Stop eating after 5:00 p.m.?

Options
124

Replies

  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    Options
    chris_in_cal wrote: »
    BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
    just because we can eat all we want doesn't mean we should ^_^.

    Indeed, though it seems to me restraint, doing what we should, and impulse-control can be challenging. Overeating is easier.

    (I have to go find my devil's advocate hat before i reply anymore >:) )

    I completely agree. That is why "willpower" is not the dirty word it is often made out to be. Replacing a word with a clear meaning as willpower by a vague and mushy word like "lifestyle" is not helpful in my opinion. Just because we ban every word that, however vaguely, refers to the effort required is not going to change the reality that it is required.
  • jyoti_0
    jyoti_0 Posts: 87 Member
    Options
    Basically, the digestive system related thing is, eat at least tow hours before going to sleep, otherwise a slugging digestive process will result in acid reflux and bad digestion.
    Another factor is, eating early helps people who practice intermittent fasting.
    If it suites your lifestyle, it's a good thing for you.
    If it doesn't, it isn't.
    I eat around 5 pm and I found it helpful in weight loss. After that, if I feel hungry, I strictly eat only protein, not carbs. Suits me.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,128 Member
    Options
    jyoti_0 wrote: »
    Basically, the digestive system related thing is, eat at least tow hours before going to sleep, otherwise a slugging digestive process will result in acid reflux and bad digestion.
    Another factor is, eating early helps people who practice intermittent fasting.
    If it suites your lifestyle, it's a good thing for you.
    If it doesn't, it isn't.
    I eat around 5 pm and I found it helpful in weight loss. After that, if I feel hungry, I strictly eat only protein, not carbs. Suits me.

    The two bolded statements are highly individual though:
    - acid reflux and bad digestion can happen (try it and find out - for me it isn't an issue as long as it isn't a full meal, snacks are fine)
    - intermittent fasting can be done at any time of the day - when I did intermittent fasting, I still ate late (up to 10PM) but I simply starting eating later in the day.
  • Kiyomoo
    Kiyomoo Posts: 354 Member
    Options
    I don't doubt that they've found something here, but that is an incredibly small sample size. Wish it didn't cost $35 to read the original findings.

    I was in the hospital for a week recently, and I didn't eat past 8pm, rarely past 6pm. I wasn't hungry during this time. I've returned from the hospital a couple weeks ago, and my hunger levels have felt pretty out of control. I actually have been meaning to tell myself not to eat past 6pm, but I've found it difficult.

    There could be (and probably are) several reasons why my hunger wasn't that high in the hospital, but it's possible that one of the main reasons was the time of day I was eating. Once I get my sleeping schedule fixed, I'll try out not eating food after 6 or 7pm. Although, if it works, who is to say that it won't be because my sleeping schedule is fixed...Ha! So many factors all the time!
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,998 Member
    Options
    Basically, the digestive system related thing is, eat at least tow hours before going to sleep, otherwise a slugging digestive process will result in acid reflux and bad digestion.


    Ive never found that myself and I have many many times eaten within 2 hours of going to bed.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,187 Member
    Options
    Another intermittent fasting study this week. They seem to all come out on Tuesdays.
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    It finds that regardless of type of food or total calories, intermittent fasting (TRF) has a positive impact on our genes. The eating timing meshes with circadian rhythms and cell health.

    A press release: https://salk.edu/news-release/time-restricted-eating-reshapes-gene-expression-throughout-the-body/
    “Circadian rhythms are everywhere in every cell,” says Panda. “We found that time-restricted eating synchronized the circadian rhythms to have two major waves: one during fasting, and another just after eating. We suspect this allows the body to coordinate different processes.”
    The study: https://cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00543-5
    These results indicate that TRF promotes synchronized rhythms of gene expression across tissues, leading to the temporal compartmentalization of various catabolic and anabolic processes. Such compartmentalization is known to improve physiology.

  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    Options
    chris_in_cal wrote: »
    Another intermittent fasting study this week. They seem to all come out on Tuesdays.
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    It finds that regardless of type of food or total calories, intermittent fasting (TRF) has a positive impact on our genes. The eating timing meshes with circadian rhythms and cell health.

    A press release: https://salk.edu/news-release/time-restricted-eating-reshapes-gene-expression-throughout-the-body/
    “Circadian rhythms are everywhere in every cell,” says Panda. “We found that time-restricted eating synchronized the circadian rhythms to have two major waves: one during fasting, and another just after eating. We suspect this allows the body to coordinate different processes.”
    The study: https://cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00543-5
    These results indicate that TRF promotes synchronized rhythms of gene expression across tissues, leading to the temporal compartmentalization of various catabolic and anabolic processes. Such compartmentalization is known to improve physiology.
    It is good to read the entire article. In this case, this part is most enlightening:
    One of the major limitations of our study is that the transcriptome atlas was generated only from young, male mice.
    Humans are not mice. That does not mean this study is rubbish, it is interesting, but whether or not it has any relevance to humans is unknown. Science takes time and lots of it. This is a good example of that.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    Options
    Like anything else it’s a tool. I imagine for a noob it can be effective. As you become more experienced you can settle into a pattern that fits your personal preference. At the end of the day IMO it boils down to energy in vs energy out…
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
    Options
    chris_in_cal wrote: »
    Another intermittent fasting study this week. They seem to all come out on Tuesdays.
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    It finds that regardless of type of food or total calories, intermittent fasting (TRF) has a positive impact on our genes. The eating timing meshes with circadian rhythms and cell health.

    A press release: https://salk.edu/news-release/time-restricted-eating-reshapes-gene-expression-throughout-the-body/
    “Circadian rhythms are everywhere in every cell,” says Panda. “We found that time-restricted eating synchronized the circadian rhythms to have two major waves: one during fasting, and another just after eating. We suspect this allows the body to coordinate different processes.”
    The study: https://cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00543-5
    These results indicate that TRF promotes synchronized rhythms of gene expression across tissues, leading to the temporal compartmentalization of various catabolic and anabolic processes. Such compartmentalization is known to improve physiology.

    Yeah, these are well documented which inevitably lead to human trials. Here's a few you might not be familiar with.

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29754952/
    Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31151228/
    Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves 24-Hour Glucose Levels and Affects Markers of the Circadian Clock, Aging, and Autophagy in Humans

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
    Options
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Realistically, if this held so true, then all the countries where people eat well after 5pm should have the same obesity issues as US, England, etc. While I find the study interesting, I'm betting the impact of actual weight gain is likely minimal if the diets are exactly the same but eaten at different times. Let's face it, it's OVERALL CALORIES eaten in a day that matters most.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Here's my comment earlier.
    This study has nothing to do with weight loss or if eating past 5 puts on weight or how someone might find it inconvenient for whatever reason. Whether someone's schedule finds them eating late or they do shift work also has nothing to do with this study, it's just showing that certain factors (hormones) can elicit a possible negative outcome that over time if someone is obese could find their condition not improving or getting worse even though they're controlling their calorie intake. The two groups ate the same number of calories, which were not designed to put participants in a deficit, basically isocaloric conditions

    Cheers
  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    edited January 2023
    Options
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Realistically, if this held so true, then all the countries where people eat well after 5pm should have the same obesity issues as US, England, etc. While I find the study interesting, I'm betting the impact of actual weight gain is likely minimal if the diets are exactly the same but eaten at different times. Let's face it, it's OVERALL CALORIES eaten in a day that matters most.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
    Indeed. She is not the most popular figure out there, because she refuses to tell people what they want to hear and instead tells them what to they need to hear, but she is a pioneer in intermittent fasting research, was so enthusiastic about it in the beginning that she even wrote a book about it and cooled down tremendously when more and more research (hers and others') came in and showed it is essentially nothing or not much more than a way people can use to reduce their energy ingestion levels. She is a professor of nutrition at the university of Illinois in Chicago.
    https://ahs.uic.edu/kinesiology-nutrition/directory/varady-krista/
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsFJWsy9ddc
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,187 Member
    Options
    I like this new studies' relationship to circadian rhythms. It isn't possible for me to draw a line between basic research in mammal biology and a generic example of a 2023 graveyard shift worker who drives to the restaurant that serves the type of food she is currently focusing on to drop some weight.

    I'm intrigued by a link between Awake/eating and resting/not-eating phases and how bodies may face less stress and promote better outcomes if managed well (whatever 'managed well' is)
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,640 Member
    Options
    Meal timing is minutia when discussing Fatloss. Overall weekly calories will always be the prime factor in weight management. I will say that when I’m in a Fatloss stage, I don’t eat late so I’m hungry when I’m asleep. I had 20 years of daily records on fitday.com (they pulled the plug last month) and meal timing had zero effect on progress. It was all about the weekly/monthly reports.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,187 Member
    Options
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    Meal timing is minutia when discussing Fatloss.

    I agree.

    Related: fatloss is not minutia, but it's just a part of less stress, overall systemic wellbeing, fitness, flexibility, less chronic disease, a more healthy overall life.

    For these other topics things like rest, recovery, stress relief, fitness, exercise, quality and composition of food, even circadian rhythm have roles.

    The study concludes doing somethings can cause gene expression to function in different ways. Lots of things have ramifications.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,187 Member
    Options
    Today's Washington Post has a general population article related to "Stop eating after 5:00 p.m.?"

    It's probably paywalled: https://washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/01/10/meal-timing-big-meals/

    Here's an excerpt.
    The biology of meal timing

    Scientists have uncovered several mechanisms that explain why an early-eating schedule is better for your health. Our bodies are better able secrete insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar levels, in the morning.

    We also tend to be more insulin-sensitive early in the day, meaning our muscles are better able to absorb and utilize glucose from our bloodstreams. But as the day progresses, we become less and less insulin-sensitive. By nighttime, the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin become sluggish and less responsive to blood sugar elevations.

    Another important factor is hormone-sensitive lipase, an enzyme that releases fat from our fat cells. This enzyme is typically most active at night so it can provide our bodies with energy to keep our organs functioning as we sleep.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited January 2023
    Options
    BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
    chris_in_cal wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Why do people overeat?

    Because we can.
    Which is precisely why my motto is that just because we can eat all we want doesn't mean we should ^_^.

    As to "why do people overeat", I would also add that many don't...at least not in the sense that it's obvious or deliberate or really perceived as over consumption. My wife and I both eat a sensible and nutritious diet...basically 3 squares of sensibly portioned food, maybe an afternoon snack...only eat out maybe once every week or two, etc. Generally speaking we don't have much problem maintaining a healthy weight so long as we are generally active which for us means mostly active recreation with a smattering of "workouts" thrown into the mix...but we do run into problems with our weight when things get hectic and our activity level dips to sitting at our desks all day, commuting, and maybe a weekend warrior bike ride as our only really active outing.

    Technically, yes...we are overeating for our activity, but really it's pretty sensible eating but lack of that activity that gets us. Usually it's because life got busier than normal, but we are also known to get into lazy slumps from time to time...or to hibernate in winter...and both of our commutes are rather sucky and require a vehicle.
  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    edited January 2023
    Options
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
    chris_in_cal wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Why do people overeat?

    Because we can.
    Which is precisely why my motto is that just because we can eat all we want doesn't mean we should ^_^.

    As to "why do people overeat", I would also add that many don't...at least not in the sense that it's obvious or deliberate or really perceived as over consumption. My wife and I both eat a sensible and nutritious diet...basically 3 squares of sensibly portioned food, maybe an afternoon snack...only eat out maybe once every week or two, etc. Generally speaking we don't have much problem maintaining a healthy weight so long as we are generally active which for us means mostly active recreation with a smattering of "workouts" thrown into the mix...but we do run into problems with our weight when things get hectic and our activity level dips to sitting at our desks all day, commuting, and maybe a weekend warrior bike ride as our only really active outing.

    Technically, yes...we are overeating for our activity, but really it's pretty sensible eating but lack of that activity that gets us. Usually it's because life got busier than normal, but we are also known to get into lazy slumps from time to time...or to hibernate in winter...and both of our commutes are rather sucky and require a vehicle.
    I agree 100% with that. In fact, that is what made me fat to begin with: eating until I am "full and satisfied". I (almost) never pigged out, junk food was a rare treat, and was really limited to nuts, pork scratchings and cheese, and not all that often. It is why I got –and still get– mad at dietitians who say that you should learn to eat until you are full and satisfied.

    Instead, I had to find a way to limit calories while also limiting hunger in order to have it stay within tolerable limits. I have been doing this for a little of four years now, and while I have lost well over 60 kg, I still have some way to go, and contrary to popular claims, the hunger stays. It is tolerable, it is not overly distracting, but it is constantly gnawing hunger nevertheless. I have simply learned to accept it as a fact of my life. That has become slightly easier because the advantages of the weight loss outweigh the disadvantages of the hunger, for me anyway. That does not make it particularly pleasant though.

    That said, when one gains fat, it is because one overeats, there is no more mystery to it than that. Sure, if I would be walking 40 km a day or bike 200 km a day, that would almost certainly make a significant difference muscle-wise, but it would really not solve anything weight-wise: I would just be more hungry and overeat even more in overcompensation. That is not an assumption. I rode my bike from Toronto to Holland Landing and even to Barrie quite regulary years ago, and it made me so hungry that I gained weight even faster in that period.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,270 Member
    Options
    BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    BartBVanBockstaele wrote: »
    chris_in_cal wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Why do people overeat?

    Because we can.
    Which is precisely why my motto is that just because we can eat all we want doesn't mean we should ^_^.

    As to "why do people overeat", I would also add that many don't...at least not in the sense that it's obvious or deliberate or really perceived as over consumption. My wife and I both eat a sensible and nutritious diet...basically 3 squares of sensibly portioned food, maybe an afternoon snack...only eat out maybe once every week or two, etc. Generally speaking we don't have much problem maintaining a healthy weight so long as we are generally active which for us means mostly active recreation with a smattering of "workouts" thrown into the mix...but we do run into problems with our weight when things get hectic and our activity level dips to sitting at our desks all day, commuting, and maybe a weekend warrior bike ride as our only really active outing.

    Technically, yes...we are overeating for our activity, but really it's pretty sensible eating but lack of that activity that gets us. Usually it's because life got busier than normal, but we are also known to get into lazy slumps from time to time...or to hibernate in winter...and both of our commutes are rather sucky and require a vehicle.
    I agree 100% with that. In fact, that is what made me fat to begin with: eating until I am "full and satisfied". I (almost) never pigged out, junk food was a rare treat, and was really limited to nuts, pork scratchings and cheese, and not all that often. It is why I got –and still get– mad at dietitians who say that you should learn to eat until you are full and satisfied.

    Instead, I had to find a way to limit calories while also limiting hunger in order to have it stay within tolerable limits. I have been doing this for a little of four years now, and while I have lost well over 60 kg, I still have some way to go, and contrary to popular claims, the hunger stays. It is tolerable, it is not overly distracting, but it is constantly gnawing hunger nevertheless. I have simply learned to accept it as a fact of my life. That has become slightly easier because the advantages of the weight loss outweigh the disadvantages of the hunger, for me anyway. That does not make it particularly pleasant though.

    That said, when one gains fat, it is because one overeats, there is no more mystery to it than that. Sure, if I would be walking 40 km a day or bike 200 km a day, that would almost certainly make a significant difference muscle-wise, but it would really not solve anything weight-wise: I would just be more hungry and overeat even more in overcompensation. That is not an assumption. I rode my bike from Toronto to Holland Landing and even to Barrie quite regulary years ago, and it made me so hungry that I gained weight even faster in that period.


    I am really grateful that I do not have the hunger issues that you have. I am not a morning eater. I eat later in the day, and it doesn't, in and of itself, cause me issues. I do remember during my initial weight loss, I would sometimes feel "empty" in the morning before I had my first food. That was days that I was in the office and I'd have something like uncooked oats mixed with yogurt and left to sit for a half hour to two hours to soften. I actually got to where I enjoyed the slightly empty feeling. I would not feel "full" or sated after I'd eat, but magically a quarter hour later, I wasn't empty or hungry at all. It takes a little while before the signal from my belly that I had eaten enough got to my brain. All the more reason to use portion control and then wait to see how I felt later. Worked really well for me.

    I also remember being on a dive boat several years ago. Our dinner was grilled tri-tip with broccoli and rice or something. It was delicious. I went back to the galley to get more broccoli. The galley crew asked if I wanted more meat. I thought about it and said, "Yes." It was still delicious. Then, about 15 minutes later, I was UNCOMFORTABLY full. I noticed it and thought how I really did NOT like that feeling. I also thought further that "This is how I used to always feel after a meal, and I used to like it." I am so grateful that the habits I developed allowed my body to respond better to what I eat. I sincerely hope you can get to this place too. I know there are some medical conditions that can cause unquenchable hunger. I feel sympathy for people who struggle with those conditions. I hope you don't have those because if you do you'll likely never get to a place where you aren't hungry.
  • Kiyomoo
    Kiyomoo Posts: 354 Member
    Options
    J72FIT wrote: »
    At the end of the day IMO it boils down to energy in vs energy out…

    I mean that's not an opinion, it's a fact. You can't lose weight unless you have more calories(energy) leaving than entering your body. Everything else, including research like this, is only meant to help guide us to better figure out how to get there!

Categories