Eating Late--really detrimental?

I eat bacon in bed, I'll spare you the other details.

Hey guys, I've heard eating after a certain hour of the night can be detrimental to weight loss. How true is this statement? I work during the day and go to school at night, so I usually end up eating later than I'd like. When do you guys generally have your last meal/snack?

I'd say the statement is very true, whenever I go to bed soon after eating I always gain the next day.

I'll usually have my last meal or snack at least 3-4 hours before bed, so about 7 or 8pm when I go to bed at 10 to 12.

If I must eat I try to make it something lite like a huge salad or fish (tuna), that way I'm at least getting as few calories as possible

they also say people will eat when they're really sleepy, the body tells them to eat more because the calories will give them energy to stay awake longer.

I have a late meal after working out. Hasn't affected me one bit. ☺

Your body does not stop digesting food just because you're asleep. Your metabolism has to run around the clock to keep your body functioning. While it is true that your metabolism slows while you sleep, that is only because of the reduction in your body's requirements for energy. It is still hard at work building up tissues and keeping your bodily functions going. As long as you're hitting your daily calorie goals, when you eat those calories will have little effect on your weight loss/gain.

The only reason people say not to is because your body isn't moving about so when you eat later at night they think that your body will not burn those calories. If you were to eat during the day you are up and moving more. If you are still in your calories then you should be fine. You need to eat when you are hungry no matter what time of day

Hey guys, I've heard eating after a certain hour of the night can be detrimental to weight loss. How true is this statement? I work during the day and go to school at night, so I usually end up eating later than I'd like. When do you guys generally have your last meal/snack?

Usually 3-4 hours before bed

I was told no carbs after 6.. so really i dont eat after 6 anyways i get home from the gym at 9pm so i take a shower and off to bed.

I've never had an issue with late night eating, but on the flip side if I skip breakfast, I definitely feel it and crave items I'm trying to minimize.

I agree with the last posts. I just read that it doesn't matter but people do tend to eat more calories in the evening to feel satisfied so just be careful not to exceed your daily goal!

Eat whenever you want just as long as you stay with in your caloric intake... I head to bed with a Big Glass of 1% Chocolate Milk and a Bowl of Almonds every night. ( around 400 calories) gets me by til breakfast around 6:30..... Doesn't matter what time of the night it is, Food is fuel for the body, got to stoke the fire..... :-)

I'll eat right up until bedtime if I'm hungry and I have the calories. As others have said, when you eat has no effect on weight loss. The reason you'll see the "never eat after X pm rule" is that many people eat snacks in front of the TV after dinner and those calories are usually above and beyond what they should be eating. For those people who aren't counting calories, not eating snacks after dinner is probably a good idea.

I've never had any problems losing weight due to eating at different times. My usual supper time is around 8 to 9 pm, and I often have a cup of hot chocolate or a glass of milk within an hour of going to bed.

Like most diet and nutrition-related questions, this depends on your particular metabolism & your own body's quirks.

As some people mentioned, some have trouble sleeping on a full stomach or suffer from acid reflux. If that doesn't apply to you, don't worry about it.

How carbohydrate-sensitive are you? One in four women has some level of carbohydrate-sensitivity and needs to be careful about how many carbs she eats in one sitting. Some (like me) actually need to eat a pretty restrictive low-carb diet in order to stay healthy. So IF you are carbohydrate-sensitive, then your body is more likely to end up storing carbs as fat (if you don't use them immediately). In that case, you would want to avoid eating carbs right before a rest period. Eating anything else would be fine: hard-boiled egg, cheese stick, anything with protein. I hate going to bed hungry, it makes it hard for me to sleep, so I generally have a protein shake about half an hour before bedtime and it works great for me.

But if you're not carbohydrate-sensitive, then again, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't eat whatever you want, whenever you want. Again, it just depends on YOUR body and what works for YOU.

Im a firm believer that eating carbs after 7 will add some bodyweight. Your body will not process the carbs during the night as it does during the day. Therefore since they have no where to go, they attach to your fat cells, making them bigger.

When I cut, lose bodyfat, I have no carbs (breads, rice, sweet potatoes) after 3pm. If Im adding mass, I will eat carbs up to 7pm.

that is my two cents.

if i wake up in the middle of the night and feel like snaking i will, i eat just about every 2 hours to keep my metabolism on fire.

meal frequency does nothing to boost metabolism...that is a myth