What do you eat at night/ how late?

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  • ekahnicole
    ekahnicole Posts: 216 Member
    edited January 2016
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    What are your dinner staples? (How large of a meal do you eat?)

    My dinners are usually between 350-450 calories but of course that varies at times. If I'm cooking at home, usually it's a protein (chicken or fish more often than not) with some kind of greens/vegetables and then either beans or a little rice. I like to throw some cheese into the mix if I have the calories for it as well.

    Do you snack after dinner? (What?)

    Very very rarely. I might have one small thing around 8pm if I'm still feeling hungry, or I might treat myself to something like a cup of hot chocolate.

    If you have a cutoff time of food before bed, when is it?

    I've never set a cut off time but it's extremely rare for me to eat anything past 7ish, usually 8pm at the latest.

    For more context I generally eat dinner around 6-7pm and I go to sleep between 11pm-1am and over the last 3 years I've lost 160 lbs.
  • wandererlust
    wandererlust Posts: 64 Member
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    thorsmom01 wrote: »

    I have lost all my weight and maintained it for 2+ yrs while eating my largest meal directly before bed. I eat about 190g of carbs per day and most of those right before bed.
    Carbs don't cause people to gain weight or not lose weight. Weight loss comes down to calories not carbs.
    Of course people with certain medical conditions watch carbs closely , but I have no medical conditions so they are not a problem for me.

    Thanks for the input! I know carbs have such a bad rep but I don't buy into the low carb diets and won't be removing them from my diet.
  • wandererlust
    wandererlust Posts: 64 Member
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    Wow @ekahnicole that is excellent! I really feel like I should not save a bunch of calories just to have a huge thing right before bed but based on a lot of these responses I might be overthinking it.
  • speeno
    speeno Posts: 55 Member
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    geneticsteacher wrote: »
    wandererlust wrote: »
    @geneticsteacher do you not see a negative impact eating cereal/crackers late? I feel like it makes a difference when I'm eating something with a lot of carbs very late. (Which is of course what I crave!)

    No, as long as I am within my calories for the day I continue to lose weight. I seem to sleep better if I have a snack in the late evening.

    your body doesn't know what time it is, as long as you are within your allowance you will be fine.

  • Gisel2015
    Gisel2015 Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Dinner (between 6:30 and 7:30PM) is between 400 and 600 calories, depending of what I had for breakfast, lunch and snacks. I prepare a variety of meals all with protein (chicken, fish, pork chops sometimes beef or turkey) and vegetables. Complex carbs such as brown rice, sweet potatoes or quinoa are added if I am hungry and if my calories or carbs allotment allows it. I eat desert after I am done with the kitchen, if I still have calories left; that is my after meal snack. I don't snack late at night, I don't need to. I don't like to eat right before bed; my stomach doesn't like it either. I go to bed around 11:30PM so I have plenty of time to digest my food.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    edited January 2016
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    CooCooPuff wrote: »
    I usually end the day with something sweet, like ice cream, around 830. I also enjoy a good decaf at 9
    I didn't read your first question, but my dinner is typically just some vegetables, some beans, and a can of sardines or chicken with fruit. It's quick to prepare, doesn't require much outside of chopping up the veggies, and tasty. It's usually between 400-500 calories.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
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    we eat dinner late here.. around 9-11 (i dont work and my husband is an athlete so not a 9-5 schedule) so thats pretty much the last time i eat.
  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
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    wandererlust wrote: »
    Wow @ModernRock great job! I am eating about 1300 a day and want to make sure that even if I'm within my range that eating late or right before sleeping isn't tripping me up.

    Thanks. I find eating less for breakfast and quite a bit less for lunch a totally acceptable trade-off to eat what seems like only slightly less after work than what I had previously been eating. Keep in mind that the food I eat hasn't been as much of a problem as the portion sizes. My experience might be different than somebody learning to eat less on top of learning to eat more filling and nutritionally dense foods.

    Some people create rules for themselves that aren't necessary, but do work for them. More power to them, but if they present it on these discussion boards without that full disclosure and qualification, then they can expect getting taken to task.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    I have a carby snack an hour before bed like two pieces of toast with butter or a 120 calorie yogurt with a little drizzled honey or 8 ounces of unsweetened apple sauce.
  • 88meli88
    88meli88 Posts: 238 Member
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    After I put my kids to sleep, it is finally quiet and time for myself and I LOVE snacking during that time....Now that I am losing weight, it is a greek yogurt, a piece of fruit or if I have already reached my calorie limit, I sip on strong ginger tea from fresh ginger..... This after dinner snacking is what got me into trouble int he first place, raiding the kids nutella, chocolate, or cookies and putting away many 100s of calories after dinner. I thought doing away with it was too hard and I might fail, so I budget for it and I go for these healthy options.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    I typically eat half my calories or more between 10 PM and midnight. I like to eat when it's quiet and the day's tasks are done. I manage my budget carefully to give me this 1000+ kcal because I look forward to it every day.

    Usually have a microbrew or 2, a cheese omelette, greek yogurt with fruit and cereal, and maybe some ice cream or other dessert.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    My dinner time varies anywhere between 6 & 9 pm. I'd guess that I also eat anywhere from 1000 to 1500 cals for dinner. Sometimes I need a snack afterwards & have been known to eat & be asleep within 10 minutes.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    wandererlust wrote: »
    So I actually have a few questions I would like opinions on...

    What are your dinner staples? (How large of a meal do you eat?)
    Do you snack after dinner? (What?)
    If you have a cutoff time of food before bed, when is it?

    I am trying to get away from snacking at night, mostly because I think I do it solely out of habit while winding down. What do you do? If you're a snacker, how do you handle that or get yourself to knock it off! Tips are very much appreciated...

    My dinners are typically around 400 calories, and the bulk of my veggies are in there so it's probably the largest volume meal I eat.

    By the end of the day I don't usually have a lot of calories left for snacking, but if I do I like chips, cookies, popcorn. I almost always have a beer at the end of the day. I think I would really feel deprived without that.

    My cutoff time for food is after I brush my teeth... so 15 minutes before bed? lol

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