Eating after 6pm?

2

Replies

  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    Myth!
    Eat when you want.
  • peterbuller8
    peterbuller8 Posts: 155 Member
    I work nights so everything i eat is after 6pm
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Another thing to think about when you hear these time limits is this ...

    Who's 6 pm?

    I'm in Australia, on the east side. It will be 6 pm here in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Is that when we should all stop eating? What time will it be where you are in 1 hour and 45 minutes?

    Or should we use the Greenwich timeline? Or the International Dateline?

    What happens when Daylight Savings comes or goes? Do you need to stop eating at 5 pm for half the year ... or 7 pm?

    What happens when you travel? Do you go by your home time zone ... or the one you travel to?

    Lol i always laugh at this point. As if your body goes" OH MY GOD ITS 6PM MUST SHUT DOWN METABOLISM!" lmao. time of day is a human creation. Your body doesn't give a *kitten* about time its just hungry XD
  • sarko15
    sarko15 Posts: 330 Member
    edited November 2016
    I think the logic of restricting eating after 6pm is a lot of people tend to snack/overeat/binge later in the evening. It could be because you're typically at home so you are relaxing and the fridge is a way too short walk away, whereas during the day you're often out and not necessarily conveniently near snack food. Like, if I'm not careful I can have a bowl of popcorn with cheese while watching a movie and a glass of wine or two and then maybe some chocolate and boom--way over my calorie limit.

    But it's not that eating after 6pm is *bad* inherently, especially if you have self control and don't tend to nighttime binge. I try not to eat after 8 if I can help it, simply because I don't trust myself one bit :)
  • ShammersPink
    ShammersPink Posts: 215 Member
    I have my main meal very late most weekdays because of my partner's job. around 11pm, often. For me, the issue with it is that I get hungry earlier, so need a snack early evening.

    When I've got things under control, like now, I budget for that in my calorie allowance, but it is probably one of the things that led to creeping weight gain in the first place.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Another thing to think about when you hear these time limits is this ...

    Who's 6 pm?

    I'm in Australia, on the east side. It will be 6 pm here in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Is that when we should all stop eating? What time will it be where you are in 1 hour and 45 minutes?

    Or should we use the Greenwich timeline? Or the International Dateline?

    What happens when Daylight Savings comes or goes? Do you need to stop eating at 5 pm for half the year ... or 7 pm?

    What happens when you travel? Do you go by your home time zone ... or the one you travel to?

    Hell yeah, I'd be in trouble. I'm on the west coast of Aus but travelling to the east coast next week. There is a time difference plus daylight saving on the east coast but not at home. If I stop eating at 6pm Sydney time, that's only 3pm in my home time. That's really not going to work for me!
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    Now for most people, coffee after 6 pm, likely a bad idea. Not for calories but for disrupting sleep. (Note: does not apply to people who work late shifts or people with ADHD.)
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I rarely eat after 6 pm, but that's because that's what I'm used to. I did this before weight loss and I do this during weight loss, and I will likely continue doing it after weight loss. It has not magically stop me from reaching 300 pounds because I still ate too much food before 6pm back then. Eat whenever you are used to eating, but if not eating after 6 helps make dieting easier for you then do that. Anything else you might have heard is either useless noise or not significant enough to bother.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    Eat whenever you want, our normal dinner time is 8-9 pm. Midnight is bedtime so plenty of time to digest a bit before lying down to sleep.
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
    That depends on you. For myself it's not so much eating after 6 pm specifically but rather eating too close to bed time. If I am planning on hitting the hay before 9 pm I won't eat after 6 pm. It disturbs my sleep. If I eat near bed time I have horrible nightmares and a restless sleep. Other people can eat before bed and be totally fine.
  • bbturner67
    bbturner67 Posts: 27 Member
    edited November 2016
    Wow, its not a simple as people are making out, as with most things people say are myths there is some truth in it. i.e The advice not to eat too much late in the evenings before sleep. The only thing that really is a myth is the hard and fast 6 pm it depends on your daily routine and the combination of macros (Fat, Protein, Carbohydrates) you are consuming close to sleep. For example, intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and the longest period, without much effort, most people can fast for is likely to be the period leading up to and during sleeping. Say you eat at 8 pm and then later sleep and don't get up til 10 am on a Saturday morning that is a 14 hour fast. Try going 14 hours during you waking hours without eating, that is a nightmare and difficult to do. Another reason eating late might not be a good idea is food consumption affects you blood, liver and muscle glucose levels as well are your hormone levels, the timing of calorie intake and the calories affect is not equal irrespective of the time the calories are consumed.
    In summary it is NOT a myth but then is is no exactly true either, as always the truth is in the middle ground somewhere.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    edited November 2016
    pebble4321 wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Another thing to think about when you hear these time limits is this ...

    Who's 6 pm?

    I'm in Australia, on the east side. It will be 6 pm here in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Is that when we should all stop eating? What time will it be where you are in 1 hour and 45 minutes?

    Or should we use the Greenwich timeline? Or the International Dateline?

    What happens when Daylight Savings comes or goes? Do you need to stop eating at 5 pm for half the year ... or 7 pm?

    What happens when you travel? Do you go by your home time zone ... or the one you travel to?

    Hell yeah, I'd be in trouble. I'm on the west coast of Aus but travelling to the east coast next week. There is a time difference plus daylight saving on the east coast but not at home. If I stop eating at 6pm Sydney time, that's only 3pm in my home time. That's really not going to work for me!

    @pebble4321 say "hi" to the east coast for me. It's somewhere I've always wanted to visit. A friend used to live north of Perth and would send me beautiful photographs of the animals and birds that visited her garden.
  • Raptor2763
    Raptor2763 Posts: 387 Member
    I try to observe the 3-hour rule. That is to say, if I eat at 6:00, the earliest I go to bed is 9:00.
  • Sweets1954
    Sweets1954 Posts: 507 Member
    I think it depends more on your schedule than time of day. Personally I don't like to eat a lot in the evening as then I have trouble sleeping, but then I am up between 5 and 5:30 every morning.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Sweets1954 wrote: »
    I think it depends more on your schedule than time of day. Personally I don't like to eat a lot in the evening as then I have trouble sleeping, but then I am up between 5 and 5:30 every morning.

    It's so interesting how everyone is different. For me, I can't sleep if I don't eat a lot right before bed.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Its a myth. Doesn't matter when we eat, just as long as we stay within our calorie allowance.
  • bbturner67
    bbturner67 Posts: 27 Member
    edited November 2016
    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    Its a myth. Doesn't matter when we eat, just as long as we stay within our calorie allowance.

    Incorrect, it does matter when we eat if we want to optomise weight lose, well being, physical performance etc. There are multiple scientific papers that prove this to be the case.

    The only thing that is a myth is you can't lose weight if you eat just before sleep. When we eat it affects your blood, liver and muscle glucose levels as well are your hormone levels which control your mood and your weight plus just about everything else that goes on in your body so it does matter in that regard.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    I'm never home before 6, usually way later. I never even leave work before 6. I don't know who created this myth who thinks it's at all common or normal to be able to be finished with dinner by 6 pm. Annoys me.

    But that aside, no, makes no difference. I lost all my weight eating dinner at 9 or after most days.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,337 Member
    warcup666 wrote: »
    Awww thank you, that's a relief, well I finished a 13 hour shift at 8 and be time I got home, had a bath was nearly 9 so just had something small. Thanx you for the advice guys x

    Doesn't even have to be something small. It is total calorie, so if you had 1000 left and ate them all before bed, it would over time make no difference to your total weight loss.
  • warcup666
    warcup666 Posts: 99 Member
    Raptor2763 wrote: »
    I try to observe the 3-hour rule. That is to say, if I eat at 6:00, the earliest I go to bed is 9:00.

    Awww I like this!!
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    When you get older, eating in the evening can cause sleep problems -- and drinking beverages in the evening can mean more trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. That's why my mother wouldn't eat after 6pm -- nothing to do with weight loss.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Question has been answered and I hope you realize timing isn't as important as some experts claim. For me, I limit my meals after 6pm but not because I am concerned that calories at that time somehow count as double...but rather because I tend to overeat, and snack for no particular reason late at night. I am not hungry, I just cant stop grabbing food once I get started.
    I can easily control my cravings during the day, but later at night chips, cookies and junk food seems so much more appealing.
  • sy_19440
    sy_19440 Posts: 55 Member
    I avoid eating certain foods late at night just because I don't feel good afterwards but I usually have a snack between 7:30-8pm.
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