Does It Matter When You Eat?

Doesn't matter when you eat, it makes no difference. I always eat immediately before going to bed or I get hungry and can't sleep, and am losing weight just fine.

I don't really know about eating around exercise though, hopefully someone else can help with that.

NO.

I used to be forced to eat "before a certain time"...
Makes no difference as long as you follow a proper caloric intake, really.

If you want to be super duper technical, yes. But functionally, no. When you eat does not matter at all in terms of weight loss. It can, however, effect your weight on the scale. If, for instance, you have been in the habit of not eating after 8:00 pm and you weigh yourself first thing in the morning then you have been weighing yourself at a fairly consistent amount of fasting. Now if you suddenly decide to eat a bunch at midnight one night and then weigh yourself in the morning, it may look like you've gained weight simply because you have food sitting in your stomach that your body has had four fewer hours to burn that what you would normally give it. Did I say that right? TL | DR: Not at all, but if you want your weight on the scale to be consistent you need to weigh yourself at a consistently fasted time.

if you're in calorie deficit, you'll lose weight and meal timing makes no difference

where meal timing *can* make a difference, is with long term compliance. That comes down to personal preference though, i.e. timing your meals in such a way as to make it easiest for you to stick to eating to your calorie goal long term. There's no point trying to force your body into an eating pattern it doesn't want to be in. At the same time it's important to avoid excessive hunger, as that can lead to unplanned overeating. But it's very individual in terms of what works for who. So long as you're in deficit you'll lose fat. So long as its sustainable for you, you'll be able to keep the fat off long term.

it doesnt matter when you eat as long as its within your calories for the day

From an article I read recently: "People who eat their largest, most calorie-rich meal at breakfast are more likely to lose weight and have a lower risk of developing diseases linked with body weight such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, according to a study by Tel Aviv University.
Researcher Daniela Jakubowicz and her colleagues studied 93 obese women who were randomly assigned to one of two regimented eating plans. All of the women consumed 1,400 calories a day in a moderate-carbohydrate and moderate-fat diet for 12 weeks. One group consumed 700 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 200 at dinner, while the other group inverted the order, consuming only 200 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 700 at dinner.The 700-calorie breakfast and dinner included the same foods, including items such as chocolate cake and cookies.
Both test groups showed weight loss after 12 weeks of a restricted calorie diet, but by the end of the study period, women who consumed the big breakfast diet lost an average of 17.8 pounds and three inches off their waistline. The big dinner group lost an average of 7.3 pounds and 1.4 inches off the waistline.
Jakubowicz said that those in the big breakfast group were observed with significantly lower levels of the hunger-regulating hormone ghrelin, which she said was an indication that the women were more satiated and had less desire for snacking later in the day than their counterparts in the big dinner group.

From an article I read recently: "People who eat their largest, most calorie-rich meal at breakfast are more likely to lose weight and have a lower risk of developing diseases linked with body weight such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol, according to a study by Tel Aviv University.
Researcher Daniela Jakubowicz and her colleagues studied 93 obese women who were randomly assigned to one of two regimented eating plans. All of the women consumed 1,400 calories a day in a moderate-carbohydrate and moderate-fat diet for 12 weeks. One group consumed 700 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 200 at dinner, while the other group inverted the order, consuming only 200 calories at breakfast, 500 at lunch and 700 at dinner.The 700-calorie breakfast and dinner included the same foods, including items such as chocolate cake and cookies.
Both test groups showed weight loss after 12 weeks of a restricted calorie diet, but by the end of the study period, women who consumed the big breakfast diet lost an average of 17.8 pounds and three inches off their waistline. The big dinner group lost an average of 7.3 pounds and 1.4 inches off the waistline.
Jakubowicz said that those in the big breakfast group were observed with significantly lower levels of the hunger-regulating hormone ghrelin, which she said was an indication that the women were more satiated and had less desire for snacking later in the day than their counterparts in the big dinner group.

The last sentence of that study is what ruins it. Their calories were not truly restricted to what it said. They just told them to eat that. In a controlled study where both groups actually ate the amount of calories they were told to, the weight loss would be the same.

So it sounds like everyone says "no" to when you eat.

I have a question -- what about breakfast? I've heard it's bad to skip breakfast.... or that you should eat something right away in the morning to get your metabolism going. What if you're up at 6 am and don't eat anything until 11 am. What does that do to one's metabolism & weight loss... if anything?