Eat after midnight???

Caharleygirl
Caharleygirl Posts: 110 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi...this may seem like a weird question but if you eat after midnight (I know it's not good for you but I keep weird hours and am sometimes really hungry after midnight) do you log it on the previous day as a evening snack or do you log it on the new day as a morning snack? I know it probably doesn't matter in the long run but I was curious what most people do???

Replies

  • lyn54
    lyn54 Posts: 415
    I log in the next morning.
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
    I changed my time zone to Hawaii so it doesn't turn to tomorrow until 4 AM my time.
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    I log everything before bed on the same day. Whichever you choose, just be consistent.

    Good luck with the late night cravings. I find logging all my food earlier helps. As does good, old-fashioned self-control. It gets easier in time! And by "in time" I mean, for me, in 3 months. haha All my best!
  • bbb84
    bbb84 Posts: 418 Member
    I work swing shift.... on the midnight shift I always log for the official day it is.... for example if I eat at 1:10 am on 04/09 I log it on 04/09.
  • BunnybeeJG
    BunnybeeJG Posts: 344 Member
    Lately, I really hate it when people give you crap if you don't eat at the 'normal' hours. I'm sorry but its stupid.
    normal hours are not always the same for everyone. like my grandmother who thinks that 8am is the time everyone should be awake .... yet she doesnt work. hasn't really ever 'worked' under someones thumb as the rest of the world mostly does... She doesn't understand working late and not being able to go to sleep right away or ... staying awake or not waking up early and eating breakfast.

    just make sure you don't eat at least 2to 3 hours before you go to bed and you'll be fine and stay within your limits.
    not everyone lives the same life just as not everyone can lose weight the same way.

    I have horrid hours too so I pretty much have to go day by day. and as soon as I stopped listening to that stupidity ... because it meant starving myself because i wouldn't have an opportunity to eat before 7 and I'd either binge it later or eat awful foods... I started to actually lose weight once I realized how bs that is.

    Eat an hour within waking up and stop eating at least 2 to3 hours before you conk out for the night and you should be happy and fine.

    and if you have protein it should help the craving for more which in turn should help from spiraling out of control as ... it happens.

    I'm a night owl. insomniac rampant world I live in... I usually count it all in one day until i fall asleep unless the sun comes up lol
  • TheGeezNeez
    TheGeezNeez Posts: 28 Member
    I work the graveyard shift 4 days a week and on my days off I tend to keep daytime hours. So to make sure I keep track of my calories I count for the actual day I eat them. Midnight to Midnight. This so far has worked well for me. I also changed the name of my meals to time periods...for example 12AM-4AM, 4AM-8AM,...and so on.
  • BunnybeeJG
    BunnybeeJG Posts: 344 Member
    The whole concept of time, is a paradox. It was an invention by man to sort out day by day life. Its not bad... Its just.. stupid to think that your body can actually tell what time it is and if you eat past a certain time it magically rebels.

    Sounds quite silly if you really think about it.
    :tongue:
    just listen to you.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I think it doesn't matter as long as you are consistent.
  • I changed my time zone to Hawaii so it doesn't turn to tomorrow until 4 AM my time.

    great! thank you!
  • I work nights and I usually count everything until I sleep as one day. Some days I have more than three meals on a day, and sometimes I have only two. But whatever works best for you....it all evens out in the end. If the log had a place for a time stamp I think it would be easier to figure out. And I think the whole eating after midnight just depends on the person. I have to eat after midnight because most of my meals are through the night!
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    I log everything as one day until I go to sleep. I don't finish work til midnight alot of the time and like to have a small snack or protein shake when I get back.
    The only exception is if I'm up all night, then I would probably count everything past about 5am as the next day.
  • staciekins
    staciekins Posts: 453 Member
    Personally, I don't say my day is finished until I go to bed and my day doesn't start until I wake up. So, whatever I eat between waking and sleeping is logged on the same day.
  • MirandaJayne
    MirandaJayne Posts: 600 Member
    I'm 3 months away from finishing school to become a Holistic Nutritionist. Just so you have a better idea where this info is coming from.

    About 3 hours after sunseet, our metabolism naturally slows down. Our bodies work in circadian rhythm. Have you ever eaten late at night just before bed, and then woken up feeling hungry? This is because our metabolism has slowed down so much that the food eaten right before going to bed still isn't digested.

    So despite going to bed right after or staying up to work an overnight shift. . . . Your body when you go to bed at 3,4,5,6,7 am is still working to digest the food you ate at midnight.

    Personally because your body is still working to break down and digest that food, the next day, I would count it as the next day, not so much because of the technicality of eating at 11:55pm vs 12am.


    Hope this helps.

    ps. I know it's easier said than done, but if you are going to eat late at night, I would say after 9 or 10pm, try to stick with foods that is easier on the body to digest. I.E Don't mow down on a steak, as even at the peak of our metabolism our body is going to work hard to digest. So stick with fruits and veggies. If you're having a meal, have a salad or soup. Something to be kind to our digestion.
  • I log everything before bed on the same day. Whichever you choose, just be consistent.

    Good luck with the late night cravings. I find logging all my food earlier helps. As does good, old-fashioned self-control. It gets easier in time! And by "in time" I mean, for me, in 3 months. haha All my best!

    I agree. When I started college, I got in the habit of eating late in the evening. This way, I could stay awake longer to do homework. As a result, when I went to bed, most of the calories I ate were not being burned off at all. So, I try to stop eating past 8pm, and just drink water instead to keep myself awake. One bit thing I have found is NOT to eat in the evening while playing on the internet or watching TV. I always seem to eat more when I do these activities at night.
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    you can eat at any hour..its a myth that you shouldnt eat late at night. it doesnt store as fat, as your body still burns calories when you sleep.

    i work night shift, so my hours arent normal. i eat constantly throughout the day and night. constantly. so as a third shifter i log from midnight to midnight.
  • crystal_sapphire
    crystal_sapphire Posts: 1,205 Member
    i work night shift and it's common for me to eat after midnight regularly

    the thing to be mindful of is to try and have to not eat 2-3 hour before bed
  • MirandaJayne
    MirandaJayne Posts: 600 Member
    you can eat at any hour..its a myth that you shouldnt eat late at night. it doesnt store as fat, as your body still burns calories when you sleep.

    i work night shift, so my hours arent normal. i eat constantly throughout the day and night. constantly. so as a third shifter i log from midnight to midnight.

    You're right your body does still burn calories, however at a significantly slower rate as your metabolism slows down at night. Even if we are used to the night shift, our metabolism doesn't change. It will stil slow down and not burn the food you've eaten later at night than if it would had you eaten earlier in the day.
  • MyNameIsNotBob
    MyNameIsNotBob Posts: 565 Member
    I log everything before bed on the same day. Whichever you choose, just be consistent.

    This is how I do it, too.
  • Black_Swan
    Black_Swan Posts: 770 Member
    I log it in previous day, as in "my day" not, 24h day:)
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    If it's before I go to bed, it's today.
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
    My general rule is that a new day doesn't start until I've slept. Even if it's 1am, if I haven't been to bed yet still counts as the same day. It really doesn't matter when you eat I always eat snacks in the evening/at night.
  • cowlover22
    cowlover22 Posts: 309 Member
    it depends if I was sleeping I log the next day..if I had not been to bed I put it for that day
  • Personally, I log it for the next day, and stay within my goal, you're eating it either way so how you log it doesn't matter.
  • I work the grave hard shift 11pm to 8am. If I eat anything after midnight I record it on the next day. This works for me I'v lost 25 lbs and counting.

    Hope this helps.
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