No eating past 6pm?

ratsyroo
ratsyroo Posts: 103 Member
edited October 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Do any of you have a set time that you will not eat past in the evening? And if so, has it made a positive difference in your diet/health? I have a friend who refuses to eat past 6pm and she lost a lot of weight and has kept it off for years...but not sure that I can do that with my busy lifestyle, especially if I need to eat my extra exercise calories.
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Replies

  • laurenpence
    laurenpence Posts: 147
    I stop eating 3 hours before I go to bed so that is about 8pm for me and yes it helps me.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    I try to eat at least 2 hours before going to bed. It just makes me feel better, but I haven't really noticed a change on the scale because of it.
  • Ashonym
    Ashonym Posts: 172 Member
    Not particularly, although sometime between 6 and 7:30 or maybe as late as 8 is when I usually stop. A few hours before I go to sleep. Because I HEAR that eating shortly before you rest is not conductive to losing weight. But I do still drink water.
  • MoonIite
    MoonIite Posts: 341 Member
    I eat whenever I'm hungry. Whether it is 7 pm or 11 pm it doesn't matter to me. As long as I stay within my cal allowance I eat anytime I wish. It hasn't affected my weight loss at all. In fact I just had dinner an hour ago after I completed my workout. Will the food go straight to my thighs since it's past 7pm? :P
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    That does not help weight loss at all. There is no time that your body just stops burning calories. Do you think you body just shuts off at when ever the clock hits a certain time? Eating protein before bed is definitely a good thing. Especially casein like cottage cheese
  • IMYarnCraz33
    IMYarnCraz33 Posts: 1,016 Member
    I eat whenever I'm hungry. Whether it is 7 pm or 11 pm it doesn't matter to me. As long as I stay within my cal allowance I eat anytime I wish. It hasn't affected my weight loss at all. In fact I just had dinner an hour ago after I completed my workout. Will the food go straight to my thighs since it's past 7pm? :P


    I do the same thing. just eat when hungry and keep an eye on calorie count.
    it has not adversely affected my weight loss.
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
    i heard no eating past 9 pm, but on the other hand, calories are calories, no matter what time it is..not like your body can tell time, but i try not to eat past 9 pm anyways..best of luck :)
  • Renee0608
    Renee0608 Posts: 138
    That does not help weight loss at all. There is no time that your body just stops burning calories. Do you think you body just shuts off at when ever the clock hits a certain time? Eating protein before bed is definitely a good thing. Especially casein like cottage cheese

    I've always heard eating after 8pm is bad, but you bring up a good point! Our bodies do not just stop burning calories...I would say if you eat later, make it better choices......I've heard eating protein later actually can help your body burn off fat.
  • heather7marie
    heather7marie Posts: 506 Member
    I eat whenever I feel like it. A calorie is going to be a calorie whether it's 8 in the morning, 8 at night, or 2 in the morning. I don't like to eat close to laying down though, because it usually gives me a stomach ache or acid reflux.
  • SWgal
    SWgal Posts: 62
    I eat whenever I'm hungry. Whether it is 7 pm or 11 pm it doesn't matter to me. As long as I stay within my cal allowance I eat anytime I wish. It hasn't affected my weight loss at all. In fact I just had dinner an hour ago after I completed my workout. Will the food go straight to my thighs since it's past 7pm? :P


    Me too. I make sure I eat 6 SMALL meals a day, three hours apart.
    My schedule can fluctuate and so my rule of thumb is: eat within 30 minutes of waking up, don't let more than three hours pass between meals and try and keep meals between 300-400 cals, snacks between 150-200.

    If I workout, or work late I stick to this and sometimes mean eating my last meal at 10pm. But if I have an early day I make adjustments.
    Also, I try and put GOOD FUEL in my body, so this helps to keep my metabolism burning correctly, allows for plenty of fuel for workouts and most of the time a satisfied feeling at the end of the day!


    You just have to find what works best for your body!
  • giaciccone
    giaciccone Posts: 257
    I try not to have anything HEAVY after 8:30pm.
    I know sometimes my fitness classes will run late in the evening, so I may have to prepare dinner later, but normally heavy things are before 8:30 & MAYBE I'll have a little fruit or yogurt after that.

    I don't know if it's particularly helped with my weight loss, but I stopped having really strange dreams & getting up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach. It also helps me wake up hungry in the morning, which in turn makes me eat breakfast. I used to hate eating breakfast, but now my body wants it!
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    That does not help weight loss at all. There is no time that your body just stops burning calories. Do you think you body just shuts off at when ever the clock hits a certain time? Eating protein before bed is definitely a good thing. Especially casein like cottage cheese

    I've always heard eating after 8pm is bad, but you bring up a good point! Our bodies do not just stop burning calories...I would say if you eat later, make it better choices......I've heard eating protein later actually can help your body burn off fat.

    Just another weight loss myth! The only bad thing about eating dierctly before bed is that it can possibly disrupt sleep. Nothing involving weight gain
  • grouch201
    grouch201 Posts: 404 Member
    I've heard it both ways and I really thing it's a preference thing. Personally, I stop eating when I decide I've had enough for the day, but I usually leave a buffer in my calories just in case I get hit with a late night snack craving and then I just make sure I have easy low calorie options available like fruit, or a boiled egg, or a can of tuna. Just simple things to stave off the hunger till morning.
  • KeepOnMoving
    KeepOnMoving Posts: 383 Member
    THE KEY IS PORTION CONTROL. If stopping yourself eating after a certain time works - go for it!!!!! Its about portion control and its something I should practice because I almost always go over my limit.
  • chelsbells26
    chelsbells26 Posts: 5
    Not eating past any particular time of night will always help your weight loss. This is mainly because late at night people tend to be tired and when we eat it ends up being sugary or fatty foods that are not easily digested. Also, its adding calories, and a majority of the time we are eating this late in front of a TV and not focusing on our calorie or fat intake. Keep in mind also that anytime we spend time not eating food we are letting our bodies burn off the food that we have ingested and also to start focusing some energy on other processes other than digestion. But generally speaking, there is no need to not eat after 6 or 7 or even 8 or 9 as long as we focus on the calories and the digestability of the foods that we are eating that late. If you are going to bed soon but youre snacky or looking for something tasty before bed, eat something easily digested, low in fat and sugar and non-bloating because if you're bloated, it may be tough to get comfortable enough to sleep. Also, i saw mentioned a couple of posts back that protein, especially casein protein is actually a good thing to ingest before bed.


    Its really your preference at this point.
  • fitinyoga14
    fitinyoga14 Posts: 448 Member
    Setting a certain time is not going to effect weight loss. No matter what time of day, try to stick to the numbers in your allowance.The myth about not eating before bed is simply stemmed from the action of replacing sleep with food for energy. If you're not doing this, go ahead and eat whenever you're hungry and sleep when you're sleepy.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Yesterday after 6pm i had:

    a banana
    a plum
    chicken breast
    sweet potato

    Then later, around 11:45pm i had a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, more banana, and whey

    Then i went to bed.

    Total calories after 6pm: 943

    But the only thing that matters is that I was within my calorie target. Actually yesterday, I came in lower than I like to be with 183 remaining. I should have had added a glass of milk but I was SO FULL!
  • heather7marie
    heather7marie Posts: 506 Member
    It's 10:30PM. I just ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Yup.
  • megz4987
    megz4987 Posts: 1,008 Member
    Nope, i fyou're hungry, eat.
  • vulrich93
    vulrich93 Posts: 99
    I don't eat past 7 pm. To reduce my cravings though I drink 2 mugs of green tea. It seems to work :) I definitely feel better in the morning, and am not bloated when I go to bed. I think it has helped reduce my weight loss.

    My friend did it for one month, without changing any of her dietary habits, and she lost 6 pounds.
  • ApproachingDusk
    ApproachingDusk Posts: 70
    I pay attention to what I eat later at night, but I dont deny myself if I'm really hungry and not just bored hungry. I will stay away from things with sugar or sweets just because I'm so sensetive to sugar that I wont fall asleep if I have it before bed.

    Sometimes a small bowl of cereal (or granola) will tide me over, or even just a small glass of low fat milk (sometimes with some hershey's syrup in there too)

    I think the real challenge is really figuring out if you are actually really hungry and not just bored/snacky hungry.
  • Chunkabutt83
    Chunkabutt83 Posts: 461
    i just eat whenever i feel like it as long as im within my calorie allowance, for years they said not to eat past a certain time, but from what people say now, i dont think it really matters
  • mrsdeg1983
    mrsdeg1983 Posts: 11
    There is no need to stop eating hours before bed. I eat something every night before bed. If i don't i wake up 4am starving and end up snacking on things i shouldn't. There is not harm in eating before you go to sleep. Try to lean toward protein.
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 22,244 Member
    I usually eat my last snack about an hour to 90 minutes before bedtime. If I'm rumbly in my tumbly when I go to bed, I can't sleep. Provided I don't eat too much overall in a 24-hour period, my weight loss and maintenance have been just fine.
  • dave_in_delaware
    dave_in_delaware Posts: 49 Member
    Personally, I eat past 6pm every day, because I only get out of work at 5 or 5:30, 30 minutes to drive home (longer if errands after work), then time to actually cook the dinner... so yeah, I eat after 6pm. Sometimes 7pm. 8pm. 9pm. Whenever I can eat with my wife and her crazy schedule.

    My parents swear by not eating after 8pm, but that's easy for them because they both go to bed around that time. For me, I'm a night owl, and sometimes don't go to bed until 1am. I try not to eat anything right before bed because I used to have GERD so I don't want anything in my tummy that could cause an issue.

    Right now (at midnight), I'm sitting here drinking a big glass of water. The last thing I had was dinner w/ my wife and kids at 8pm.

    Like others have said, it's all about the calories in vs calories out. Calories can't tell time.
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
    I'm eating right now.
  • FaithsVegWorkout
    FaithsVegWorkout Posts: 471
    I eat when I'm hungry.
  • bobbybdoe
    bobbybdoe Posts: 472 Member
    Doesn't matter at all.
  • Panda_Jack
    Panda_Jack Posts: 829 Member
    I just finished a large baked potato, 6 oz of chicken and 2 cups of mixed veggies.
  • lerachase
    lerachase Posts: 11
    I've always heard that it's less about when you stop eating and more about the time between then and when you go to bed. Basically, you burn more calories when you're awake than when you're asleep so if you eat within a certain time before sleeping more of those calories don't get used and go to storage. Now, if what you're eating before bed is an apple...not so bad; low calories, no fat, doesn't take a lot to burn it off. If it's a chocolate bar or heaping pile of pasta, no way will your body use that and hello storage-fat cells...no matter where you are on your calorie intake for the day. If that's your normal thing then you won't notice a difference because its status quo. If you stop eating calories you won't burn both before bed and while sleeping you won't loose weight any faster, you just won't be putting more on to burn.
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