late night vs early food

maletac
maletac Posts: 767 Member
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
i mean overall is a calorie still a calorie no matter when its eaten??

or is it worse for you at night due to the slowed metabolism? whats the official word ?

Replies

  • kaymd
    kaymd Posts: 470 Member
    That's a good question. I was kinda wondering the same thing.
  • natalaylay09
    natalaylay09 Posts: 14
    same here,, Someone please answer! lol
  • ColetteDuchnowski
    ColetteDuchnowski Posts: 80
    I don't know the answer to that, but I know that when I eat later at night, it shows up on the scale....yes, even vegetable soup. Everyone is different, so it may not bother some, but then again.....

    Just experiment and see how you feel and if it makes a difference on the scale.
  • cullensbrunette
    cullensbrunette Posts: 115
    Whenever I eat at night the scale is always a pound or two higher the next morning. And I hate that so I quit eating after dinner around 6.
  • maletac
    maletac Posts: 767 Member
    yeah but the weight showing is that cause of water retention or is it weight that will go away by the next day??
  • vkpmusic
    vkpmusic Posts: 343 Member
    In a lot of cases, it's probably water retention, b/c I've eaten late and weighed twice...once after I got up and then again 3 hrs later. I weighed less 3 hrs later.

    From About.com:
    This is a very commonly-believed weight loss myth. But it doesn't really matter when you eat, only how many calories you eat and burn in a day. Whether you're eating in the morning or at midnight, your body turns any extra calories into fat.
    In fact, eating a light snack -- like cheese and crackers -- before bed may help you sleep better


    I think the not eating at night thing is more about the number of calories than anything else. If, say, you eat 300 calories at 8pm and go to bed at 9...there's not enough activity to burn them off and some people's bodies tell them to store it. I have found that 100 calories or less within an hr or so of bed time does not effect my weight at all.
  • xarrium
    xarrium Posts: 432 Member
    Lately research has been showing that yes, a calorie is a calorie and late night eating isn't really going to make you gain weight... although it's really different for everyone... some people can eat most of their calories at dinner and later and be perfectly fine, while others "gain" overnight after eating an apple before bed. Personally, I don't think you should worry about when you're eating... if you're shoveling down a giant piece of pizza right before bed, that's not so good, but a piece of fruit and maybe some yogurt shouldn't hurt you at all... I'm a subscriber to the "eat when you're hungry" viewpoint, so there's my two cents. Awesome question--I'll be checking back to see what others have to say!
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
    I eat a lot of late at night food (after 8:30pm; any thing from 200 to 400 calories) and it has not effected my weight loss. I've consistently lost 1lbs a week. I hope you find a system that works for you and good luck on your journey.
  • maletac
    maletac Posts: 767 Member
    well the reason im asking is cause i do my last work out around 8pm and i eat a pretty decent sized meal around 9pm (by decent i mean anywhere between 200-600 since i burn about 700-900 calories in my night workouts) but i eat decent so my muscles and body can recover.. but i also goto sleep by 11... so whats the vote in that case?
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
    From what I've read you're probably right on the edge there, especially if it's a big meal. It would be better if you could make it mostly protein so that your body can digest it faster. It's because your body releases growth hormones that help with weight loss at various points in your sleep cycle, the most being a couple of hours into sleep, and if you've had a big and/or carb heavy meal shortly before bed, your body is still digesting it and the hormones have to work on that rather than burning other calories.
  • emmavisman
    emmavisman Posts: 33 Member
    i definitely would rather eat heaps in the morning then at night! but i suppose it depends on your activity levels during the day, if you eat more in the morning then you can burn it off and use it as energy during the day, but whats the point in eating heaps at night if you're only going to sleep? i try and stop eating by 7! i feel the same about water too, drinking heaps of water at night is really bad for your liver! i know this because the doctor told me :)
  • vickiele1
    vickiele1 Posts: 394 Member
    i mean overall is a calorie still a calorie no matter when its eaten??

    or is it worse for you at night due to the slowed metabolism? whats the official word ?


    some answers from the internet:
    http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100199674
    http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2225.html
    http://blogs.webmd.com/pamela-peeke-md/2009/09/if-you-eat-late-youll-gain-weight.html
    http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories/index.html

    I suggest you read the research - these are only a few of the articles on the topic.

    Vickie
  • Kate_UK
    Kate_UK Posts: 1,299 Member
    I eat between 70 and 75% of my calories after 7pm. I don't have enough hours in the day to cook and eat big meals before 7pm. I also snack right up until I go to bed, typicaly 11pm. It doesn't seeem to have affected my weight loss at all so far.
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    I always snack between 9 and 11pm and it has never affected my weight-loss. Calories in - calories out. I try to eat more carbs early in the day and more protein later in the day, but ultimately extra calories will be turned to fat no matter when they are consumed, and burning more than you eat will lead to weight loss.

    Eating when your body needs nourishment is the most important thing! Especially after a big workout.
    Good luck!

    -Meag
  • Tasha1476
    Tasha1476 Posts: 220
    In my opinion, and from what I have read about it... Eating late may result in a higher number on the scale the morning after you eat it, but it is largely water retention.. Whenever I eat late at night and weigh myself the next morning, my scale is up 2 LBS or maybe a little less.. But never sticks around and if I weigh myself the next day, is ALWAYS gone.

    So my answer is I would maybe not eat late at night before the day you plan to weigh in, but other wise, ESPECIALLY if you are working out that hard before hand, I would say there isn't any harm (unless, like someone else said, you are stuffing down like a pizza or something.. haha)
  • maletac
    maletac Posts: 767 Member
    hahaha thank you very much everyone
  • AnnaPixie
    AnnaPixie Posts: 7,439 Member
    I eat all my calories later on in the day. I think it's a myth that you store more fat after 6pm or 8pm or whatever! The only thing that late night eating might do is give you indigestion! :laugh: So eating a big meal just before sleep is never a good idea as it will affect your quality of sleep. But a snack is fine and can actually aid sleep :smile:

    But in answer to your question, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie! :flowerforyou:
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    well the reason im asking is cause i do my last work out around 8pm and i eat a pretty decent sized meal around 9pm (by decent i mean anywhere between 200-600 since i burn about 700-900 calories in my night workouts) but i eat decent so my muscles and body can recover.. but i also goto sleep by 11... so whats the vote in that case?

    Definitely continue what you are doing! After a workout you need to replace lost muscle glycogen and provide protein for muscle building. 12-15 hours without food can cause a depletion of glycogen, even not exercising, so if you exercise and deplete glycogen and then don't eat until morning, you're doubling that effect. Depleted glycogen can lead to fatigue and blood sugar issues, so you don't want to skip that meal. I'd base the amount of calories for the meal on what you are burning during your exercise and get pretty close to the same number.
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