We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!
Eating before bed = weight GAIN
Replies
-
snowflake954 wrote: »
I'm talking about your other post--"can't lose weight eating carbs+sugar". Another myth in one day. And I'm sure your mother is lovely and means well.
In the other post, I think I said it in the first sentence too.
I read it in a low carb book.
Maybe I forgot. Apologies if I did.
0 -
Mavrick_RN wrote: »Saddam Hussein was still alive and Twitter was just being born. A lot has changed in 10 years.
Stop living in the past.
This kind of made me laugh. I've been part of this rodeo for over 45 years. Fad diets come and go and come back again. "Avocados are bad because they are all fat." Coconut is evil as well. Don't do this exercise and do more of this one. Oh wait, don't do that one, it's bad for your back. "Eat more to lose more." Corn syrup is bad, according to all the other sugary substance producers. Credible research has improved our understanding of how the human body works, however, it is still evolving. Today's absolutes will be next decade's has beens. It's OK to question past theories, just do some research and determine if new information is out there. Not everything 10, 20 or 30 years old is bunk just like everything now is not set in stone. As one of the older participants on MFP, I enjoy doing the research, I listen to those on here who add beneficial information, if there's something I'm skeptical about I ignore it. As far as eating before bed, I don't do it only because it gives me horrible heartburn.0 -
This kind of made me laugh. I've been part of this rodeo for over 45 years. Fad diets come and go and come back again. "Avocados are bad because they are all fat." Coconut is evil as well. Don't do this exercise and do more of this one. Oh wait, don't do that one, it's bad for your back. "Eat more to lose more." Corn syrup is bad, according to all the other sugary substance producers. Credible research has improved our understanding of how the human body works, however, it is still evolving. Today's absolutes will be next decade's has beens. It's OK to question past theories, just do some research and determine if new information is out there. Not everything 10, 20 or 30 years old is bunk just like everything now is not set in stone. As one of the older participants on MFP, I enjoy doing the research, I listen to those on here who add beneficial information, if there's something I'm skeptical about I ignore it. As far as eating before bed, I don't do it only because it gives me horrible heartburn.
Weren't eggs still "bad" 10 years ago too? Now eggs are "good" again.
I save 2/3rds of my calories for dinner because that works for me. I am good at practicing control during the day. If I try to spread them out more I just end up eating more overall because I still want to eat the same amount for dinner. 10 years ago maybe they would have called this "disordered eating". But now it can be "intermittent fasting".0 -
Microscopes wrote: »My wonderful mother keeps telling me this thing she heard on Oprah 10 years ago. Apparently a doctor on that show said if you eat right before bed, all those calories will go towards fat.
Is there any truth to this?
Tell your Mom that 14 years ago Oprah swore off "white stuff" (page 2) but now she is pushing Weight Watchers and "I have bread every day."0 -
NO.0
-
I haven't eaten a proper breakfast in years because I prefer a 10pm meal before bed, eat when you want.0
-
No. I probably saw the same Oprah 10 years ago because that's what I always thought! So i would always try to go to bed hungry, which would send me into a binge.
After coming to the mfp forums and realizing it doesn't matter when you eat, 10 pounds figuratively melted off me. It was so wonderful.0 -
I don't think it matters what time you eat calorie/weight gain-wise, but for me, personally, if I eat right before bed, I wake up feeling famished in the morning and will devour anything in sight...so I try to not eat anything large within a couple hours of going to bed.0
-
I find that I slim down if I stop eating at 7pm and don't eat until 7am consistently (or 8pm to 8am etc), but that helps my body digest which is something I struggle with.0
-
For me, I can't eat too soon before bed because it screws with my sleep patterns. But that's not a weight loss thing. That's just a me thing. Oops, it's 8pm, can't have anything to eat now, or I won't sleep for hours.0
-
There is a little truth to it, but it's almost certainly overstated. Basically, your body continually has needs for the macro-nutrients. During the day it may need more calories for instance, and at night it might need fewer, but then maybe more protein depending on what you did that day. If you eat a lot more calories at night than your body needs it will tend to store those, but when you average it out over an entire day or a week, we're talking about very small amounts of weight gain...like ounces. But as a general rule of thumb, you should eat more when you're more active, and less when you're less active. That sounds crazy-obvious to me, but this ain't rocket surgery. lol0
-
Hadabetter wrote: »There is a little truth to it, but it's almost certainly overstated. Basically, your body continually has needs for the macro-nutrients. During the day it may need more calories for instance, and at night it might need fewer, but then maybe more protein depending on what you did that day. If you eat a lot more calories at night than your body needs it will tend to store those, but when you average it out over an entire day or a week, we're talking about very small amounts of weight gain...like ounces. But as a general rule of thumb, you should eat more when you're more active, and less when you're less active. That sounds crazy-obvious to me, but this ain't rocket surgery. lol
There is no net fat storage while in a caloric deficit, regardless of when you eat. The body constantly ebbs and flows between anabolism and catabolism, but it's a continuous, ongoing loop. There's no "midnight reset" or 24-hour cycle in which the body stops at some set hour, tallies calories and decides whether or not to store fat. If you eat more in the evening and less in the morning, the net effect is the exact same. Meal timing is irrelevant.0 -
brynnaewilliams wrote: »So I don't quite understand the goals here . Are you supposed to eat less then the goal? If so why is it a goal ?
Eat your goal, that has your deficit built in.0 -
Microscopes wrote: »
Ok.
I guess the "stop living in the past" part sounded a little harsh to me. Didn't sound jokey.
But it's alright.
How does something typed sound like anything? This is the issue so many, myself included, have issues on online forums. It seems the tendency is to take things typed in the worst possible way rather than always giving the benefit of the doubt. I found the post in question humorous and tongue in cheek. I can see how someone could take it as sort of harsh, but maybe we would be all much less frustrated and annoyed in online forums if we assumed the best.0 -
I've heard this time and time again.....it's a simple rule I live by though, I don't eat anything within a 3 hour window of my bedtime.....if I'm going to bed at midnight....I won't eat anything after 9 p.m.....back in the day, that was ROUGH, but only because that was my VICE....that bag of potato chips in front of the television set......it's all about self-control
Now on ocassion I do have a protein shake before bed.....but I have found I do really sleep better when I go to bed in a complete "fasted" state.....
My high school science teacher told us the body kinda shuts down when you fall asleep......I never got the urge to research it on my own, but he basically said if you eat before bed, that stuff kinda just settles there.....ever wake up in the morning and have extremely bad breathe? That's what had me believing it......0 -
I've heard this time and time again.....it's a simple rule I live by though, I don't eat anything within a 3 hour window of my bedtime.....if I'm going to bed at midnight....I won't eat anything after 9 p.m.....back in the day, that was ROUGH, but only because that was my VICE....that bag of potato chips in front of the television set......it's all about self-control Now on ocassion I do have a protein shake before bed.....but I have found I do really sleep better when I go to bed in a complete "fasted" state.....
My high school science teacher told us the body kinda shuts down when you fall asleep......I never got the urge to research it on my own, but he basically said if you eat before bed, that stuff kinda just settles there.....ever wake up in the morning and have extremely bad breathe? That's what had me believing it......
That's an old wives' tale that refuses to die. Your metabolism works 24 hours a day. If your metabolism shuts down, you're dead - and waking up dead isn't a good thing.0 -
Relying on information from sources who lack true understanding of how physiology works isn't wise. But it does make for great advertising and endorsement of products to sell.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
0 -
-
That too.
...or sources who intentionally misrepresent how physiology works in order to sell their products.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
0 -
To understand the logic behind the "don't eat after X PM" idea, you need to understand where it comes from. It comes from observations that an 'average' overweight person eats a fair number of calories in evening snacking, and if you stopped snacking in the evenings but kept everything else the same, you would be eating fewer total calories.
If you eat the same total calories (e.g. by calorie counting and setting goals) then it doesn't matter one whit when in the day you eat them. If stopping eating earlier helps you eat fewer total calories, then it's a useful trick for you.
In all cases, the weight loss is from the calorie deficit, this is one trick that may help some people create a deficit without counting calories. Of course if you do count calories, you can create the deficit with whatever eating pattern you prefer.0 -
brynnaewilliams wrote: »So I don't quite understand the goals here . Are you supposed to eat less then the goal? If so why is it a goal ?
When you were setting up your account, you set up goals designed to lose, gain or maintain weight http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided That calorie amount, if your intent is to lose, is what you should eat daily to lose and keep that good old metabolic engine purring along! If you go back to that same area within MFP after you've reached your weight goal, you can change to a maintenance model. You'll have to amend things here and there for your personal engine, but this is a good approach.0 -
brynnaewilliams wrote: »So I don't quite understand the goals here . Are you supposed to eat less then the goal? If so why is it a goal ?
This got lots of replies. Am I the only one who took it as sarcasm?0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 394.4K Introduce Yourself
- 44K Getting Started
- 260.5K Health and Weight Loss
- 176.1K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 444 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 16 News and Announcements
- 934 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.8K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions