Not eating after 6pm ??

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natalie1872
natalie1872 Posts: 53
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have any info or feedback, Iv been reading about diets that say your not to eat after 6pm.
Is there any benifit to this, other than your not physically eating as much. ( reduces snacking)
Cheers from Australia. xxx

Replies

  • Samiwhereareyou
    Samiwhereareyou Posts: 281 Member
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    it depends on when you go to bed. if you go to bed around 9 or 10 its fine to not eat after 6 but if you go to bed a 3 in the morning its not good. you should not eat 2 to 3 hours before bed time.
  • JD1805
    JD1805 Posts: 45
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    I have heard not to eat before going to sleep but not after 6pm. I think the reduce snacking before bed is a good plan but if you don't go to bed before midnight it would be a lot to ask to not eat for 6 hours before you went to sleep for another 6 hours. you know.
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
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    Workout when you can, eat when you can.
    If you're staying within your calorie goals and eating "real" or whole ie non processed foods you shouldn't have any trouble eating when you want/can!
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    If you have medical problems like GERD (reflux) or asthma, sleep apnea, you should not eat 3 hours before laying down to sleep. Otherwise a light snack (ie apple, small bar) would not hurt. Sometimes I wake up hungry as can be so I try to have a carb snack before bed but with the 3 hr time in mind as I do have GERD
  • HelenTheKitchen
    HelenTheKitchen Posts: 383
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    The only reasons why you shouldn't eat for the last few hours before bed (from what I've read and heard from professionals) are if you are the type of person to overeat in the evening hours it's best to avoid temptations, or if going to sleep on a full stomach makes you restless at night time. The majority of people actually sleep better with a small snack a bit before bed though. There is no validity to calories consumed in the evening making you gain weight though. It doesn't matter when you eat them, it's simply how many you eat in a 24 hr period.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    It doesn't matter what time you eat. Your metabolism doesn't magically stop working after a certain time of the day or when you're asleep. Your metabolism is constantly working around the clock. The only reason why people would advise such time-based nonsense to refrain from eating is because most people tend to gorge their calories early on in the day. If you break down your entire day's worth of calories into small 200 - 300 calorie meals about 2 - 3 hours apart, you don't have to stop eating at a certain time. Plus, exercise will require you to eat more for fuel anyway. I work out at night and I will have a recovery snack or meal after that, and it hasn't stopped me from losing weight.
  • mageepilot
    mageepilot Posts: 289 Member
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    I like to eat before I go to bed and it hasn't seemed to affect my losing at all. I am exercising and staying within my calories. I don't have anything huge. Usually a serving of cereal and 1/2 cup of silk almond milk. I make sure and save enough calories for that.
  • autumn13
    autumn13 Posts: 295
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    Workout when you can, eat when you can.
    If you're staying within your calorie goals and eating "real" or whole ie non processed foods you shouldn't have any trouble eating when you want/can!

    I like this!
  • kbanzhaf
    kbanzhaf Posts: 601 Member
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    When I first began my weight loss journey almost five years ago, my doctor sent me to a nutritionist. One of the things she told me was that you "should" eat something in the evening. Her thoughts were that it was too long of a period of time between 6:00 PM and breakfast. If you eat something light, it keeps your metabolism more "reved up" so to speak. I usually try to eat something light -- some fruit, a yogurt, a handful of mixed nuts or almonds.

    Over the course of 15 months, I lost about 70 pounds. I gained 20 back, lost 10 of that, and would now like to lose about 5-7 more....but honestly, any morning my scale reads under 140, I'm good :wink:
  • lorihays
    lorihays Posts: 2
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    I asked my trainer about this as I had always heard the same thing. He told me that because muscle needs protein to rebuild itself, if you are doing any strength training or cardio you need to eat every 3 hours. Breakfast/ snack/ lunch/ snack/ supper/ snack.

    The snacks should be healthy and preferably provide some protein (almonds, yogurt, etc.) and also be between 100-150 calories.

    He said that if I had my last 'snack' of the day and I was still awake 3 hours later then I should eat another snack. I have been keeping a food journal since the first week of January and have lost 25 pounds so far. But I have learned a lot about food- so much more than I can fit here. If you are hungry when you go to bed and you are exercising to help you lose weight, your muscles will burn more fat if you keep them strong. The only way to do that is make sure they get the protein they need. Starving will send the wrong message to your brain. It may actually make you gain weight.

    Eating after 6? Yes. Just make smart choices and enjoy your life.
  • prtipny
    prtipny Posts: 5 Member
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    I have thought my whole life that it's so bad to eat late at night. However, I've been reading things that say that as long as you control your calorie limit for the day you can eat whenever you want. (makes sense to me)

    For me, a little late night eating hasn't hurt my diet-AS LONG as I watch what I eat during the day. I think a lot of people consume all of their calories during the day and don't have enough left for dinner. Although it's still probably not great to eat a big meal before bed.

    I work out in the evenings and most of the time, even if I was hungry before, I am not hungry afterward. So that might be a good tip for some.
  • mideon_696
    mideon_696 Posts: 770 Member
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    yeah thats silly. like bro-science, lol.

    just dont eat stuff your body wont use effectively...

    like carbs. i'm not saying no carbs of any kinda, but keep em good, like only vege's.
    when you are asleep, if you have no carbs availiable for energy(yes, you need energy while sleeping), then your body is more likely to seek its energy from fat stores(which is what we want). So i generally have some "fatty" as my snack before bed. usually peanuts...or alot of people have cottage cheese etc.
  • natalie1872
    natalie1872 Posts: 53
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    Thank you everyone...great answers & it seems we all agree on a snack at night being alright. xxx
  • natalie1872
    natalie1872 Posts: 53
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    Hi, thanks for your message.
    I wish I had the motivation to work out at night...
    I used to but now I get up early and run with my dog, work, kids. study..I just cant do it at the end of the day.
    My friend says I should always change my routine to shock my body and keep it guessing.
    In the real world .....I dont have time.
    Nat.x
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    I notice that my weight stays the same if I eat any carbs in the 3 hours before bed. If I'm hungry right before bed, I eat some protein and I can still lose. I think everyone is different though.
  • curleesam
    curleesam Posts: 462 Member
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    I try not to eat too late. I don't think it has an impact on my weight loss, I just find if I eat heavy food like meat or pasta too late in the evening I cant sleep as my tummy is too full! lol

    If I think logically as well it must be better to eat food and then be mobile for a little bit to let your food digest as opposed to laying straight down in bed...?

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