Is it true that eating late at night is bad for weight loss?
Replies
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Cortisol levels fluctuate throughout a 24hr period, and higher cortisol leads to increased production of endogenous glucose and a propensity towards storing extra calories in the form of fat. Though I agree that for weight loss, calorie count is all that matters- in reality, you would also want to be sure that the weight you lose is mainly in the form of fat (as opposed to protein).
Sounds beautiful, doesn't it. Very scientificky.
Can you enlighten me then , since you "agree that for weight loss, calorie count is all that matters", where the missing calories are getting supplied from when you eat at night and where they are supplied from when you're not eating at night?
Cause the only place I know that can supply missing calories is your body.
And your body can either burn up some fat or some lean mass to do so.
So you must be saying that not eating at night is lean mass preserving!
Wow! That is BIG news.
There I thought that eating a mixture of protein and carbs is the best way to enhance or preserve lean mass, and you're saying that the best way is actually to NOT eat at all!
Oh my! All the bros with their post workouts....
You misunderstand. The point being made was that calories consumed in the setting of elevated cortisol levels are more likely to be stored as fat as opposed to a more readily available form of stored energy.
Maintaining a calorie deficit leads to weight loss; but that weight loss can be in the form of either fat or muscle tissue. If you want to do more than simply lose weight (i.e. promote fat metabolism and preserve muscle mass), then you most definitely need to take into account the content AND timing of your meals/snacks.
As for trying to undermine my comment with the snotty "scientificky" retort.. seriously dude?
M.D. here, btw. I'll be more than happy to cite up to date studies from our literature if needed.22 -
If you fly to the other side of the world and/or into a different timezone you don't magically gain weight because of it.
Your body burns energy 24/7.6 -
Fat storage or depletion is a result of a continuous reversible thermodynamic process whose direction and rate (point of equilibrium) depends upon energy in/out of the body. The main point is that the process in continuous (always on), rather than discrete (occurring only in intervals). There is no set daily time after which the body decides that more of the food consumed must be stored as fat. The body keeps doing what it does 24/7.
If you count calories, meal timing doesnt matter. If you dont, meal timing might help reduce total intake.
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Cortisol levels fluctuate throughout a 24hr period, and higher cortisol leads to increased production of endogenous glucose and a propensity towards storing extra calories in the form of fat. Though I agree that for weight loss, calorie count is all that matters- in reality, you would also want to be sure that the weight you lose is mainly in the form of fat (as opposed to protein).
Sounds beautiful, doesn't it. Very scientificky.
Can you enlighten me then , since you "agree that for weight loss, calorie count is all that matters", where the missing calories are getting supplied from when you eat at night and where they are supplied from when you're not eating at night?
Cause the only place I know that can supply missing calories is your body.
And your body can either burn up some fat or some lean mass to do so.
So you must be saying that not eating at night is lean mass preserving!
Wow! That is BIG news.
There I thought that eating a mixture of protein and carbs is the best way to enhance or preserve lean mass, and you're saying that the best way is actually to NOT eat at all!
Oh my! All the bros with their post workouts....
You misunderstand. The point being made was that calories consumed in the setting of elevated cortisol levels are more likely to be stored as fat as opposed to a more readily available form of stored energy.
Maintaining a calorie deficit leads to weight loss; but that weight loss can be in the form of either fat or muscle tissue. If you want to do more than simply lose weight (i.e. promote fat metabolism and preserve muscle mass), then you most definitely need to take into account the content AND timing of your meals/snacks.
As for trying to undermine my comment with the snotty "scientificky" retort.. seriously dude?
M.D. here, btw. I'll be more than happy to cite up to date studies from our literature if needed.
Fat IS your readily available form of stored energy. 2/3 of your energy needs at rest are met by it.6 -
No. I've lost 70 pounds eating most of my calories in the middle of the night because I work the night shift.8
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Can you cite the studies, please?6
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The point being made was that calories consumed in the setting of elevated cortisol levels are more likely to be stored as fat as opposed to a more readily available form of stored energy.
Maintaining a calorie deficit leads to weight loss; but that weight loss can be in the form of either fat or muscle tissue. If you want to do more than simply lose weight (i.e. promote fat metabolism and preserve muscle mass), then you most definitely need to take into account the content AND timing of your meals/snacks.
[....] I'll be more than happy to cite up to date studies from our literature if needed.
How are you measuring muscle tissue change, btw? Most studies I've seen have a hard enough time figuring out fat vs lean mass and good luck on figuring out muscle tissue... but I digress.
(some) things that may determine fat vs lean mass lost in a deficit:
-- achieving and adhering to a caloric deficit in the first place
-- degree of obesity, i.e. relative availability of fat mass vs lean mass
-- consumption of protein
-- size of deficit
-- strength training
-- timing of food in relation to exercise
-- amount of sleep/rest
-- timing of food in relation to waking up and going to bed
Would love to see some studies that discuss the relative impact of all of these in regards to achieving fat loss and the physique we want.6 -
Very enlightening discussion!0
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In addition to the factors others have mentioned, I believe part of the “don’t eat late at night” myth may come from people who weigh themselves at the same time every morning but only sometimes eat late at night. If your last food is at 8 pm, then you sleep, use the restroom, and weigh yourself at 8 am, you’ll probably weigh less than if your last food is at 2 am and you weigh yourself at 8 am. This isn’t because of additional fat gained by eating late at night, but because you’ve got more food still moving through your digestive system. I occasionally have people over for gaming and will snack well into the AM - I’ve learned not to bother weighing myself the next morning because it’s always a pound or three high.9
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Cortisol levels fluctuate throughout a 24hr period, and higher cortisol leads to increased production of endogenous glucose and a propensity towards storing extra calories in the form of fat. Though I agree that for weight loss, calorie count is all that matters- in reality, you would also want to be sure that the weight you lose is mainly in the form of fat (as opposed to protein).
Sounds beautiful, doesn't it. Very scientificky.
Can you enlighten me then , since you "agree that for weight loss, calorie count is all that matters", where the missing calories are getting supplied from when you eat at night and where they are supplied from when you're not eating at night?
Cause the only place I know that can supply missing calories is your body.
And your body can either burn up some fat or some lean mass to do so.
So you must be saying that not eating at night is lean mass preserving!
Wow! That is BIG news.
There I thought that eating a mixture of protein and carbs is the best way to enhance or preserve lean mass, and you're saying that the best way is actually to NOT eat at all!
Oh my! All the bros with their post workouts....
You misunderstand. The point being made was that calories consumed in the setting of elevated cortisol levels are more likely to be stored as fat as opposed to a more readily available form of stored energy.
Maintaining a calorie deficit leads to weight loss; but that weight loss can be in the form of either fat or muscle tissue. If you want to do more than simply lose weight (i.e. promote fat metabolism and preserve muscle mass), then you most definitely need to take into account the content AND timing of your meals/snacks.
As for trying to undermine my comment with the snotty "scientificky" retort.. seriously dude?
M.D. here, btw. I'll be more than happy to cite up to date studies from our literature if needed.
Woah. An MD. No MD ever gave bad weight loss advice, based on the number of people on MFP being put on 800-1000 calorie diets for no reason by their doctor, given pills that make them poop an oil slick by their doctor, sold what basically amounts to MLM garbage with a medical front, etc.13 -
When you consume calories doesn't impact your weight loss. That being said eating right before you sleep may inpact your quality of sleep (just like going to bed hungry may impact your sleep - I think it depends on the person). Getting quality sleep is important to your overall health. If you are sleeping fine with eating late, don't worry about it.5
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Calorie is calorie....The problem is that if you eat late you are not supposed to do exercise (unless you work during the night) so you are not gonna burn that calories like happens with your other meals during the day!18
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Calorie is calorie....The problem is that if you eat late you are not supposed to do exercise (unless you work during the night) so you are not gonna burn that calories like happens with your other meals during the day!
You can exercise whenever you want as well, but that's neither here nor there. Food timing makes no difference for weight loss.4 -
No if doesn't matter, meal timing is irrelevant.3
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Calorie is calorie....The problem is that if you eat late you are not supposed to do exercise (unless you work during the night) so you are not gonna burn that calories like happens with your other meals during the day!
You do realize that your digestive system/metabolism functions 24 hours a day, right?6 -
Calorie is calorie....The problem is that if you eat late you are not supposed to do exercise (unless you work during the night) so you are not gonna burn that calories like happens with your other meals during the day!
And what fuels the body the next morning when you eat less because you ate at night?
Does the body have permanent fat storage systems for any food consumed between 9pm to 6am?
The assumption here on mfp is that OP counts calories and sticks to goal regardless of timing.2 -
So long as you burn those calories so it doesn't lead to a calorie surplus it probably won't. It's possible it could have some kind of effect though. From what I understand your body does most of its regeneration while you sleep, but digesting food also takes up a lot of your body's resources. Wherever the overlap in those resources lies it would seem like something might have to do without. The body is pretty adaptive though. I guess what I'm trying to say here... the short version of it... damned if I know.11
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So long as you burn those calories so it doesn't lead to a calorie surplus it probably won't. It's possible it could have some kind of effect though. From what I understand your body does most of its regeneration while you sleep, but digesting food also takes up a lot of your body's resources. Wherever the overlap in those resources lies it would seem like something might have to do without. The body is pretty adaptive though. I guess what I'm trying to say here... the short version of it... damned if I know.
The body uses what it needs, when it needs it, always.3 -
sure why not1
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sytchequeen wrote: »In lots of Mediterranean countries its normal to eat the main meal late. And obesity isn't the same problem in a lot of them as it is in the UK and USA. It's what you eat, not when you eat.
This. Growing up in the Mediterranean area, dinner was at 8-9pm. I was shocked when I moved to the US and most people have dinner at like 6pm.2 -
your body has so many calories in it...fat and muscle etc...You add in calories from food...Your body then had its calories +food calories...You then go and burn calories exercising....= -calories. Your body being alive =-more calories and you end with either + or - calories than when you started your day. simple.
Simple math. At no point in the most basic simple mathemetical equation does eating late at night stop exercise from burning calories and if your body stopped burning calories being alive...well your dead...
Takeaway...You burn calories constantly...The when and where is non important, How does it take a PHD to know basic math...? What about people on the other side of the planet, If all our bodies run on YOUR time schedule?1 -
So long as you burn those calories so it doesn't lead to a calorie surplus it probably won't. It's possible it could have some kind of effect though. From what I understand your body does most of its regeneration while you sleep, but digesting food also takes up a lot of your body's resources. Wherever the overlap in those resources lies it would seem like something might have to do without. The body is pretty adaptive though. I guess what I'm trying to say here... the short version of it... damned if I know.
@sgtx81 you do realize that even if you don't eat at night your body is still digesting food. The whole digestive process takes a very long time much longer than people expect. It seems the general population lacks basic knowledge on how the body works.3 -
If my doctor told me I have a disease because the bloodwork shows it I'd believe him.
If the same doctor tried to tell me what's wrong with my car just from seeing me pull up into the parking lot, I wouldn't.
Someone can be very smart in one particular thing but know only pop-science from magazines in other things.4 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »witcherkar wrote: »My weight loss doctor has me on a diet of having a protein shake for breakfast and dinner and a meal for lunch. He told me to have it for lunch and not dinner because you move around more during the day and are more likely to burn off some of the calories than later at night. Makes sense to me.
@witcherkar
I do hope you aren't paying good money for such poor advice?
It actually makes no sense at all. Why does it matter if you burn off calories you just ate, or ate yesterday, or weeks ago?
Please do think ahead to when you get to goal weight, building sustainable habits during your weight loss phase really does help the transition. Having two protein shakes instead of meals (they aren't designed as meal replacements anyway...) isn't, I assume, how you intend to eat for life?
Never trust anything a doctor says about nutrition unless they are specialized. They know less than most of the posters on here. We get 1 week of nutrition in medical school and basically all it says is "2000 diet, limit carbs, fat" which is wrong lol. I can't believe yours is specialized and still has no clue. There are too many doctors who aren't up to date with the literature and just say many myths that have perpetuated throughout society over the years because thats what they were once told years ago. We now know all of that isn't true.
You are completely neglecting those who do have an interest on their own, but have no interest in pursuing residency and specialization in. Who, instead, pursue advanced education and training through CME and labs after graduation to gain what the lecturers during the didactic portion of ones training failed to adequately provide. I've known more than one FP/GP who had a personal interest in nutrition to better help his/her clinically obese patients and so pursued the necessary knowledge on their own time and dime.
To say to never trust all doctors unless specialized is utter rabbit turds. Especially considering you just threw one of these alleged esteemed 'only-ones-to-be-trusted' specialized doctors you know nothing about, or the details of the actual patient exchange that occurred, under the bus. Can't recommend highly enough you give consideration to paging through 'The Death of Expertise' before doling out such advice online.
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I mean a lot of people are coming to defense of a doctor that claims that you shouldn’t eat late because it’s harder to burn those calories. If there’s scientific backing to that claim I’m sure we’re all willing to read it and change our minds. Most of us are trying to lose weight here so we don’t really care who says it, if it’s true we just wanna see the proof?3
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singingflutelady wrote: »So long as you burn those calories so it doesn't lead to a calorie surplus it probably won't. It's possible it could have some kind of effect though. From what I understand your body does most of its regeneration while you sleep, but digesting food also takes up a lot of your body's resources. Wherever the overlap in those resources lies it would seem like something might have to do without. The body is pretty adaptive though. I guess what I'm trying to say here... the short version of it... damned if I know.
@sgtx81 you do realize that even if you don't eat at night your body is still digesting food. The whole digestive process takes a very long time much longer than people expect. It seems the general population lacks basic knowledge on how the body works.
Something like 8 hours just for the way through stomach and small intestine.0 -
grinning_chick wrote: »Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »witcherkar wrote: »My weight loss doctor has me on a diet of having a protein shake for breakfast and dinner and a meal for lunch. He told me to have it for lunch and not dinner because you move around more during the day and are more likely to burn off some of the calories than later at night. Makes sense to me.
@witcherkar
I do hope you aren't paying good money for such poor advice?
It actually makes no sense at all. Why does it matter if you burn off calories you just ate, or ate yesterday, or weeks ago?
Please do think ahead to when you get to goal weight, building sustainable habits during your weight loss phase really does help the transition. Having two protein shakes instead of meals (they aren't designed as meal replacements anyway...) isn't, I assume, how you intend to eat for life?
Never trust anything a doctor says about nutrition unless they are specialized. They know less than most of the posters on here. We get 1 week of nutrition in medical school and basically all it says is "2000 diet, limit carbs, fat" which is wrong lol. I can't believe yours is specialized and still has no clue. There are too many doctors who aren't up to date with the literature and just say many myths that have perpetuated throughout society over the years because thats what they were once told years ago. We now know all of that isn't true.
You are completely neglecting those who do have an interest on their own, but have no interest in pursuing residency and specialization in. Who, instead, pursue advanced education and training through CME and labs after graduation to gain what the lecturers during the didactic portion of ones training failed to adequately provide. I've known more than one FP/GP who had a personal interest in nutrition to better help his/her clinically obese patients and so pursued the necessary knowledge on their own time and dime.
To say to never trust all doctors unless specialized is utter rabbit turds. Especially considering you just threw one of these alleged esteemed 'only-ones-to-be-trusted' specialized doctors you know nothing about, or the details of the actual patient exchange that occurred, under the bus. Can't recommend highly enough you give consideration to paging through 'The Death of Expertise' before doling out such advice online.
I still would not trust a doctor unless they are specialized or have an interest and have pursued more education. How do you know where they got their information was legitimate? You don't. How do you know they are knowledgeable when medical schools do not teach more than a few weeks of nutrition? I stand by what I said especially given the fact that I recently graduated medical school and see what they teach us first hand. I would not trust someone specialized unless I knew where they got their information and it was credible.
It is still true that MOST doctors do not have a clue. If I knew my doctor DID have training in it, which you can easily see( via their experiences/education with a quick online search), then that is a completely different story. I am talking about those who do NOT have specific training which doesn't include the scenario you mentioned. Even then, they may be giving false information just based upon previous cases and known diets that "work" because it's easier to tell a patient to drink a shake 3x a day knowing they will be ingesting less calories than teach them how to weight and measure every bite and how to count calories. So you have to be aware of that.
That is awesome you know a few GP/FP like that though. I think all should have more training in weight loss given what an issue it is in our country. Through my rotations, internships and shadowing, I've seen maybe one have an actual clue and give his patient more advice than the usual "don't eat at night, low carb, etc etc".
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So, I will chime in.....
The answer to your question, OP, is that it *should* not matter. Calories in vs Calories out is ESSENTIALLY all that matters for weight loss. For most of us, anyway! Let's just assume - for a moment - that there are no medical conditions involved and that we are all "normal" human beings (read: with "normal" being defined as "non professional athletes or athletes that compete at very high levels").
Some people can eat four slices of pizza and drink three beers and go to bed and fall asleep in 30 seconds while others would do the same and never fall asleep. Most of us would likely fall somewhere in the middle - we would fall asleep (but maybe not sleep so well).
Point is, the 'timing' of calories in does not really matter when we are talking 'weight loss'. Calories at 2PM are the same as Calories at 2AM. And consider people who work from 3PM to 12AM. They get home and eat at 2AM, right?
There is a lot of funny thought out there.
I used to not be able to eat past 6PM (25 years ago) because it really bothered my sleep. And I was SUPER active and athletic back then (still am, for the most part). That was just how my body responded. And, it did not matter if it was a pop tart or a full-course steak and potato meal with all the fixings. If I ate past 6PM then I was almost for sure not going to sleep for <kitten> that night.
Key is - find what works for you and do that!1
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