Most calories in the evening? Ok?

bluespark278
bluespark278 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I work 12 hours shifts at a care home. I have a quick bowl of porridge at 10, lunch (sandwhich fruit etc) at 1/2pm and then don’t get in until 8.30 at night... little time to eat means I end up with about 700 calories left by dinner (on a 1200 calorie diet) and honestly I struggle to eat them all.

Am I safe eating most of my calories at dinner time? Weight loss is slower than normal,. I feel like I should be spacing them out more, but what I eat at work is perfect for me. Hate eating so late at night but needs must!

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    When I was losing weight, I ate most of my calories in the evening (sometimes as many as 700-800 at a time) and it worked out fine for me. You don't have to "space out" to lose weight.

    As long as it doesn't keep you from sleeping (some people find they don't sleep well on a full stomach), it should be fine.

    When you say "slower than normal," do you mean less than you expect?
  • Fitnessgirl0913
    Fitnessgirl0913 Posts: 481 Member
    It doesn't matter when you eat your calories, as long as you do not eat too many or too few. As for the weight loss being slower, what time of day are you weighing? If you are eating most of your calories at night then weighing at 8:00 pm you have a lot more food in your system that will cause a high number of the scale. I would weigh in the morning, first things before you eat and after you use the bathroom.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    As long as you stay in a calorie deficit it doesn't matter when you consume your calories.
  • MilesAddie
    MilesAddie Posts: 166 Member
    I've posted this before so sorry if I'm repeating myself but...

    I'm a late eater. Always been that way. Like a lot of people, when I tried to lose weight in the past I had read that eating late will sabotage weight loss...so I tried eating a big breakfast, eating a large dinner, eating small meals throughout the day, more protein, mindfulness, or some combination of all of them. Didn't matter. I always get hungry late. And I would end up ditching the diet or my fitness plan as a result of not sleeping or being hungry.

    This time around, I decided to plan my calories that way. I save 1/4 of my calories for after dinner. Now I never go to bed hungry and sleep great, giving me plenty of energy for morning workouts.

    It's working. I'm down 31 pounds in 105 days. Don't believe the fitness magazine hype - eat whenever you want - just don't go over your calories.
  • bluespark278
    bluespark278 Posts: 9 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    When I was losing weight, I ate most of my calories in the evening (sometimes as many as 700-800 at a time) and it worked out fine for me. You don't have to "space out" to lose weight.

    As long as it doesn't keep you from sleeping (some people find they don't sleep well on a full stomach), it should be fine.

    When you say "slower than normal," do you mean less than you expect?

    Good to know :) well, I used MFP before and had great success. For some reason this time I’m 2 weeks in and lost only 2lb... and I known I’ve e been strict. Everything weighed etc. Maybe now I’m 30 it’s hitting hard
  • bluespark278
    bluespark278 Posts: 9 Member
    Fitnessgirl0913 wrote: »
    It doesn't matter when you eat your calories, as long as you do not eat too many or too few. As for the weight loss being slower, what time of day are you weighing? If you are eating most of your calories at night then weighing at 8:00 pm you have a lot more food in your system that will cause a high number of the scale. I would weigh in the morning, first things before you eat and after you use the bathroom.

    Yeah I always weigh in the morning, just before my shower with no clothes. I’m thinking it’s just slower than last time for whatever reason ... but I’ll go with it! Thanks for the help!

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    bluespark278 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    When I was losing weight, I ate most of my calories in the evening (sometimes as many as 700-800 at a time) and it worked out fine for me. You don't have to "space out" to lose weight.

    As long as it doesn't keep you from sleeping (some people find they don't sleep well on a full stomach), it should be fine.

    When you say "slower than normal," do you mean less than you expect?

    Good to know :) well, I used MFP before and had great success. For some reason this time I’m 2 weeks in and lost only 2lb... and I known I’ve e been strict. Everything weighed etc. Maybe now I’m 30 it’s hitting hard

    That's an average of one pound a week -- I would consider that to be good! What is your goal set at?
  • bluespark278
    bluespark278 Posts: 9 Member
    MilesAddie wrote: »
    I've posted this before so sorry if I'm repeating myself but...

    I'm a late eater. Always been that way. Like a lot of people, when I tried to lose weight in the past I had read that eating late will sabotage weight loss...so I tried eating a big breakfast, eating a large dinner, eating small meals throughout the day, more protein, mindfulness, or some combination of all of them. Didn't matter. I always get hungry late. And I would end up ditching the diet or my fitness plan as a result of not sleeping or being hungry.

    This time around, I decided to plan my calories that way. I save 1/4 of my calories for after dinner. Now I never go to bed hungry and sleep great, giving me plenty of energy for morning workouts.

    It's working. I'm down 31 pounds in 105 days. Don't believe the fitness magazine hype - eat whenever you want - just don't go over your calories.

    Yes! See I’ve read the eating late thing too. Which is why I wondered if I was messing myself up. Perhaps not, I mean I understand the calorie deficit thing.. it was just sitting in the back of my mind!
    Great news and wow.. 31lbs.. go you! Well done.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    bluespark278 wrote: »
    MilesAddie wrote: »
    I've posted this before so sorry if I'm repeating myself but...

    I'm a late eater. Always been that way. Like a lot of people, when I tried to lose weight in the past I had read that eating late will sabotage weight loss...so I tried eating a big breakfast, eating a large dinner, eating small meals throughout the day, more protein, mindfulness, or some combination of all of them. Didn't matter. I always get hungry late. And I would end up ditching the diet or my fitness plan as a result of not sleeping or being hungry.

    This time around, I decided to plan my calories that way. I save 1/4 of my calories for after dinner. Now I never go to bed hungry and sleep great, giving me plenty of energy for morning workouts.

    It's working. I'm down 31 pounds in 105 days. Don't believe the fitness magazine hype - eat whenever you want - just don't go over your calories.

    Yes! See I’ve read the eating late thing too. Which is why I wondered if I was messing myself up. Perhaps not, I mean I understand the calorie deficit thing.. it was just sitting in the back of my mind!
    Great news and wow.. 31lbs.. go you! Well done.

    Yes, thumbs up, @MilesAddie!

    Posts like this explain why so many of us here on MFP are vigilant about smacking down mythology and bro-science, and why we encourage people to understand how the process works.

    I had a similar experience - don't eat in the evenings! And that would last for a few weeks, until I had a bad day, or was extra tired and hungry, and the whole thing went out the window. Once I really understood how it worked, I didn't need silly rules of thumb like that.
  • tess5036
    tess5036 Posts: 942 Member
    I eat most late as well. I think everyone is different and it's best to do what suits you.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    bluespark278 wrote: »
    So I work 12 hours shifts at a care home. I have a quick bowl of porridge at 10, lunch (sandwhich fruit etc) at 1/2pm and then don’t get in until 8.30 at night... little time to eat means I end up with about 700 calories left by dinner (on a 1200 calorie diet) and honestly I struggle to eat them all.

    Am I safe eating most of my calories at dinner time? Weight loss is slower than normal,. I feel like I should be spacing them out more, but what I eat at work is perfect for me. Hate eating so late at night but needs must!

    It's all about eating at a deficit. Timing doesn't matter as much unless you're a bodybuilder and need to eat protein at certain intervals. I have a hard time eating throughout the day because I prioritize eating very low on my To Do List and make sure all my errands are done before I sit down to eat. Therefore, most of the time I'm eating dinner + after dinner snack at 8-11PM. Usually 600+ calories are consumed in this time frame. It doesn't affect my weight negatively whatsoever. Eat when you're hungry. If that's late at night, then so be it.

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