Best time to stop eating on an evening?

Hi,
What times would be best to eat meals and snacks.... I start work at half 11am with one break at 3 and finish work usually 10 or 11pm. After this obviously I am starved! Would it be wise to eat at 11pm on a night but this is the only chance I would get.... or snack on fruit? Is this messing up my metabolism also? Thanks!
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Replies

  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    The best time to stop eating is sometime before you fall asleep, since that would be a choking hazard if you continued to eat in your sleep.

    For the most part, when you eat food is irrelevant.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Meal timing has nothing to do with weight loss. Calorie deficit is where it's at!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Eat your meal at 11:00 pm if that is the time you want to eat.
    Metabolism does not get messed up because our bodies are working for us around the clock.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Unless sleeping on a full stomach causes problems for you, you can eat up until you go to bed.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Unless sleeping on a full stomach causes problems for you, you can eat up until you go to bed.

    Oh, yeah, it does matter a lot if you suffer from acid reflux or something like that. I have several foods I can't eat before bed (although, since starting to lose weight, I don't think I've had any problems with reflux, but that could just be me still avoiding the foods I always avoid before bed).
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    When I'm no longer hungry.
  • Lovee_Dove7
    Lovee_Dove7 Posts: 742 Member
    I don't like to eat after 7pm.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I eat until I run out of calories. And I always save some for a before bed snack.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    I'm a nighttime eater, so I always budget several hundred calories for the later evening munchies. It hasn't affected me in the least. Eat when you want to.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    When I found out meal timing didn't matter I seemed to instantly lose 10 pounds (It was more like 10 weeks but it was EXTREMELY easy to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks) I always heard to stop eating at 5 so I tried to live by that rule but I would get hungry and usually binge. When I found out that timing doesn't matter I always saved 300 calories before bed... And the weight melted off.
  • dalielahdawn
    dalielahdawn Posts: 141 Member
    There are foods I don't eat in the evening time, but that's just cause they make me burp or feel yucky if I lay flat with them in my stomach. Other than that, I pay no mind to when I eat. More than 3/4 of my daily calories are consumed in the evening. :)
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Best time is when you fulfil your caloric needs
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Hi,
    What times would be best to eat meals and snacks.... I start work at half 11am with one break at 3 and finish work usually 10 or 11pm. After this obviously I am starved! Would it be wise to eat at 11pm on a night but this is the only chance I would get.... or snack on fruit? Is this messing up my metabolism also? Thanks!

    For me, I have to be careful not to eat about 3 hours prior to sleep because I will pay the consequences the next day with pain (I have acid reflux).

    You can eat as late as you want as long as you have no medical issues and your doctor has told you to not eat after a certain time.

    How late you eat has nothing to do with weight loss or metabolism. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    rankinsect wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Unless sleeping on a full stomach causes problems for you, you can eat up until you go to bed.

    Oh, yeah, it does matter a lot if you suffer from acid reflux or something like that. I have several foods I can't eat before bed (although, since starting to lose weight, I don't think I've had any problems with reflux, but that could just be me still avoiding the foods I always avoid before bed).

    It sure does.
  • brb2008
    brb2008 Posts: 406 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Meal timing has nothing to do with weight loss. Calorie deficit is where it's at!

    Maybe not weight loss but i tell you what I got some serious stomach issues after eating right before bed! So I advise everyone ever who asks: definitely try to give some digestion time before sleep at least.

    But no OP, eating late isnt going to make you gain weight :) its more about making a schedule that works for you and helps you be successful. For example, I dont eat prior to noon because then I spend all day hungry and thinking about food. Idk why, but it works for me. You'll figure out what works for you! Try eating at 11 for a week or two and see how your body feels and adjust the plan if needed.
  • It's 1:48am over here and I'm up eating some almonds and frozen pineapples. I eat whenever I'm hungry. Hasn't affected me one bit.
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    I'll even go over my goal by a little bit if I wanna eat in the middle of the night. :D
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    You should probably stop eating when you go to sleep. Too much of a chance you'll choke.

    Seriously, though, meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss. Observe you eating patterns and save calories for the time of day that you tend to want to eat the most. For example, I rarely eat before lunch, because I just don't like to. I like to have a bigger dinner, so I try to save calories for that time of day.
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    I eat all night on most days of the week because I work the night shift. I've lost 65 pounds. Staying within your calorie deficit is what is important.
  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
    Timing doesn't matter. I am a chronic imsomniac and during episodes would eat at all sorts of strange times if I was hungry. I track midnight-midnight so just make sure I stick to my goal during that 24hr period regardless of meal times.
  • pliler
    pliler Posts: 45 Member
    Ignore all the don't eat after this time or no carbs after a certain time or it will turn in to fat. It's all about cals in vs cals out. I have ice cream before bed most nights if I have the calories left.
  • hookahbinx
    hookahbinx Posts: 74 Member
    I don't eat 3 hours before bed.
    Am I hungry? Sure.
    I just make sure I eat plenty during the day.
    Works for me
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    You know, in other countries (countries that don't have the obesity problem that we have in the US) people often don't eat dinner til 8 or even 9 at night. So I'd say that the "don't eat after ____" is bs.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    hookahbinx wrote: »
    I don't eat 3 hours before bed.
    Am I hungry? Sure.
    I just make sure I eat plenty during the day.
    Works for me

    I don't recommend this. Seems too extreme.
  • Ioras88
    Ioras88 Posts: 57 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    hookahbinx wrote: »
    I don't eat 3 hours before bed.
    Am I hungry? Sure.
    I just make sure I eat plenty during the day.
    Works for me

    I don't recommend this. Seems too extreme.

    Why not?

    The thing with keeping 3-4 hours of not eating anything before you go to bed has something to do with letting your body rest. If you eat something before you go to sleep your body is still digesting it while you sleep. Which means, you won't be fully rested. So it's best to eat enough during the day instead of having your body digest stuff in your sleep.

  • Tahlia68
    Tahlia68 Posts: 204 Member
    I eat when I'm hungry. If I wake during the night feeling hungry I'll have a small snack. As long as you stick to your calorie deficit it shouldn't make any difference. Hasn't affected my weight loss at all. Good luck ☺
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Ioras88 wrote: »
    Orphia wrote: »
    hookahbinx wrote: »
    I don't eat 3 hours before bed.
    Am I hungry? Sure.
    I just make sure I eat plenty during the day.
    Works for me

    I don't recommend this. Seems too extreme.

    Why not?

    The thing with keeping 3-4 hours of not eating anything before you go to bed has something to do with letting your body rest. If you eat something before you go to sleep your body is still digesting it while you sleep. Which means, you won't be fully rested. So it's best to eat enough during the day instead of having your body digest stuff in your sleep.

    Your heart keeps pumping, your lungs keep inflating, it doesn't stop you being rested.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Best time to stop eating on an evening?

    When you run out of allotted calories for that day. :)
  • katekams
    katekams Posts: 22 Member
    Eating hours doesn't matter at all though I would advice to stop eating two hours before bed time.
  • stevencloser
    stevencloser Posts: 8,911 Member
    Ioras88 wrote: »
    Orphia wrote: »
    hookahbinx wrote: »
    I don't eat 3 hours before bed.
    Am I hungry? Sure.
    I just make sure I eat plenty during the day.
    Works for me

    I don't recommend this. Seems too extreme.

    Why not?

    The thing with keeping 3-4 hours of not eating anything before you go to bed has something to do with letting your body rest. If you eat something before you go to sleep your body is still digesting it while you sleep. Which means, you won't be fully rested. So it's best to eat enough during the day instead of having your body digest stuff in your sleep.

    Digestion takes between 24 and 48 hours. I would be a tad tired if I waited with sleep until I'm not digesting anything anymore.