Eating Late?

weesel80
weesel80 Posts: 186
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone follow the idea of not eating after a certain time at night? Since I started all this about 6 months ago, I never eat after 6pm. I am a nurse, so I work the 3-11 shift. My biggest meal is breakfast and I eat lunch before going to work, then I'll bring a light snack for work, but will eat it before 6pm. I always drink my H20. I have about 20 more pounds left I want to lose (have lost almost 100), and it is sooo hard to lose them!! I am wondering if I should switch up my eating to get the body losing the weight again!! My thought is, if I eat the bulk of my calories earlier in the day in combination with working out, I have all day to burn them off, versus eating a meal say like 6 or 7pm and really not doing anything to burn it off.

Any thoughts?

Replies

  • weesel80
    weesel80 Posts: 186
    Does anyone follow the idea of not eating after a certain time at night? Since I started all this about 6 months ago, I never eat after 6pm. I am a nurse, so I work the 3-11 shift. My biggest meal is breakfast and I eat lunch before going to work, then I'll bring a light snack for work, but will eat it before 6pm. I always drink my H20. I have about 20 more pounds left I want to lose (have lost almost 100), and it is sooo hard to lose them!! I am wondering if I should switch up my eating to get the body losing the weight again!! My thought is, if I eat the bulk of my calories earlier in the day in combination with working out, I have all day to burn them off, versus eating a meal say like 6 or 7pm and really not doing anything to burn it off.

    Any thoughts?
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    The food you eat at 6pm isn't actually being absorbed until around 8-9pm. It's in your intestines for many hours after that, being mixed and moved slowly down the intestinal tract while nutrients are absorbed. So at midnight, you're still taking in calories, even if you haven't chewed and swallowed anything in a while. The only way you're going to avoid not absorbing energy at night is to stop eating around..oh...2pm or so. :smile:
  • fitchick99
    fitchick99 Posts: 267 Member
    The food you eat at 6pm isn't actually being absorbed until around 8-9pm. It's in your intestines for many hours after that, being mixed and moved slowly down the intestinal tract while nutrients are absorbed. So at midnight, you're still taking in calories, even if you haven't chewed and swallowed anything in a while. The only way you're going to avoid not absorbing energy at night is to stop eating around..oh...2pm or so. :smile:

    you're dead on the money songbyrdsweet, it makes not a whole lot of difference when you eat most of your calories, in fact if you work out hard, it's best to eat something like skim milk and a whole grain a little before bed, you want to keep your metabolism up and running and not sluggish, I eat when hungry, the clock and my bedtime don't make a beans worth of difference....I think when you're fairly inactive and don't burn many calories in a day, then maybe you need to adjust when and how many calories, but the bestest...love that word, thing about being "fit" you can pretty much eat what you want when you want, your body is burning constantly, weight lifting is the place to start to get that metabolism to kick into gear, add your cardio....and there ya go...you never have to say the words, I can't eat it it's past 6:00p.m....I eat right up until an hour before bedtime....eating right now!! lol
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    The food you eat at 6pm isn't actually being absorbed until around 8-9pm. It's in your intestines for many hours after that, being mixed and moved slowly down the intestinal tract while nutrients are absorbed. So at midnight, you're still taking in calories, even if you haven't chewed and swallowed anything in a while. The only way you're going to avoid not absorbing energy at night is to stop eating around..oh...2pm or so. :smile:

    you're dead on the money songbyrdsweet, it makes not a whole lot of difference when you eat most of your calories, in fact if you work out hard, it's best to eat something like skim milk and a whole grain a little before bed, you want to keep your metabolism up and running and not sluggish, I eat when hungry, the clock and my bedtime don't make a beans worth of difference....I think when you're fairly inactive and don't burn many calories in a day, then maybe you need to adjust when and how many calories, but the bestest...love that word, thing about being "fit" you can pretty much eat what you want when you want, your body is burning constantly, weight lifting is the place to start to get that metabolism to kick into gear, add your cardio....and there ya go...you never have to say the words, I can't eat it it's past 6:00p.m....I eat right up until an hour before bedtime....eating right now!! lol

    Haha I'm about to eat too! :laugh:

    The only thing I notice is that I go #2 later in the morning when I eat close to bed. I weigh about the same at night as I do in the morning some days.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    My thought is, if I eat the bulk of my calories earlier in the day in combination with working out, I have all day to burn them off, versus eating a meal say like 6 or 7pm and really not doing anything to burn it off.

    Any thoughts?


    Well....we need food for a lot of different reasons. It's fuel for our body, so pumping blood, walking, being awake, breathing, LIVING requires calories. So you don't have to burn off EVERYTHING you eat. If your body needs 1400 calories to function a day (or however many you eat) then it doesn't matter if you eat them in the morning or at night. 1400 is 1400 no matter how you split them up during the day.

    I would assume you go to bed not long after getting home from work, so I can't imagine it's good for your body to have nothing to eat except a small snack from 3pm till you eat breakfast the next day.
  • brookefoley
    brookefoley Posts: 104 Member
    http://www.getfitslowly.com/2009/02/12/the-secrets-of-the-slim/

    Here is an article that is very interesting. I love the Get Fit Slowly blog and this article nails it on the head for busting myths.

    I don't think it matters when you eat your calories. I think it matters how many you eat and whether you do enough to burn them off to create a deficit. Obviously people's metabolisms are going to differ based on age, gender, genetics etc.
  • shanwow16
    shanwow16 Posts: 203 Member
    You are better off to eat 5-6 smaller meals (3 main, 2 snacks). What I usually do is have my breakfast, than about 2 hrs later have a small snack, than I eat lunch and again about 2 hrs later I have a snack and than dinner and if i've done my work out after work I usually have a good healthy snack in the evening (a little protein to help those muscles). You feel like you are constantly eating, but that is going to get your metabolism going. I personally try to avoid eating about 2hrs before bed, but like the others said, if you're hungry EAT!! Listen to your body, just be cautious as to what you are eating and the portion size. Eating a burger before bed likely isn't a smart move...lol.....but have a light salad or veggies or a healthy smoothie won't kill ya. :smile:
  • MisoSoup79
    MisoSoup79 Posts: 517
    I personally can't go to bed on an empty stomach. That's just me. I sleep better when I don't feel hungry. Plus, if I eat before bed, then I don't wake up starving, feeling like my stomach is eating itself.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with eating at night... if you're meeting your calorie goals and breaking up your meals so they are close to even, then you have nothing to worry about. The longer your body goes without food, though, the slower you burn calories... I can't see being awake for 16 hours and not eating for 5-6 hours before bed - (add that to 6-8 hours of sleep and you've gone without food for up to 14 hours)
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