Eating past 6pm?

Great advise. I never thought of reversing my meals, I'll try it tomorrow. Thanks

eating something healthy and low carb late at night is not a bad thing . keeps the metabolism going. if you stop eating at six then your body isnt going to eat until the next day and it knows that..therefore it will hoard food ..at least thats how i understand it to be..i eat my last meal anywhere from 9p-11p at night ..usually its just a whey and casein shake

They are definitely not experts if they are saying this. However that saying is said often because most people consume their breakfast, lunch and dinner and by 6pm (when dinner is done) anything they put in their mouth is likely causing them to be in calorie surplus.

Let's think about this for a minute.

You're very busy one day and you miss your regular breakfast in the morning AND your lunch! You have your regular dinner around 5-6pm.

You've now consumed 20% of your daily calories in your dinner. You've got 80% left before you will "theoretically" gain anything. By eating after 6pm in this scenario, you will gain nothing. Actually you should keep eating until you've given your body what it needs to function properly (whatever you deem that to be.)

Remove the mental blocks and apply simple principles and common sense.

I think "correct" eating habits depend largely on each individual. For someone whose body operates within normal metabolic and hormonal parameters (i.e. no thyroid issues, no insulin or blood sugar issues, etc...), there doesn't necessarily have to be a set schedule for meals. For them, it's more about calories in/calories out, and eating regularly enough to keep themselves from binging. For someone like me, though, who has insulin resistance issues, as well as a slow thyroid, it's important to keep my meals at regular intervals for the purpose of regulating blood sugar and keeping my energy levels up. This is a typical day for me:

7am--Breakfast (300-400cals)
9am--Light snack (100-125cals)
11 or 11:30am--Lunch (400-500cals)
1:30pm--Light snack (100-125cals, higher in carbs)
3:30 or 4pm--Dinner (350-400cals)
5:30-7pm--Workout (Burn, on avg, 500-800cals)
7 or 7:30pm Light snack (50-100cals, higher in protein)
9pm--Light snack (optional if I'm feeling hungry, 50-100cals, higher in protein)
10 or 11pm--Bedtime

Ask the experts to define the time zone! It's 6:00 PM someowhere! :laugh:

Bunk. It's midnight you have to be watch out for....

:laugh:

I just have my meal whenever it happens. Sometimes it's at 4pm, sometimes it's at 8pm. Occasionally it's been as late as 10pm, and I've still managed to lose almost 6 stone, so I wouldn't worry.

I sometimes don't get home until 9-10 . I try to not eat a heavy meal with a lot of carbs and try to stay up and moderately active for 1.5 - 2 hours afterward . I try but that's not always what happens which was a big part of being 100 lbs overweight .

Fitbit has this interesting note on my food report and I'm not sure the "science" behind it ...

"Good eating habits spread calorie intake throughout the day and skew toward the morning.
Right now dinner takes up 33% of your calories. Try to keep dinner and evening snacks to below 30% if you are trying to lose weight and below 50% if you are trying to maintain your weight."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this in my opinion

I just try not to eat too close to bedtime. that way my body has a chance to burn off some of he calories before going into "sleep mode!"

Just keep track of your deficit. In college i took a nutrition class and the reason for that is that you may not burn those calories before you go to bed. It can also cause funny dreams in some people. Don't worry about it though! I can't eat until 9 at night cause I get off work at 8:30 and I've been losing weight just fine.

Time really matters if you are consuming like tons of carbs. I wouldn't suggest a big bowl of spagetti or pasta right before bedtime. Eating something before bed may actually help you sleep too.

I guess my point is you have to find what works for you.

Exactly

If I didn't eat past 6 I'd never eat dinner. I don't get off work until 5pm and if I go to the gym I don't get home until 7pm. There have been nights that I don't eat until 9pm. I don't think it really matters what time you eat but rather WHAT you eat. Just my opinion.

I eat what I want, when I want. My workouts often are not done until after 7 and after I workout, I have to refuel and that means eating and drinking. So far, it's caused me no grief. I say the whole timing thing is just a myth.