Eating Past 8pm?`

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umfan85
umfan85 Posts: 113 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Everybody has heard that it is not a good idea to eat past a certain time period. Most agree with 7 or 8pm I believe. What I am trying to find out is, what is wrong with it? I have never found good information regarding the science behind it. My dad and step mom eat dinner around 8 or 9 every night, and my dad is one of the most in shape people I know.

Any opinions or thoughts on this?

Replies

  • ChanelCharlie
    ChanelCharlie Posts: 64
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    yup...there is a lot of conflicting info out there. I tend to always eat dinner and snack after 7pm sometimes as late as 9pm because Im at school all day and I like to workout as soon as I get home. I've been losing weight at a normal rate. I also tend to go to bed later, around 12 am or so. When I was in Europe I noticed that ppl eat at 8-9pm every night and the obesity rate is much lower than in North America. I thought maybe that they ate very light healthy meals at that time, but no, pork chops, pizza, pasta...then again they usually go to bed later. I think what it comes down to is calories, a calorie at 8am is the same calorie at 8pm, but you have more time to burn it off if you eat it earlier. Bottom line: if you stay within your calories you should be fine!!
    Good luck!!
  • aproc
    aproc Posts: 1,033 Member
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    I think its because alot of people overeat at night. And the whole 'not getting much exercise' after. It all just comes down to the calories though. Shouldn't matter what time you eat them. I normally have a snack or something around 8 or 9 because I'm always hungry before bed and normally wake up hungry in the middle of the night...
  • mzenzer
    mzenzer Posts: 503 Member
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    I always eat a snack before I got to bed. Calories can't tell time and your metabolism doesn't really slow, that's a myth, it's just that you are laying down for 7-8 hours so not burning as much as you normally would. With my RMR over 8 hours I would burn about 640 calories. I get up at 5am, work out at 6am. If I had not eaten since 8pm, that would be 10 hours without food and before a workout? Why would I do that to my body? Now, I think what is really meant but just gets lost in translation, is you don't sit down and have a full on 500-600 calorie dinner then go to sleep, but you defiantly have a snake for fuel over night. You will actually burn more calories because your body now has something to do.

    Whole diet theory based on that, and I actually have been doing this specifically for over a month and I'm losing just fine. There is so much mis-information out there on dieting it's not even funny.

    http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/hibernation-diet.html
  • dlcam61
    dlcam61 Posts: 228 Member
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    From what I've read, and experienced, eating a lot late at night or within an hour or so of bedtime can cause indigestion issues. When you sleep your body processes slow down. The food sits in your stomach a lot longer than it would if you ate more than 2-3 hours before bed. Going to bed on a full stomach can also cause reflux, heartburn and bloating. Whether or not it causes problems with weight loss is up for debate. I eat at all times of the day, and I'm still losing. But from experience I don't go to bed on a full stomach. I also do not eat the bulk of my calories in the evening. Smaller meals every 2-3 hours is optimal for steady blood sugar levels and helps with weight loss.
  • mzenzer
    mzenzer Posts: 503 Member
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    http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/busting-10-diet-myths-10000001700385/index.html
  • sheilabennett
    sheilabennett Posts: 210
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    I don't think there is any real science behind it.... Its just that when most people eat at night, it tends to be junk food. I know for myself, if I am eating late its usually chips or candy while watching a movie or something like that... A friend of mine stopped eating after 9pm for a month and she lost 15lbs. And that was all she did. No extra exercise, and no modifying her meals during the day. She just realized that the only junk she ever ate was in the evenings.
  • HealthyishWithMaggieG
    HealthyishWithMaggieG Posts: 397 Member
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    I like to keep my body guessing. I eat early. I eat late. I eat big meals twice a day. I snack little stuff throughout the day. I don't do any of this on purpose. It's just whatever works for my schedule and how hungry I feel on any particular day.

    Sometimes I wonder if (for me) eating closer to bedtime works in my favor. Several years ago (when I was really fit and ate like a horse due to a really high activity level), I noticed when I ate right before bed, I woke up hungry. And on nights where I stopped eating a few hours before bed, I wasn't hungry when I woke up.

    It seemed (to me) like my body was working harder to burn calories overnight when I had something right before bed, since I woke up hungry.

    Point of the story: I think everybody's different. Change things up occasionally to see what works best for you.

    I do agree that I wouldn't eat a lot of heavy food right before bed though.
  • mynameisdumbnuts
    mynameisdumbnuts Posts: 111
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    I've heard you shouldn't eat before bed because your body stays awake to digest the food and you don't sleep well. I work nights and I regularly eat dinner at 8 p.m. and go to bed about 2:30 a.m. Sometimes I snack before I go to bed, sometimes I don't. It depends on what my body is telling me. It probably isn't great to go to bed straight after a healthy meal, but a bit of popcorn or something shouldn't be a big deal.
  • tolygal
    tolygal Posts: 602 Member
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    I don't know anything about the science behind anything, but for me, I lose weight WAY better if I don't eat within 2-3 hours before going to bed. I prefer to go to bed slightly hungry. My body doesn't need that fuel to sleep. In addition, I feel so much better in the morning when I do this. I wake up faster, feeling lighter and better, in a better mood, ready to eat my breakfast (small breakfast since I usually get in an am workout), and full of energy. If I eat before bed, I wake up in the morning feeling like I have a big ball of crud in my belly and I feel heavy and lazy. It probably just depends on the person, but everything goes better for me if I don't eat 2-3 hours before bed.
  • sexygenius
    sexygenius Posts: 1,078 Member
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    its not the time... its not eat past dinner...
    i have a real problem with that...just one after dinner bite of any thing (even something like apple) brings out my binge monster
  • bobdubya
    bobdubya Posts: 55
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    I have heard several doctors say it is a myth. Calories in/out burned is what matters. It's the MATH, not the time.
  • jo_marnes
    jo_marnes Posts: 1,601 Member
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    I asked my dietician this question and she said we burn more calories while asleep than just sitting down, so eating late shouldn't matter. I eat late every night (around 9pm) but this is often because I'm exercising first. Therefore my metbolism is running higher when I eat a large meal anyway. I am a terrible evening snacker, but I save my calories for then so I stay within my ranges. I am so busy in the daytime that while I still eat, I don't over indulge and snack too often. I then exercise in the evening and 'earn' my big meal and snacks
  • theflyingartist
    theflyingartist Posts: 385 Member
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    Everyone here is right!
    Biggest issue: Watch for developing indigestion and stomach issues. If you eat late at night and no exercise, at least eat some papaya enzyme to help your stomach out with the lack of activity. :)
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    It always cracks me up to hear people say how bad it is to eat past a certain time. I am almost always stuffing down food right before bed, because I spread my food intake out over the entire time that I am awake. Plus I cannot fall asleep if I an hungry.

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