How to stick to cutoff time when eating at night?
ElleHeart22
Posts: 27 Member
Honestly, I'm the worst at this. I eat late at night when I shouldn't.. it doesn't seem to be affecting me, but everyone recommends a cut off time. What time do you stop( And how do you stick to it?
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Replies
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11.59pm, If I eat after that it is the next day.
Meal timing has no effect on weight loss, eat any time you like.10 -
I stop once I've run out of calories. I plan to eat most of my calories late as this is what works for me. I train in the evening and have dinner plus dessert (from about 7:30/8 to 9:30/10)
There is nothing wrong with eating late, unless it causes you issues with sleep, if you stick to your calorie goal.6 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »I stop once I've run out of calories. I plan to eat most of my calories late as this is what works for me. I train in the evening and have dinner plus dessert (from about 7:30/8 to 9:30/10)
There is nothing wrong with eating late, unless it causes you issues with sleep, if you stick to your calorie goal.
This^^^0 -
Caloriewise eating late is no problem. Lifestyle wise though, if you are trying to improve your sleep eating late can cause heartburn, or turn into a habit where yoy wake up to eat, which might screw up your sleep schedule. Since a bunch of studies now are saying better sleep also helps keep hunger and stuff in check, not to mention all the other benefits of a full nights sleep, it's best to avoud habits that disturb that. I personally need to eat something light right before bed, otherwise I can't fall asleep. Lately I've started adding a metamucil drink and a gin-gin (chewy ginger candy) just to convince my stomach that yes, there really is no reason to wake up at 2:30 am to eat. It seems to be working, and I'm sleeping through till my alarm now.0
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I don't have a cutoff time, but I'm snuggled up in bed by 7:30-8pm every night. I watch tv in there instead of out in the living room where I'm way more prone to snacking. Once I'm in bed i don't think about food.2
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I don't eat anything after 6pm and I don't eat again until 10am (Intermittent Fasting). You have to be disciplined and possess a high level of willpower.3
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Educate yourself. "Shouldn't" and "everyone recommends" - two signs that you need to start thinking for yourself. I'm saying it like this because I've been guilty of this myself, I still am, we are all doing it all the time without knowing it. (If we knew, we would have done something about it.)
To lose weight, you need to eat less. If you are counting calories - and you are losing weight - you are eating less. If you don't count calories but need to eat less, you need another strategy to limit food intake. Setting a cutoff time can be effective. But you still need to eat less. If you eat more earlier in the day instead, it won't work.
I don't have a cutoff time in itself, but I mostly eat three meals per day, mostly 3-4 hours apart, and I don't eat or drink anything after I brush my teeth for the night, and I like to stop eating and drinking at least two hours before I go to bed, and use the bathroom immediately before, so that my bladder is empty and doesn't disturb my sleep. This creates a natural but not time-specific cutoff that is very easy for me to adhere to, so I stick to it, easily.5 -
DresdenSinn wrote: »I don't eat anything after 6pm and I don't eat again until 10am (Intermittent Fasting). You have to be disciplined and possess a high level of willpower.
Great that that works for you.
It gives no added benefit for weight loss though. You can spread your calories out over the full 24 hours if you like and get the same results.4 -
No you don't. I am doing this and it takes me no willpower at all. If it does for you, maybe it's not for you?DresdenSinn wrote: »I don't eat anything after 6pm and I don't eat again until 10am (Intermittent Fasting). You have to be disciplined and possess a high level of willpower.3 -
My last meal (a casein shake plus either a small amount of blueberries or nuts if I need to top up my macros) is taken just before I go upstairs to bed.
This works absolutely fine for me and has not stalled or prevented weight loss. It also stops me feeling starving in the morning so I don't feel tempted to over indulge at breakfast.0 -
RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »DresdenSinn wrote: »I don't eat anything after 6pm and I don't eat again until 10am (Intermittent Fasting). You have to be disciplined and possess a high level of willpower.
Great that that works for you.
It gives no added benefit for weight loss though. You can spread your calories out over the full 24 hours if you like and get the same results.
Yes, I've tried different strategies and found that 3 larger meals over 8hrs are more satiating than 5/6 smaller meals spread over 12-16hrs which usually led to overeating.
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I eat my last food at approx. 10pm when in bed (small bowl of cereal) - no issues with losing weight - there is newer research that potential indicates maintenance/increase of lean muscle mass with people who eat a carb snack before bed vs. those who cut off eating at a certain time - but I haven't had a chance to read the full article1
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This could be a dumb question. I was always told not to go to bed immediately after having dinner. I need to give atleast couple of hours between dinner and bed time to not gain weight. it is not true?0
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GetFitForAJ wrote: »This could be a dumb question. I was always told not to go to bed immediately after having dinner. I need to give atleast couple of hours between dinner and bed time to not gain weight. it is not true?
No. Not true at all2 -
GetFitForAJ wrote: »This could be a dumb question. I was always told not to go to bed immediately after having dinner. I need to give atleast couple of hours between dinner and bed time to not gain weight. it is not true?
It's not true. Think about it from a view point that your body is your car. Does it matter what time you filled the engine?
It only matters that you have enough fuel to drive from a-b. Not enough fuel and you can break down, too much fuel and you are sluggish and get less miles to the gallon.0 -
If you're not having problems sticking to your calories, you don't have to have a cutoff time.
When I'm trying to keep to a certain window of eating, I brush my teeth after the last thing I intend to eat and only drink water the rest of the evening. Keeps me from snacking or grabbing one last glass of wine
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I'll admit that, because my weigh-in is first thing Sunday morning, I try to finish my daily calories a little earlier on Saturday evening. Just give my body a tiny bit longer to digest the food.
...Because 0.2 lbs lower is oh so very important. But hey, even if it's psychological, it works. Otherwise, timing is nothing.1 -
I don't put s time limit on when I eat or don't.
The only thing I try to keep constant is my protien intake since it's quite a bit (220-240g).
I've been known to fall asleep early and leave up to 3000 cals on table which takes a few days to catch up, but it's all about dailly average caloric intake.
If your hungry eat more, or eat later in day.0 -
I think this. A cutoff time is good for you if, but only if, it helps you stick to your calories. If you have trouble sticking to a cutoff time, but no truble sticking to your calories when you don't have a cutoff time, you shouldn't have a cutoff time.If you're not having problems sticking to your calories, you don't have to have a cutoff time.
Almost exactly what I do too.When I'm trying to keep to a certain window of eating, I brush my teeth after the last thing I intend to eat and only drink water the rest of the evening. Keeps me from snacking or grabbing one last glass of wine1 -
Wow! Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate it.
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For me I only eat at the table. If it's late at night and I'm starving I'll get a small low calorie snack and eat it at the table. I sit on the couch to watch tv and one or both dogs get onto my lap, so I can't eat on couch. If it's late and I'm not so much feeling physical hunger as just "I'd really like to eat" then I go ahead and brush my teeth and use mouthwash (so anything will taste funny anyway) and then get ready for bed and go to bed. Of course I get up incredibly early so it's easier for me to cut my nights short.1
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ElleHeart22 wrote: »Honestly, I'm the worst at this. I eat late at night when I shouldn't.. it doesn't seem to be affecting me, but everyone recommends a cut off time. What time do you stop( And how do you stick to it?
There is no magical cutoff time. People use things like "don't eat after X 'oclock" or no carbs in the evening, etc as ways to help create a calorie deficit outside of counting calories...they're simply methods of controlling calories...there's nothing else magical about it.
I eat dinner every night around 8:30 PM...no issues here. I do not eat starches/grains with dinner when I'm cutting weight...but I don't log, and it's just an easy way for me to control calories.1
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