Eating before bed

theron12
theron12 Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have heard that you should not be eating so many hours before you go to bed. Would this be bad for a person even if they are counting calories? The way I work 5pm-5am by the time I get off if I were to go to the gym I would make it there for about 5:30pm. Say I work out for 30mins then leave to go home. I would get home say 6:15pm. I usually go to bed no later than 9:30pm since I have to get up at 4:00am for work. So once I make it home & take about 20mintues or so to prepare something to eat for dinner & eat it would probably be around 7pm. Is this (2hrs) a long enough gap between eating & bed? Also why do they say try not to eat before bed? Or why do they say try not to eat at night?

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited June 2017
    Don't eat after a certain time or so or so long before bed are redundant if you count calories.

    ETA: It's not necessary, but it can be effective. Eating less means restricting food intake. Good personal eating rules makes restricting food bearable. Choose your eating strategies wisely.
  • missh1967
    missh1967 Posts: 661 Member
    It doesn't matter (unless you have digestion problems when eating too close to bedtime). As long as you stay in a deficit for the 24-hour period. I work night shift 5 nights a week, so 6-7 nights a week most of my calorie intake is in the middle of the night. I always eat before bedtime mid-morning.
  • mikelombardo078
    mikelombardo078 Posts: 17 Member
    The only thing it affects is weight fluctuations at least for me. When I eat let's say right before bed,I can weigh 2 maybe 3 lbs more than the day before. It's weird but still lose actual weight in the long run.
  • MrStabbems
    MrStabbems Posts: 3,110 Member
    theron12 wrote: »
    I have heard that you should not be eating so many hours before you go to bed. Would this be bad for a person even if they are counting calories? The way I work 5pm-5am by the time I get off if I were to go to the gym I would make it there for about 5:30pm. Say I work out for 30mins then leave to go home. I would get home say 6:15pm. I usually go to bed no later than 9:30pm since I have to get up at 4:00am for work. So once I make it home & take about 20mintues or so to prepare something to eat for dinner & eat it would probably be around 7pm. Is this (2hrs) a long enough gap between eating & bed? Also why do they say try not to eat before bed? Or why do they say try not to eat at night?

    It's fine, 2 hours is plenty of time. If you're that worried about it have a low-ish carb meal with complex carbs in stead of the usual.

    The idea behind the theory is that you're body is doing less activity and therefore uses less energy/calories so anything your body is digesting is not going to be used and so stored as fat. Its debatable. To be honest if what your doing now is working for you then keep doing it.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited June 2017
    It doesn't matter - not eating at night is recommended to people who may mindlessly snack after dinner, meaning they'd consume more calories. If you're logging everything, it's not an issue.

    I eat most of my food between 730-930,and go to bed anytime from 10-11 normally. I've had no issues losing weight!
  • ldwatene
    ldwatene Posts: 150 Member
    I'm asleep by midnight and have eaten my 5th or 6th meal for the day at 9pm without fail since January. Total loss so far is 12kg so I think its safe to say it doesn't matter. In saying that I hit the gym an hour after I wake up 5 days a week so not sure if that makes a difference.
  • kendallvon
    kendallvon Posts: 170 Member
    ruqayyahsmum wrote: »
    Ive lost 143lb and sometimes ill eat while im in bed in the middle of the night lol

    I've lost 172 and do the same thing! I really don't think it matters.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    The only time I stop eating relatively early in the evening is Saturday night. But that's just because my weekly weigh-in is first thing Sunday morning, and I can't quite convince myself that the scales are likely to show the same result, whether I stop eating at 8pm or 1am the nigh before.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    no, as long as you are withing your calorie limit, you are fine. I tend not to eat right before bed because of weird dreams!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    It doesn't matter what time you eat as long as you stay within your calorie allowance.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I frequently eat IN bed... if it doesn't disturb your sleep (which it obviously does not for me) it's absolutely fine.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    Eating before bed shouldn't be an issue as long as you count the calories for the day.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    It doesn't matter one bit unless ypu have a medical reason. Eating before bed, and oftentimes in bed, keeps me from raiding the fridge in the middle of the night.
  • CiaIgle
    CiaIgle Posts: 72 Member
    During my journey to lose 27 kgs (now in maintenance), I use to have an ice cream before going to bed in I had remaining calories. Most of the times around 11 pm.

    So it does not matter when do you eat your calories (or even how) as far as the CiCo rule applies.
  • kms234
    kms234 Posts: 132 Member
    From a high level perspective, time of day doesn't matter at all as long as you are staying within your calorie goals. You'll have to figure out what works best for you.

    For me, I cannot eat 2-3 hours before bed because it disrupts my sleep. I find that IF helps me stay within my calorie goals easier so that's what I do. It's all trial and error :)
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
    It doesn't matter when you eat. Your body doesn't know what time it is.. only you do. I have a long day and a long night and sometimes it's super late before I eat dinner. I stuff my face and go right to sleep, and I sleep like a baby :smile:
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I frequently have my last 300-400 calories in bed.
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    ruqayyahsmum wrote: »
    Ive lost 143lb and sometimes ill eat while im in bed in the middle of the night lol

    Same, down a little over 130lbs and I save calories so I can eat before bed. I can not sleep on an empty stomach. I've been eating about 300 calories immediately before bed for over a year now, including carbs.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    In my experience it doesn't make a difference what times you eat
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    When everyone (Oprah, for example) started telling us all not to eat at night, it was really for behavioral reasons. People who ate a reasonable, healthy diet all day long sat in front of the t.v. for an hour or two at night and consumed hundreds or thousands of calories without realizing it by mindlessly snacking on chips or ice cream or whatever.

    Therefore, the latest diet advice several years ago became, "Don't eat at night."

    I like a small snack before bed. It helps me sleep better and longer. If I go to bed hungry, I wake up in the middle of the night starved. If I eat too much before bed, I'm uncomfortable and can't sleep or have weird dreams.

    I say do whatever makes you feel the best and sleep the best.
  • ruqayyahsmum
    ruqayyahsmum Posts: 1,513 Member
    kendallvon wrote: »
    ruqayyahsmum wrote: »
    Ive lost 143lb and sometimes ill eat while im in bed in the middle of the night lol

    I've lost 172 and do the same thing! I really don't think it matters.

    It sure doesnt :)
    So long as were all in a deficit the loss will be there no matter the timings :)
  • tdmarion40
    tdmarion40 Posts: 14 Member
    I usually have some sort of snack late at night..maybe a cup of watermelon, or a small portion of unsweetened applesauce or laughing cow cheese...nothing big but i do snack at night...lot better than what i used to snack on at night lol
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    9:30 and I just finished dessert. I'll probably be in bed by 10:30 because my sleep schedule Friday-Sunday is awful and I use Monday night/Tuesday morning to catch up.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Mrs was singing, "You can eat crackers in my bed anytime".

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