Fat storage and fat oxidation are happening constantly. The only thing that matters is net balance. Given the same overall intake there is no difference.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I eat after 7 p.m. every.damn.night.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    when you eat if you dont have time to burn what you ate, it turns to fat. The "myth " is not a myth. Eating before bed leaves food with no acticivity to burn it for energy werareas eating during the day or early evenoing, we do things, like walking, doing the dishes requires more energy than sleeping. This is the biggest myth myth on MFP that is wrong it does matter! Also, our bodies use light to give off hormones such as melatonin ect at certain times, eating during the night or not sleeping at night throw all of these out or whack.

    Ummm...no.

    You are still burning fuel when sleeping. If you did not, it would mean you were dead.

    Plus you need to look at net fat oxidation for the whole day, not just a small part of the day.
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
    Your body doesn't shut off and stop burning calories after 7..
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    It depends. Are you a Mogwai?

    tumblr_lgatecdPrY1qgq4hio1_500.gif
  • Eandretta96
    Eandretta96 Posts: 119
    So just disregard being in a caloric deficit. Please go. So I'll be in a 2000 caloric deficit but god forbid I eat something after 7.
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,513 Member
    I like how the Livestrong article mentions watching tv twice. I think that may be the culprit! I get off work at 6:00, never have dinner before 7:00 and almost always have a snack and a glass of wine right before bed. However, I *don't* sit around watching tv! I don't eat mindlessly and I log everything I eat. Works for me.
  • Eandretta96
    Eandretta96 Posts: 119
    when you eat if you dont have time to burn what you ate, it turns to fat. The "myth " is not a myth. Eating before bed leaves food with no acticivity to burn it for energy werareas eating during the day or early evenoing, we do things, like walking, doing the dishes requires more energy than sleeping. This is the biggest myth myth on MFP that is wrong it does matter! Also, our bodies use light to give off hormones such as melatonin ect at certain times, eating during the night or not sleeping at night throw all of these out or whack.

    Ummm...no.

    You are still burning fuel when sleeping. If you did not, it would mean you were dead.

    Plus you need to look at net fat oxidation for the whole day, not just a small part of the day.
    This.

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