No Eating After 7pm

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  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    My sister has lost 50lbs within the last year, with her 'only' change being not eating after 7pm. I can tell you for a fact that she eats less than she used to (not cramming her face) and is making a few better food choices. In the evenings we are usually winding down from our day and sometimes I get the munchies for something sweet. Not eating after 7pm could save me 500-1500 calories a week.
    What do you think of not eating 3 hours before bedtime? Is a calorie a calorie no matter when it is consumed? Or does eating before turning in for the night become stored fat/energy?

    I don't finish my pre-dinner workout until after 7:00 so for me, it wouldn't work. But I think this can be a very good idea for those that eat dinner early and then snack until bedtime.
  • thedukester
    thedukester Posts: 1 Member
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    I've been doing it since Feb....I do make exceptions, such as every Friday....between Feb & May, I lost 30 lbs.- I also started walking, cut out white bread, & pasta....in May I found this site, lost another 17----(I don't eat after 7) unless I have a cocktail or two...then it's usually a salad (if I'm out) I'm a firm believer in it. Oh yes, this is my first post. It's a topic that I believe in.

    I started in Feb at 230 lbs, & now have reached my goal of 185 lbs, going as low as 183 lbs....not really interested in losing any more....
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
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    It makes no difference when you eat your daily calories. But if you find yourself over-eating after a certain time, then it is best to try and curb that by not eating at that time. Do what works for you. Just realize that eating after a certain time in and of itself is not the reason for weight gain. It's the extra calories consumed after that time for whatever reason that causes people to gain weight.
  • rwd5046
    rwd5046 Posts: 302
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    A calorie is a calorie no matter when it's consumed. The eating after 7pm thought has more to do with digestion than anything. Eating late does not give the body a chance to properly digest the food consumed resulting in heartburn for a lot of people. I agree with Erin that you dont burn as many calories while sleeping and food in that's high in claories and such don't get a chance to burn off. But your body does still burn calories even while you sleep. A cut off time is also good for tracking the number of calories you take in during a 24 hour period. Stopping the intake at a certain time each day makes the tracking easier and yes counting calories does make a difference.
  • alleyag
    alleyag Posts: 142
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    First off let me tell you eating before bed will not make fat. I eaten every night before bed for a long time. A lot of it depends on what your eating though. Generally people who stop eating at a certain time lose more because they consume less cals on average. Whether you stuff your face at 6 or graze at 9 its not about the time as it is what your doing to your body. Eating simple carbs I.e. sugarss and white breads will cause a spike in insulin to help your body balance out blood sugar excess of calories will result it fat storage even if your under your daily allotment for cals some these cals can still be stored as fat. Now a slow digeting protein like casein the kind found in cottage cheese will digest slowly wig now sudden spike in insulin. This unique protein will fuel your body for p to 7 hours after ingestion while you sleep. Keeping your body in a positive nitrogen balance or muscle maintaining or even building state. When you sleep you are inadvertently fasting. Eating something similar to cottage cheese will help fuel your muscles throughout sleep without making you gain. This is given you have a moderate amount of strength training in your routine. Here's much more to this and I could go on forever. I tried to sum it up the best I could. Do some reading. Knowledge is the key to your success. Stay motivated mfp!
  • juscallmeb
    juscallmeb Posts: 369 Member
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    Meal timing is irrelevant.

    - It doesn't matter if you eat at 7pm, 10pm, 11pm, 2am, etc.
    - You also don't have to eat every 2-3 hours.
    - You don't have to eat 5-6 or 7 meals a day.

    People don't magically lose more weight because they don't eat after a certain time.

    They lose weight because they are eating a calorie deficit under their maintenance, and they continue to lose weight through plateau's by hitting their macros every day.

    Are we STILL debating this fact?

    I didn't think this was a debate.. just thought the OP was asking some good questions.

    It's been a debate that has been broken for the past several weeks.

    Listen very close folks:

    Unless you have hypothyroidism or are diabetic, it is simply about calories in versus calories out. I have said this time after time after time again.

    It's Calories you CONSUME in your body in a 24 hour period versus your ENERGY EXPEDENTURE.

    It does NOT matter that you don't eat past 7pm. You can eat if you want to. It makes absolutely no difference.

    Do you REALLY think that if you eat a calorie SURPLUS but don't eat after 7pm that you will still lose weight?

    meh - guess i wasn't around for ALL of those BIG debates this week.
    my bad.
  • TriumphNow
    TriumphNow Posts: 526 Member
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    Are we STILL debating this fact?

    that seems quite unfair .. just because you've debated this subject before .. new people aren't allowed to? great attitude.

    I was thinking the same thing. Topics are repeated on here all the time because there are new people, everyone does not see every topic posted, etc. If you already read the topic, move on after you see the subject line or post. The negative attitude helps no one.
  • QueenT24
    QueenT24 Posts: 15
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    I have been down this road before and not eating past 7 has really helped me out. I got such excellent results, I am going back to it again. It is tough, but it is best for your body. After about 2 weeks, you will get used to it. Although there are certain functions your body is supposed to perform with sufficient amount of sleep, storing food as fat is not one of them.

    "Diet and Exercise Myth #9. Eating late at night will make you gain weight.

    False. “There are no ‘magic’ hours,” Bender says. “We associate late-night eating with weight gain because we usually consume more calories at night. We do this because we usually deprive our bodies of adequate calories the first half of the day. Start the day out with breakfast and eat every 3-4 hours. Keep lunch the same size as dinner, and you will be less likely to over-indulge at night, yet you can enjoy a small late-night snack without the fear of it sticking to your middle.”"
    -http://seniorliving.about.com/od/exercisefitnes1/a/diet_exercise.htm (link for diet and exercise info)

    http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm (this link discusses why sleep is so important to your body)

    So, from my experience, eating before seven really helps and if have to eat after that, make a smoothie or drink some light juice. Good luck!!
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    Int J Eat Disord. 2008 Jul;41(5):411-8.
    Exploring the typology of night eating syndrome.
    Striegel-Moore RH, Franko DL, Thompson D, Affenito S, May A, Kraemer HC.
    SourceDepartment of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, USA. rstriegel@wesleyan.edu

    Abstract
    OBJECTIVE: There is an ongoing debate about the definitions and clinical significance of night eating syndrome (NES). This study explored potential subtypes based on night eating patterns and features reported to be associated, with NES in a representative community sample of 8,250 individuals aged 15-39 years.

    METHOD: Latent class analysis was used to identify NES subtypes among 2,068 participants who reported night eating behavior.

    RESULTS: A four-class solution was judged best. Two classes appear to characterize individuals who eat very late or eat a large proportion of their daily intake after 7 pm, and two other classes are characterized by high rates of depressive symptoms. Results do not support an association between night eating and obesity in young adults. Late night eating is associated with high caloric intake, high sodium intake, and low protein intake.

    CONCLUSION: Evidence supports the validity of a definition of NES based on eating very late at night.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18306340
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    I've been doing it since Feb....I do make exceptions, such as every Friday....between Feb & May, I lost 30 lbs.- I also started walking, cut out white bread, & pasta....in May I found this site, lost another 17----(I don't eat after 7) unless I have a cocktail or two...then it's usually a salad (if I'm out) I'm a firm believer in it. Oh yes, this is my first post. It's a topic that I believe in.

    I started in Feb at 230 lbs, & now have reached my goal of 185 lbs, going as low as 183 lbs....not really interested in losing any more....

    Good Job Bro.
  • FoxCarter
    FoxCarter Posts: 127 Member
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    Do you REALLY think that if you eat a calorie SURPLUS but don't eat after 7pm that you will still lose weight?

    Please let me note that I said nothing about a calorie surplus in my original post. I can do math and know that Calories In - Energy Out = Weight Gain/Loss. No big surprise there. Thanks for the heartfelt clarification. I will have to do more research on Micro/Macro nutrients to reach your information level.

    In summary: I feel pretty confident that restricting eating after 7pm makes you change your habits. For those that are inclined to snack on sweet/salty goodies, this a habit that will cut their calories.
  • ONCEALWAYS
    ONCEALWAYS Posts: 6 Member
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    Calories in calories out that is the key. I think that being mindful of what you are eating is also key. I think the decision in not eating after a certian time encourages mindfulness. For example, if you are like me and mindless eating tends to start at 8 but I decide that I'm not going to eat anything after 8 that's FEWER CALORIES ... and those mindless calories are probably excess calories.

    So stay in your calorie range, or on program for whatever you are following..... calories in calories out. If not eating after a certian time encourages mindfull eating then more power to you.
  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
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    One thing to note here is that while there is no metabolic effect to eating after 7pm, for some there may be habits and eating late is overly tempting and could cause a binge.

    So, I could see where there could be psychological reasons not to do it but metabolically there is no difference.
  • julsofdenial
    julsofdenial Posts: 225 Member
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    I generally try not to eat late. But my hubby doesn't get home until 7 and sometimes we don't end up eating until past 8. Then if I am hungry at 10 or 11, I eat something like a cheese stick or some almonds to tide me over.

    I usually don't get to eat breakfast until 9:30 or 10 AM, so if I went from 7pm to 10am that would be a long fast!

    I don't worry too much about timing... i just stay within my goals. If I am hungry, I eat something sensible.
  • FoxCarter
    FoxCarter Posts: 127 Member
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    So, I could see where there could be psychological reasons not to do it but metabolically there is no difference.

    Thanks for the succinct explanation. Much appreciated :-)

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