Fact or Myth? Big meals in evening bad?

zealey77
zealey77 Posts: 104
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, does anyone know the truth about whether it's bad to have a big meal in the evening as we can't burn it off due to sleeping? At the moment I have a reasonable breakfast (poached eggs or Bran Flakes), very small lunch, then use up the rest of my calorie allowance on a filling evening meal. But it makes sense to me that when I do my exercise round midday I'm only burning off my breakfast calories. And when I eat my evening meal, the calories just sit on my stomach while I sit on the sofa.

Is this idea a myth, or does it all balance out over time with weight loss?

Replies

  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    You burn the same calories every day just living.

    Meal timing doesn't matter, calories do.

    If you stick to your calorie goal, you will lose weight, even if you eat all your calories in the evening.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
    Myth. The Only thing a big meal in the evening could do is give you a tummy ache trying to sleep. I eat like 500+ calories less than an hour before bed most nights and I've been steadily losing weight, no problem. It's all about total calories for the day/week.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    I remember seeing a couple of study's where 1 group had a moderate breakfast, big lunch, little dinner vs. a group who had moderate breakfast, little lunch, big dinner - same types of food were eaten.

    Those with the big dinner either stayed the same or gained, while the group with the big lunch lost. I don't remember if the amount lost was very significant, but the idea behind it was if you have a bigger lunch, you have longer in the day to "work it off".

    I'm sure that under certain circumstances depending on what you eat when you can probably find a study to support whatever way you want. :)
  • csk0018
    csk0018 Posts: 219 Member
    I eat most of my calories during dinner and I'm still consistently losing. I think all that matters for me is staying within my calorie intake for the day.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Myth!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    But it makes sense to me that when I do my exercise round midday I'm only burning off my breakfast calories. And when I eat my evening meal, the calories just sit on my stomach while I sit on the sofa.

    Is this idea a myth, or does it all balance out over time with weight loss?

    Myth. This isn't the way the body works. Total calories in vs. total calories out is what matters. And not even on a daily basis. You can go over some days and under other days and still lose if it all averages out to a calorie deficit.
  • zealey77
    zealey77 Posts: 104
    OK great. Thanks, that's put my mind at ease.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    Myth!

    This.
  • RinnyLush
    RinnyLush Posts: 389 Member
    I like eating larger dinners in the evening. Both my boyfriend and I love to cook, so we usually spend a lot of time together preparing our meal and enjoying it together. I tend to eat smaller breakfasts, lunches, and snacks to accommodate this within my daily calories.

    According to my ticker, it seems to be working! :wink:
  • bumblebreezy91
    bumblebreezy91 Posts: 520 Member
    Myth.

    I just don't like going to bed too soon after eating too much because I'm prone to acid reflux and I don't like the feeling of going to bed stuffed. It's more of a personal preference. Also, my mom swears by it, so I've kind of grown up with not eating late.

    ETA: I used to binge in the evening, so leaving calories for snacks after a small dinner has helped me tremendously (as in, I haven't done binged in over a month)!
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Hi, does anyone know the truth about whether it's bad to have a big meal in the evening as we can't burn it off due to sleeping? At the moment I have a reasonable breakfast (poached eggs or Bran Flakes), very small lunch, then use up the rest of my calorie allowance on a filling evening meal. But it makes sense to me that when I do my exercise round midday I'm only burning off my breakfast calories. And when I eat my evening meal, the calories just sit on my stomach while I sit on the sofa.

    Is this idea a myth, or does it all balance out over time with weight loss?

    MYTH.

    Excess calories get turned to fat for later use. Whether you eat them at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

    The key is, over the course of a day or a week, to use more calories that you take in.

    Even if you eat 1500 calories at dinner. You'll use a bunch of that (500-1,000 depending on your metabolic rate) just being alive - breathing, staying warm, tossing and turning in your sleep... the rest will be stored, yes. BUT, over the course of the next 24 hours, as long as you remain in an overall deficit, you are going to need those calories to carry on breathing and moving and stuff. It's not like the body is going to say "Hey - I just put that there, you can't use it yet!". It doesn't become permanent fat just because you ate too close to bed time - your body doesn't work like that.

    So eat when it is convenient/comfortable for you.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Myth. The Only thing a big meal in the evening could do is give you a tummy ache trying to sleep.

    also bad dreams...
  • KimiSteinbach
    KimiSteinbach Posts: 224 Member
    After dinner I never get hungry for some reason...
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    I think this is one of those myths that got started by correlation: most mediterranean countries eat their big meals in the middle of the day and they are sooooo slim and healthy. Correlation is NOT causation.
  • cranky78y
    cranky78y Posts: 2
    its a mythes what matters is the overal macro nutrients and calories

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