how long to stop eating before bed?

I asked a similar question and all that responded said EAT to lose! If you leave TOO much time between meals your metabolism slows. Overwhelmed by the response from people who eat at bedtime on a regular basis AND lose, I just shrug and say, oh well. If I need to I do. I never want to go to bed with a "full" stomach, but I don't mind waiting an hour and then going to bed. So far, it hasn't hurt me!

I think it is like asking if you should eat your exercise calories.

You can eat any time of day your body still process it the same. Just watch what you put in your body before you go to bed. If you wait 2 hours before you go to bed after eating and only sit around for 2 hours and watch tv well that is just the same as lying in your bed and sleeping.

I eat a pretty high protein content dinner between 6-7 each night (as long as I'm cooking at home, eating out - may not be eating until 8 or 9). I stop eating after dinner then do not consume anything until after my workout the next morning @ 7:00.

That's a 12 hour window without food in a fasted state. If I don't have a workout in the morning, that window extends in some cases to 14 hours in a fasted state. Then I consume 3 meals on weekdays with about 4 hrs between them, usually no snacks, usually 2 meals on weekends. Protein shake or food after lifting.

Your metabolism slows when you don't consume an adequate amount of calories to meet your daily activity needs over a longer span of time. What's more important is that you are meeting your caloric intake goals over the span of a week...regardless of whether you consume 2 meals or 6 meals daily.

not that i follow this....but i have an app for jillian on my phone and it says dont eat after 9pm

Broscience. Most people can't eat after 9pm for one reason.......................they reached their calorie allowance by that time. If they haven't, then it's fine to eat up to it after 9pm.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

2-3 hours. This gives the food time to move out of the stomach and gets you past the initial insulin spike we get after a meal so that your body can begin production of HGH on time after you go to sleep. It can only produce either insulin or HGH at one time.

Both my Personal Trainer, my Doctor & Womens Health Magazine all say at least 2 hours before... (a main meal, not just eating generally)

Although I struggle with this, I get up at 5am and if I try and get the 8 hours sleep (again recommended for those trying to lose weight) this means I need to try & be in bed by 9pm.
Bit of a pain as I go straight to the gym after work & only get home at 7.30 so by the time I cook dinner it's 1 1/2 hours at very best. :frown:

I'm doing intermittent fasting and they suggest eating only for an 8 hour period. I usually break my fast, after workout, around 11.30am and finish eating around 7.30pm. It allows your body time to digest what you've eaten the previous day before adding more food. I don't starve, I eat all my cals and protein. I no longer wake up with a stomach ache from eating late and then going to bed, and am not hungry in the mornings either. It also stops me binging in the evenings and I enjoy that discipline.

You're going to get so many different opinions but I guess, just eat if you're hungry but give your body time to digest it.

I asked a similar question and all that responded said EAT to lose! If you leave TOO much time between meals your metabolism slows. Overwhelmed by the response from people who eat at bedtime on a regular basis AND lose, I just shrug and say, oh well. If I need to I do. I never want to go to bed with a "full" stomach, but I don't mind waiting an hour and then going to bed. So far, it hasn't hurt me!

I think it is like asking if you should eat your exercise calories.

yeah, i see a mixture of opinions. most people seem to eat and go to sleep i suppose. i only asked because i used to eat more frequently before bedtime and wake up with terrible stomach pains, something to do with heartburn it turns out.

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thanks for the opinions all, even the borerline rude ones.

if someone isnt on your page or up to your speed or thinks otherwise, dont act like they're a complete idiot!

OP,...you just gave a perfectly good reason for YOU not to eat so late,...stomach pains, heartburn, etc. If that is still the case, then you have your answer. Either don't eat so late, or try something lighter which will not make you feel ill.

Personally, I have been eating right before bed for the better part of the past 30+ years, and have never experienced any sort of discomfort or illness. So for me, I very often will eat while in bed, and will do so again tonight.

Eating late, or any time for that matter, should not have any measurable affect on your ability to lose fat. The timing of your meals simply comes down to personal preference.

Over the past year or so, I lost all of the weight I gained after an injury,...and nearly every night during that time, I ate 500-1000 cals within an hour of falling asleep. FYI,...it varies, but I normally go to sleep between 2am-6am.

I'd say 3-4 hours.. that's what I hear all the time..

Just to add, I swim in the evenings, usually finish somewhere around 9pm, I eat at around 11pm, and I'm in bed for 12. It's never affected my weight loss.