Is this counter-productive?

KezJT
KezJT Posts: 32 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I eat my evening meal early - usually around 5pm, because I have young kids and I like us all to sit at the table and eat together, and for them to go to bed at a sensible time!

However, this means I often get hungry again later in the evening (around 9pm). If I don't have any cals left for the day, I just take myself off to bed early, instead of hanging around downstairs with all the food in the house looking at me;)

I wouldn't be doing much for the extra couple of hours as a general rule - but there is usually some pottering round, tidying up, laundry etc. Is it counter-productive to go to bed early and not eat? Would I be better staying up later and eating a small snack:/

Replies

  • FrankieandSpots
    FrankieandSpots Posts: 446 Member
    Sounds good to me... I suppose if you wanted to stay up later a snack might be good.
    Personally, I try to do this and think its a great idea.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Depends on you. I wouldn't be satisfied so I would probably save some calories for a snack. If you don't want to go to bed that early, and you're hungry, pre-log your day to fit something else in. I'm not done eating for the day until 10:30 pm so that would make me very uncomfortable to finish at 5, personally.
  • siluridae
    siluridae Posts: 188 Member
    How about dividing your dinner in half? Eat one early, save some for later, if you don't like going to bed hungry.
  • Tblackdogs
    Tblackdogs Posts: 326 Member
    I'm a big fan of early bed times! But a snack is also o.k. if you have calories left. And staying up and not having a snack, even if you're a little hungry is fine too. I often stay up and drink a nice cup of tea! The only danger there is having to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom!
  • Karen_can_do_this
    Karen_can_do_this Posts: 1,150 Member
    I deliberately go to bed early to stop me raiding the fridge. But I also get up at 4 to go to the gym. So early betimes at good for me
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    On Mondays I have to eat around 5:00 because I teach a class at 6:00 and if I don't eat then I won't get to eat until about 9:00 p.m. Usually I try to save some calories back, but if not I just drink a lot of water to help with being hungry later in the evening. I also try to not eat about two hours before bed because I need to take my levothyroxine on an empty stomach.
  • chickiechickie
    chickiechickie Posts: 27 Member
    I may be doing this wrong but I aim to reach my calorie goal by 7:30. I usually have trouble getting to bed early, either because I'm busy or just not tired yet, but if I feel myself getting a little hungry, I drink water and ignore it. My goal is just to eventually go to sleep at an earlier time, both because staying up late means getting hungry again some night, and because I need more rest. =/
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    I imagine you have things to do after the kids are in bed, so I would just do what you normally do but factor an evening snack into your plan.

    I budget about 200cals for after dinner because I've always been a night snacker.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,211 Member
    I can't go to bed unless I'm ready to sleep, so for me the snack would be the go, or I'd distract myself with the chores.

    It doesn't need to be a big snack, you can probably carry over 100-200 cals into the evening without really missing it from your other meals.

    I mean, if you WANT to go to bed early, sure, but if you're not doing things you want or need to do because you're going to bed early to avoid food, then yeah - I'd say that's a bit counter-productive.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    I pre-log a bed time snack. I can skip breakfast but have a difficult going to sleep hungry. I have also counted calories from dinner to lunch the next day instead of breakfast to bed, as long as you are consistent, it doesn't matter when you start counting for a 24 hour period.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    It depends on the person. I eat my first meal between 9 am and 12 pm, then I eat my second meal at 6 or 7 pm. Sometimes I have a small snack at 2. I head to sleep at around 8 or 9 and wake up at 5. If I eat too close to my bedtime I end up having to wake up to pee and it ruins my sleep cycles.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Go to bed early. It makes sense.
  • Mirasaki
    Mirasaki Posts: 27 Member
    I don't have children so this might not be a good tip, but usually if I want to eat more and I don't feel my calorie limit is enough for that day, I just try to do more exercise so I have those extra calories to eat. You could even use your time before bed to do a workout video from youtube. You can get loads which are designed to be quiet, so you won't annoy your neighbours or wake your children :) Once you've completed one you'll have 100-200 more calories so you'll be able to have a snack! If you're lucky it might curb your craving until after you go to bed :)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Mirasaki wrote: »
    I don't have children so this might not be a good tip, but usually if I want to eat more and I don't feel my calorie limit is enough for that day, I just try to do more exercise so I have those extra calories to eat. You could even use your time before bed to do a workout video from youtube. You can get loads which are designed to be quiet, so you won't annoy your neighbours or wake your children :) Once you've completed one you'll have 100-200 more calories so you'll be able to have a snack! If you're lucky it might curb your craving until after you go to bed :)

    You could also accomplish this by shaving off a tablespoon of half and half for your coffee, a serving of one of your salad mix-ins at lunch, etc. I know what you're saying makes sense, but some people don't wanna do a workout video at home after a long day just to eat 100 more calories.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    How about you pre-log your day to include a night time snack?
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    First of all, I applaud you for wanting a family meal together. That's a great thing to do!

    My advice would be to save a few calories for a snack. It doesn't have to be much. Some filling vegetables and a bit of protein would suffice. If I want a late-night snack, I will have something like a couple celery stalks and salsa (25 calories) and a quarter ounce of peanuts or cashews (40 calories). The veggies provide bulk and the protein provides satiety. Air-popped popcorn, or even oil-popped with grated parmesan instead of butter and salt, is another filling but low-calorie snack.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I'm usually in bed by 7:30 every night. I just watch tv in the bedroom instead of the lounge room, which is next to the kitchen :tongue:

    Once I'm in bed not much can get me up again.

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