Myth or Truth? Not eating before sleep

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ralawar7
ralawar7 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
I looked around the forums and didn't find a post on this topic.

I wanted to ask if it makes a difference to limit the time when you can eat before bed.

For example, I heard it was a good idea to not eat 2-3 hours before you go to sleep each night. This way you are slightly hungry when you do fall asleep and it force your body to use some of the fat while you sleep instead of creating fat overnight if you had just eaten recently.
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Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Thousands of threads probably on this topic. Meal timing is 100% a myth. It doesn't matter when you eat, it only matters how many total calories you eat.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    Thousands of threads probably on this topic. Meal timing is 100% a myth. It doesn't matter when you eat, it only matters how many total calories you eat.

    ^ This.
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
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    For me, it's so important that I eat just before I to sleep (and I mean 15min - 1h before I sleep), else I risk waking up hungry and midnight snacking.
  • luckyme65
    luckyme65 Posts: 16 Member
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    I will eat my supper around 6 and then before I go to bed have a slice of turkey (lean protein) so that my body will keep on "burning" through the night. I guess the theory is that you don't want your body to go into starvation mode and by eating just a little, your metabolism keeps working. Hope this helps and best of luck to you!
  • ralawar7
    ralawar7 Posts: 8
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    Thank you, all! I will probably eat something very light before bed if I didn't eat recently.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Myth. It doesn't matter when you eat, your body burns calories 24 hours a day. I burn about .9-1 cal per minute while I sleep compared to 1-1.1 when I'm awake and sitting around doing nothing. So eating when I'm about to go without food for six-seven hours (while I'm asleep) actually seems more logical than eating a few hours apart while I sit at my desk at work.

    I've gotten home from the gym at 11:30pm, had half a cupcake and two servings of PB2, showered and gone straight to bed and woken up lighter on the scale than I was the day before. (I'm a daily weigher) So I'm not really concerned about the time I eat as long as I'm feeding my body when it's hungry and staying in my caloric and macro goals.

    Plus there's been scientific studies and all that sort of stuff proving its a total myth. But I like personal experience better. ;)
  • jonphoenix
    jonphoenix Posts: 5 Member
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    when you go to sleep your body's metabolism slows down while sleeping because your not doing much of anything, your energy requirements are low. eating carbs before bed will cause your blood sugar levels to go up. since your energy requirements will be far below your current energy reserves, your body will process almost the entirety of those calories into fat storage. if you need to eat before bed, you should eat primarily slow digesting proteins.
  • slavaheroyam
    slavaheroyam Posts: 67
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    My problem is if I eat too soon before I go to sleep, or even nap, I wake up and feel like I have a brick in my stomach. Other than that, I agree that it's myth.
  • Figuringoutme
    Figuringoutme Posts: 330
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    It doesn't matter. I don't eat after 8pm. It's more because thats when I get into trouble. I Find chocolate, ice cream, chips, I look for anything and everything. i always get late night munchies.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    No, your metabolism doesn't slow down significantly and nothing different happens to the food that magically turns it into fat.
  • gersoco
    gersoco Posts: 155 Member
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    Meal timing is 100% a myth.

    That's good to know, especially since with MFP, I sometimes need to eat a banana or apple 30 - 60 min before bed to up a low cal count.
  • Almiel
    Almiel Posts: 61 Member
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    There's another issue to consider. A light snack isn't a problem but if you eat too much you can start having acid reflux problems. Not fun, I can tell you from personal experience.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    No, it is not a myth. If you eat too soon before you go to bed, you can get reflux where your digestive juices from your stomach flow up your esophagus. Many people have this problem. For those that do, the medical advice is not to eat 3 hours before you go to bed.

    For more info, google GERD (Gastro-Esophagal Reflux Disease).
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390149-should-i-eat-at-night
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    No, it is not a myth. If you eat too soon before you go to bed, you can get reflux where your digestive juices from your stomach flow up your esophagus. Many people have this problem. For those that do, the medical advice is not to eat 3 hours before you go to bed.

    For more info, google GERD (Gastro-Esophagal Reflux Disease).

    Some people have this problem, yes. But it has nothing to do with weight loss.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    No, it is not a myth. If you eat too soon before you go to bed, you can get reflux where your digestive juices from your stomach flow up your esophagus. Many people have this problem. For those that do, the medical advice is not to eat 3 hours before you go to bed.

    For more info, google GERD (Gastro-Esophagal Reflux Disease).
    But for people without this problem, there is absolutely zero reason to avoid it, unless it bothers your sleep somehow.
  • ralawar7
    ralawar7 Posts: 8
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    Wow, so many helpful people/responses. Thank you again!
  • teagin2002
    teagin2002 Posts: 1,901 Member
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    I time it, but only cause I don't like sleeping on a full stomach, and some times I get heart burn.

    I still do eat min before bed I just make it a light meal, like a couple of scoops of chocolate whey protein in water then heated up to creamy perfection.
  • teagin2002
    teagin2002 Posts: 1,901 Member
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    It doesn't matter. I don't eat after 8pm. It's more because thats when I get into trouble. I Find chocolate, ice cream, chips, I look for anything and everything. i always get late night munchies.

    Memories....
  • Crystal_R84
    Crystal_R84 Posts: 88 Member
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    I eat if I am hungry especially if I am under calories or I will wake up in the middle of the night feeling sick with hunger pains! Just make healthy choices!

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