Last time you eat during the day?
ReenieHJ
Posts: 9,724 Member
I'm having a really hard time not eating anything after 6 p.m. I usually have a snack of maybe 150 calories before I go to bed. It's still within my allotted number of calories for the day but I have a feeling it's part of the reason for such scale fluctuation. I've found I'm much happier with my scale if I don't eat after dinner.
Do any of you see that happen too or am I over thinking this and it'll all work out?
Do any of you see that happen too or am I over thinking this and it'll all work out?
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Replies
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I usually run out of calories by 9pm so I stop eating and sometimes I run out by 11pm, it makes no difference, your body does not care. Calories are calories no matter when you eat them.
ETA Missed a word.11 -
Other than a tool to help control your calories, meal timing or not eating after a certain hour has no effect on weight loss. Some of MFPs biggest losers are night eaters!
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Meal timing doesn't matter. Right now I never stop eating even through the night. I eat every 2-3 hours.4
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I eat my most calorie dense meal at breakfast, then lower at lunch and lower still at dinner, at about 6 pm.
My dinner is typically a large salad, so low calories but large volume.
I no longer snack in the evening.
OP, you’re making this harder than it has to be. 😉3 -
I never eat while I'm asleep, and lost weight (and now maintain it) just fine. I've heard that some sleepwalkers do eat while asleep, but I can't speak for their weight loss.
Very rarely, I eat in bed, right before going to sleep which would most commonly be sometime between midnight and 1AM. Most of the time, I stop eating at latest a few minutes before bedtime, but how close to bedtime depends on whether I'm hungry/snackish and whether I do/don't have calories left.
I've never seen any impact from eating timing on weight loss or maintenance, though if I eat some giant filling fiber-y thing, or carb-y thing, or salty thing, later in the day, there are increased odds that scale weight will be higher in the AM from water retention or the food still in transit. Since that's water or digestive contents, not fat, I don't see the slightest reason to feel stressed by it.
My long-term weight results always seem to be in line with calorie level, with one exception: If I eat like 2-3 times my TDEE one rare time, it seems to me like some of those calories pass through without the expected impact on my long term weight trajectory. It has some impact, but less that I would've calculated. Maybe that's just me. Otherwise, weight trend is pretty predictable based on 3500 calories = 1 pound, up or down.
ETA: I frequently eat dinner at 8, 9, 10 or beyond. No impact on weight trend from that, either.10 -
I'm having a really hard time not eating anything after 6 p.m. I usually have a snack of maybe 150 calories before I go to bed. It's still within my allotted number of calories for the day but I have a feeling it's part of the reason for such scale fluctuation. I've found I'm much happier with my scale if I don't eat after dinner. Do any of you see that happen too or am I over thinking this and it'll all work out?
I’ll tell you what I told someone else not too long ago: If you’re within your calorie allotment, the ONLY impact eating late has on the scale is adding undigested food to your reading.
FWIW, I tracked my pre- and post-sleep weights for a while. With a bedtime snack my weight drops about 1.5lbs while sleeping. Without a bedtime snack it drops between 2 & 3lbs. It does NOT affect my long-term fluctuation trends, however I sleep much better if I either have a late dinner or a snack about an hour before bed.7 -
I usually eat a slice of cheese or banana after walking the dog around 11 p.m. If I'm still or again hungry, I eat something else before going to bed at 1:00 or so. I'm at maintenance, and get a lot of exercise, so I usually have enough calories left at the end of the day to cover it. If not, I'm usually only a little over, and it seems to work out over the week. After 5 or so years of eating and exercising at about the same calorie level, I've learned that if I'm hungry, there's a reason and it's better to eat than to lie in bed sleepless because I have an empty growling stomach.4
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I stop eating at 7 pm sharp. That's the rule in our house - anything other than water or black coffee going into a mouth has to go in between 11 am and 7 pm. I was a huge nighttime snacker until we implemented that rule, but now when dinner is done, that's it until 11 am the next day. It's been working great for us for 6 months.4
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I'm having a really hard time not eating anything after 6 p.m. I usually have a snack of maybe 150 calories before I go to bed. It's still within my allotted number of calories for the day but I have a feeling it's part of the reason for such scale fluctuation. I've found I'm much happier with my scale if I don't eat after dinner.
Do any of you see that happen too or am I over thinking this and it'll all work out?
You’re overthinking it.
I assume you want long term fat loss, not short term manipulation of normal weight fluctuations. The time you eat has nothing to do with fat loss. It may make the scale go down more in the morning if your body has had time to digest and excrete waste, but that’s normal weight fluctuation that is irrelevant to fat loss.12 -
I never eat while I'm asleep, and lost weight (and now maintain it) just fine. I've heard that some sleepwalkers do eat while asleep, but I can't speak for their weight loss.
OMG, my workout partner had THE WORST TIME with the sleep-eating on Ambien. He was INDIGNANT with his roommates, too for eating all his snax all the time until they recorded him going into the kitchen at night and ruining his calorie count in his sleep.
Apparently he can sleep eat, but he never achieved sleep-food-logging.
Poor guy. 13 -
I sleep better on a full (not overfull) stomach. Not eating after 6 pm would have a negative impact on my sleep and this would hinder weight loss more than keeping within calories but eating not long before bed ever would.
I consume half of my daily calories after 6 pm and not only lost weight without a problem but have maintained that loss for over 2 years. However, I am also aware that for some night time snacking leads to overeating. Others don't sleep as well if they eat not long before bed. What works best for one will not work best for all.5 -
I stop eating at 7 because that's part of my GERD diet plan (no food 3+ hours before bed). It certainly also helps me stay within my calories goal.1
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I usually eat a high protein snack just before bedtime because it helps me sleep through the night. Sleep is important to weight loss, too.3
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My last snack is usually about 11:30 pm.
I don't eat breakfast or much of anything until about 11:30 am.0 -
I usually stop eating somewhere around 7 pm and start back eating around 7 am. That is just my routine since starting my WLJ. works for me0
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Sometimes just before I brush my teeth. Makes no difference as long as it's within my allotted food.0
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Lillymoo01 wrote: »I sleep better on a full (not overfull) stomach. Not eating after 6 pm would have a negative impact on my sleep and this would hinder weight loss more than keeping within calories but eating not long before bed ever would.
I consume half of my daily calories after 6 pm and not only lost weight without a problem but have maintained that loss for over 2 years. However, I am also aware that for some night time snacking leads to overeating. Others don't sleep as well if they eat not long before bed. What works best for one will not work best for all.
I agree with this. I'm a person who can't sleep as well on a fuller stomach.
I usually eat a pretty early dinner at 5-6 pm and then don't eat anything else for the night. Of course if I have special dinner plans or have dessert, it's later, maybe 8 pm. I consider myself finished eating when I brush/floss. I am hungry for breakfast at 7 am the next day and that works for me.
Some people like to space out their calories over the day in mini meals. Works for many, but it only makes me feel dissatisfied. I eat a small breakfast and a pretty large lunch and dinner, but rarely any other snacks. So about 80% of my daily calories are consumed between 11:30 am and 6 pm.1 -
There is no last time for me. It varies on the day. Sometimes it will be 9 or 10pm. Sometimes midnight. Rarely will my lady meal be much before 9 except on rare occasions.
The timing of your meals matters zero for weight loss outside of some people finding that eating within certain hours helps them control their intake better. But whether you eat your calories earlier or later doesn't.
If you weigh at 8am everyday, and one day you stop eating at 6pm, and the next you have a big meal at 2am, sure your daily weigh in after the 2am meal will likely be higher, as your body is still digesting everything. But that is not fat gain. In a day or two, your weight will be exactly what it would have been had you eaten those calories earlier in the day.
Control your eating window if it helps you control your intake. But if you are just maijg yourself hungry and miserable, there is zero advantages to it.5 -
I can't stop eating at night, I seem to crave food more at night than when I am busy during the day so I don't set hard rules. I basically limit my intake throughout the day to allow myself room for my late night meals. Calories are the only thing I worry about, stay within my limit and life is good.2
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I'm having a really hard time not eating anything after 6 p.m. I usually have a snack of maybe 150 calories before I go to bed. It's still within my allotted number of calories for the day but I have a feeling it's part of the reason for such scale fluctuation. I've found I'm much happier with my scale if I don't eat after dinner.
Do any of you see that happen too or am I over thinking this and it'll all work out?
You're not a gremlin...nothing happens eating after 6. Hell, I'm usually not even home by 6. I eat dinner around 8:30 most nights.9
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