night time eating

schfamily
schfamily Posts: 4 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
During the summer I work anywhere from 8:30 - 10pm. I don't get more than 10mins to eat. When I get home I'm often very hungry. Should I eat?? If so what is something that's ok to eat this late?

Replies

  • ka_bateman
    ka_bateman Posts: 230 Member
    I wish I knew...I eat dinner at about 830 five times a week. But I'm keeping to my calories and still losing weight...so I'm not sure that it makes that big of a difference. Who knows.
  • CoachMaritova
    CoachMaritova Posts: 409 Member
    what time do you usually go to bed when you get home that late? My usual rule is not to eat for three hours before I go to bed. If I am really hungry closer to bed time than that I will just have a protein shake.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    Meal timing/frequency is irrelevant unless you work out fasted (fasted for well over 24 hours) or perform multiple glycogen-deplting exercises.
  • MakingAChoice
    MakingAChoice Posts: 481 Member
    I would still eat something if you are hungry. Just make it a lighter meal of the day. I eat up till an hour before bed and have had no trouble losing weight.
  • Spitfirex007
    Spitfirex007 Posts: 749 Member
    This is one of those topics where everyone has an opinion, but not really a right answer. Now I personally wouldn't suggest a big meal within at least 3 hours before bed. But something small and light should be fine imo.
  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
    I wish I knew...I eat dinner at about 830 five times a week. But I'm keeping to my calories and still losing weight...so I'm not sure that it makes that big of a difference. Who knows.

    Same for me. Sometimes I eat late, sometimes I don't. So far I haven't had any problems with it as long I stay under calorie.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    This is one of those topics where everyone has an opinion, but not really a right answer. Now I personally wouldn't suggest a big meal within at least 3 hours before bed. But something small and light should be fine imo.
    Umm, no. I DO have the right answer based on science. Your body does not know nor care when you feed it. Whether it's 4 hours before bed or 4 minutes. Period.
  • TwistedBanana
    TwistedBanana Posts: 37
    Honestly I don’t think it really matters. Although I stopped eating after 10pm about 6 weeks ago and I have lost 7 pounds since. I would guess that you should eat a smaller meal. I also know that for a fact sumo-wrestlers eat right before they sleep. So I would suggest not falling asleep right after you eat.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    Honestly I don’t think it really matters. Although I stopped eating after 10pm about 6 weeks ago and I have lost 7 pounds since. I would guess that you should eat a smaller meal. I also know that for a fact sumo-wrestlers eat right before they sleep. So I would suggest not falling asleep right after you eat.
    You lost 7 pounds because you ate a caloric deficit; not because you stopped eating after 10 pm.

    Sumo wrestlers gain weight because they eat at a caloric surplus; not because they eat before sleep.
  • AmesLee78
    AmesLee78 Posts: 111
    Honestly I don’t think it really matters. Although I stopped eating after 10pm about 6 weeks ago and I have lost 7 pounds since. I would guess that you should eat a smaller meal. I also know that for a fact sumo-wrestlers eat right before they sleep. So I would suggest not falling asleep right after you eat.
    You lost 7 pounds because you ate a caloric deficit; not because you stopped eating after 10 pm.

    Sumo wrestlers gain weight because they eat at a caloric surplus; not because they eat before sleep.

    Newsflash...you don't know everything and everyone's bodies are different.

    To the original poster....It's probably worse to go to bed hungry than it is to eat a small/light meal. Assuming it's not loaded with carbs/fat and calories, there's nothing wrong with having something light to eat. That way you're sugars won't get out of whack and you won't wake up starving in the morning and wanting to grab the first piece of junk food you can get your hands on. Good luck!
  • AmesLee78
    AmesLee78 Posts: 111
    Umm, no. I DO have the right answer based on science. Your body does not know nor care when you feed it. Whether it's 4 hours before bed or 4 minutes. Period.

    Um NO it really is a matter of opinion and everyone is different with different metabolisms and different body types. We don't need you here forcing your so called science on everyone.
  • TwistedBanana
    TwistedBanana Posts: 37
    Hey again so i did a lil research and found that it doesn't matter if you eat before bed just don't eat a large meal because that will spike your insulin level...
    "A high insulin spike before bed will keep your GH response lowered…and that is not what you want. Keeping the meal smaller and mostly protein and fat also (limit carbs/sugars before bed as they will raise insulin quickly)….anything too large (1000s of calories) or having loads of sugar/carbs will raise insulin too high. GH is 75% released in the first 2 hours of sleep…and is important in health, muscle, and fat loss. But high insulin = low GH. Hence people who get little sleep may also have a hard time losing weight because of how messed up their hormones are"

    i hope that helps :)
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    Umm, no. I DO have the right answer based on science. Your body does not know nor care when you feed it. Whether it's 4 hours before bed or 4 minutes. Period.

    Um NO it really is a matter of opinion and everyone is different with different metabolisms and different body types. We don't need you here forcing your so called science on everyone.
    False. The metabolic boost from food is known as TEF, thermic effect of food. This effect is dose-dependent, meaning if you eating 1 mal of 3,000 calories vs. 3 meals of 1,000 calories vs. 6 meals of 500 calories: the net effect at the end of the day is exactly the same. I can't make this point clear enough: meal timing has zero, ZERO role in body composition outside of extreme cases (fasting for unusually long periods OR performing multiple glycogen depleting exercises in a day).

    That is an axiom of nutrition. To argue it would be on the same level as arguing whether a carb is 4 calories.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    Hey again so i did a lil research and found that it doesn't matter if you eat before bed just don't eat a large meal because that will spike your insulin level...
    "A high insulin spike before bed will keep your GH response lowered…and that is not what you want. Keeping the meal smaller and mostly protein and fat also (limit carbs/sugars before bed as they will raise insulin quickly)….anything too large (1000s of calories) or having loads of sugar/carbs will raise insulin too high. GH is 75% released in the first 2 hours of sleep…and is important in health, muscle, and fat loss. But high insulin = low GH. Hence people who get little sleep may also have a hard time losing weight because of how messed up their hormones are"

    i hope that helps :)
    Temporary insulin spikes don't hinder fat loss. It's chronic insulin elevations that hinder fat loss.
  • AmesLee78
    AmesLee78 Posts: 111
    Are you even here to lose weight or to be a know it all and give people false information? If you're not here to lose weight then go away.
  • AmesLee78
    AmesLee78 Posts: 111
    Hey again so i did a lil research and found that it doesn't matter if you eat before bed just don't eat a large meal because that will spike your insulin level...
    "A high insulin spike before bed will keep your GH response lowered…and that is not what you want. Keeping the meal smaller and mostly protein and fat also (limit carbs/sugars before bed as they will raise insulin quickly)….anything too large (1000s of calories) or having loads of sugar/carbs will raise insulin too high. GH is 75% released in the first 2 hours of sleep…and is important in health, muscle, and fat loss. But high insulin = low GH. Hence people who get little sleep may also have a hard time losing weight because of how messed up their hormones are"

    i hope that helps :)

    Great advice! That makes some really good sense! Thanks for posting it :)
  • yummy♥
    yummy♥ Posts: 612 Member
    agree with untz. i regularly eat dinner after 9 (and i eat a full meal and sometimes (gasp) dessert) and i am still losing. even these last dreaded 10 pounds (and no, they are not easier too lose)
  • yummy♥
    yummy♥ Posts: 612 Member
    edit : the double post got me again!
  • TwistedBanana
    TwistedBanana Posts: 37
    otay dotay tanks! :)
    i'm not a nutritionist or scientist and this person seems to be very sure of themselves so i would take their advice.
    good luck!!
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    Are you even here to lose weight or to be a know it all and give people false information? If you're not here to lose weight then go away.
    Feel free to point out my false information. And please cite a single study that finds heightened fat loss with more meals per day when calories/macronutrients are controlled.

    Wait until I get to my computer and I can post a study showing greater fat loss by eating 1 meal per day.
  • mynameisuntz
    mynameisuntz Posts: 582 Member
    otay dotay tanks! :)
    i'm not a nutritionist or scientist and this person seems to be very sure of themselves so i would take their advice.
    good luck!!
    I love your attitude. You are an example of what everyone should be.

    Not on my computer, otherwise I could post some research showing how temporary insulin boosts are nothing to be feared, but rather chronically raised levels.
  • annarface
    annarface Posts: 77 Member
    I usually eat like 1/3 of my daily calories at night time because I snack like crazy but I never go over my limit. I've lost 45lbs & am now maintaining. It doesn't matter, for me anyway, what time I eat, I still lose.
  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 207 Member
    Eating times are so cultural! I think it is worth bearing in mind the international context on this one.

    I live in Spain, where people regularly eat dinner after 10pm - the people who eat too much are fat, the people who eat less are not! American tourists having dinner at 5 or 6pm are viewed with bemusement. That said, dinner is traditionally a much smaller, protein-baed meal - a few slices of ham and a yogurt, for example.

    At the end of the day, what matters is calories in vs calories out (plus the distribution of macros, nutritional content etc, both of which affect your satiety levels)
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    Are you even here to lose weight or to be a know it all and give people false information? If you're not here to lose weight then go away.


    Since when is "false" information based on unbiased, controlled, peer-reviewed science and not anecdotal evidence?

    Meal timing, size, and frequency are irrelevant to weight loss. Your body couldn't care less when you feed it.
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    To the OP,


    NO, there is nothing wrong, harmful, or detrimental to weight loss by eating late at night. Eat when it is convenient for you.
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    If you have numbers left in you food goals then eat away.
  • schfamily
    schfamily Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks to everyone for tips! Good advice :-)
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