Not eating after a certain hour

petite_lar
petite_lar Posts: 8
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi... so last year, I managed to lose a lot of weight and I felt SO SO good about it... Now, I've put it all back on again plus a bit more. I am feeling ever so depressed about this weight gain... it's disgusting!!! I know why I have put on a lot of weight though... My appetite is crazy in the evening... Like I couldn't control myself in the past months... I would consume most of my calories at night and sleep shortly afterwards...
Eating turned into binging and it escalated from there... now I am planning not to consume ANY calories after 5 o'clock (I usually sleep at 10) so that would give my body 5 hours to digest what I've eaten before I go to sleep.

I just want to know if fasting after a certain hour has helped anyone? Do you think it's the right way to stop my crazy night binges? It's going to take so much will power and I would appreciate your support... add me! :)
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Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    Meal timing is completely irrelevant for weight loss. It comes down to not eating more than you burn establishing a moderate energy deficit. Whether you eat those calories just before going to sleep makes no difference. If stopping eating at 5 allows you to maintain that calorie deficit, all power to you, but eating after 5, assuming your calories are less than you burned for that day, will not make you fat. Many people, myself included, has lost a lot our weight and eat up to a few minutes before going to sleep, but we stay within our calorie guidelines. Your body does not stop burning energy when you go to sleep. In fact your BMR is the calories you burn whether you are awake or sleeping. For the vast majority of people it is most of the calories they burn in a day, and it continues all night. Again, if stopping eating at a certain time keeps you from binging, go for it. The extended fast overnight won't hurt you.
  • petite_lar
    petite_lar Posts: 8
    ahh right, but I thought that your metabolism isn't as effective at night as it is in the day... is that not true then??
  • deekaydee
    deekaydee Posts: 158 Member
    Meal timing is completely irrelevant for weight loss. It comes down to not eating more than you burn establishing a moderate energy deficit. Whether you eat those calories just before going to sleep makes no difference. If stopping eating at 5 allows you to maintain that calorie deficit, all power to you, but eating after 5, assuming your calories are less than you burned for that day, will not make you fat. Many people, myself included, has lost a lot our weight and eat up to a few minutes before going to sleep, but we stay within our calorie guidelines. Your body does not stop burning energy when you go to sleep. In fact your BMR is the calories you burn whether you are awake or sleeping. For the vast majority of people it is most of the calories they burn in a day, and it continues all night. Again, if stopping eating at a certain time keeps you from binging, go for it. The extended fast overnight won't hurt you.

    What he said.

    Also, if your appetite is the strongest in the evening, you might find it easier to plan your day accordingly, and save up calories for the evening -- then plan what you're going to eat in the evenings and stick to that. If not eating after 5 stops you from binging, that's terrific.....but if it just makes you crazy and you can't stick with it for very long, it may be worth it to give your body what it wants -- but just plan better.
  • hubkal
    hubkal Posts: 125 Member
    Just keep building muscle and get strong! Muscle keeps your motor running! I sometimes eat at 9 at night and still wake up on "weigh day" and have lost a pound! 7 lbs down in my first 17 days!
  • DS67ATX
    DS67ATX Posts: 289
    I try not to eat after 7pm.I do enjoy coffee at night with a 100 calorie snack but if I do Ill have before 8pm and only twice a week.
  • DAM_Fine
    DAM_Fine Posts: 1,227 Member
    My only reason for not eating past 7 at night is simple - I usually do my exercises in the evening, a couple of hours after dinner / a couple of hours before bedtime. If I eat past 7, I'm too full to exercise and find it hard to sleep.
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    meal timing does not matter. I work graveyard 11pm-7am and eat at crazy times and have lost just fine. unless it effects your sleep, it doesn't matter.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    ahh right, but I thought that your metabolism isn't as effective at night as it is in the day... is that not true then??

    It is not true. Your metabolism runs at a constant base rate, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Calories are calories, no matter when you eat them.
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    Perhaps you need to address why you feel hungriest in the evenings and why you give in to binges. :ohwell:

    Have you ever stopped to think how you're feeling when you get the urge to binge? Is it boredom, stress, some other trigger?

    Understanding the triggers to binges is often the best step to knocking them on the head.

    Good luck!
  • ariant23
    ariant23 Posts: 161 Member
    I too used to eat too much in the evening, so cutting off food at 7 really worked for me. i'm good at following hard and fast rules, but not so much if there is give and take. I ate partially from boredom, and partially from the "snack-ies / hand-ies" I like to have something for my hands to do if I watch TV or something. I've tackled the hand-ies part with my smartphone. i peruse the news whlie I watch TV (very short attention span)

    if it helps : do it...
  • DorothyR87
    DorothyR87 Posts: 113
    Meal timing is completely irrelevant for weight loss. It comes down to not eating more than you burn establishing a moderate energy deficit. Whether you eat those calories just before going to sleep makes no difference. If stopping eating at 5 allows you to maintain that calorie deficit, all power to you, but eating after 5, assuming your calories are less than you burned for that day, will not make you fat. Many people, myself included, has lost a lot our weight and eat up to a few minutes before going to sleep, but we stay within our calorie guidelines. Your body does not stop burning energy when you go to sleep. In fact your BMR is the calories you burn whether you are awake or sleeping. For the vast majority of people it is most of the calories they burn in a day, and it continues all night. Again, if stopping eating at a certain time keeps you from binging, go for it. The extended fast overnight won't hurt you.

    The Dr. Oz Show actually had an episode about top diet myths and not eating after a certain time was one of them. Your body does't care what time it is and a calorie is still a calorie. It really is about eating less than you burn. Most people have the problem with eating at night because they already ate their calories and then they start snacking. I am super grateful this is true because with my husband's and my work schedules dinner isn't till around 9:30PM.
  • Coco_Puff
    Coco_Puff Posts: 823 Member
    Just keep building muscle and get strong! Muscle keeps your motor running! I sometimes eat at 9 at night and still wake up on "weigh day" and have lost a pound! 7 lbs down in my first 17 days!

    This is so right on!!!!!
  • tonyabw
    tonyabw Posts: 17
    This works for me, I always make sure to "save" some calories for a snack in the evening. I've found that I can go low-cal for lunch and even dinner but then my body really requires some more food before bed or I can't get to sleep (tummy growling = unpleasant sleep environment LOL). I tried the "not eating after X time" and found that it just made me cranky. I've settled into a better routine now and am seeing more results because of it.

    Meal timing is completely irrelevant for weight loss. It comes down to not eating more than you burn establishing a moderate energy deficit. Whether you eat those calories just before going to sleep makes no difference. If stopping eating at 5 allows you to maintain that calorie deficit, all power to you, but eating after 5, assuming your calories are less than you burned for that day, will not make you fat. Many people, myself included, has lost a lot our weight and eat up to a few minutes before going to sleep, but we stay within our calorie guidelines. Your body does not stop burning energy when you go to sleep. In fact your BMR is the calories you burn whether you are awake or sleeping. For the vast majority of people it is most of the calories they burn in a day, and it continues all night. Again, if stopping eating at a certain time keeps you from binging, go for it. The extended fast overnight won't hurt you.

    What he said.

    Also, if your appetite is the strongest in the evening, you might find it easier to plan your day accordingly, and save up calories for the evening -- then plan what you're going to eat in the evenings and stick to that. If not eating after 5 stops you from binging, that's terrific.....but if it just makes you crazy and you can't stick with it for very long, it may be worth it to give your body what it wants -- but just plan better.
  • rockchalk956
    rockchalk956 Posts: 94 Member
    I try not to eat after 8:30pm, just because I know I probably won't be doing anything physical for the rest of the night before I go to bed. If I do work out in the evening, I'll have a little snack after that, but not a whole meal. If I consume anything right before bed, it's usually just a cup of decaf tea or something to make me go into baby mode for easy sleep. lol
  • Picola1984
    Picola1984 Posts: 1,133
    LeangainsLateNightEatingMyth.jpg
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    I have a problem with this too. I'll eat really well throughout the day and when I get home from school I have like 800 cals to spare. Between dinner and snacks, I can eat all that pretty quickly.

    One thing that has helped is having my dinner at a later time and staying on campus/in a coffee shop so I don't go home and snack. I will usually let myself have a little something a couple hours after dinner but then I stop and tell myself no more, even if I feel hungry. As soon as I start I don't stop because I'm tired and don't care. For some reason its really hard for me to feel full late at night so it takes a lot more food to feel satisfied. Best for me just to go to bed and get up early actually.
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  • MomofTeens
    MomofTeens Posts: 42 Member
    I lost 30 pounds 2 years ago. I did all the right things; ate healthy, worked out 4X a week, got plenty of rest. I experimented a little bit during those 9 months of weight loss.
    If I consumed most of my calories in the afternoon and evening (I was eating 1300 calories per day) I would maintain or lose less per week than if I had a hardy breakfast and lunch and scaled down my dinner and NO snack after dinner.
    I know the logic says that its strictly based on calories in vs calories burned. But I work in the medical field and there is a LOT more going on inside our bodies than just that. Metabolism is a very complicated idea.
    So that's my own experience and it is what I use today. I have had a similar issue that you have; lost 30+ pounds and then put 10-15 back on within 6 months. So, needless to say, I'm back at it and following what I did before.

    :flowerforyou:
  • Fay84Vegan
    Fay84Vegan Posts: 225 Member
    I hate to eat late at night!
    If i do eat a large meal in the evening it wont be later than 18:30 because i feel sick if i go to sleep on a full stomach
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    It makes no difference when you consume your calories.... I go to bed every single night with a full glass of 1% Chocolate Milk (310 calories) and 30 Almonds and 3/4 of a cup of double chocolate Crave cereal (250 calories between these 2) and have managed to lose some weight over the last 33 months.... It is more important to make sure you are staying within your daily caloric intake...... Good Luck....
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    I like to eat in bed.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Ah yes, this is weight loss handicap #2.
  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
    I avoid eating after 11pm, because I'm usually asleep at 10:30.
    That way, my bed stays clean.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    I avoid eating after 11pm, because I'm usually asleep at 10:30.
    That way, my bed stays clean.
    man....what didnt i think of that?! always crumbs in the bed *mumblegrumble*
  • khagador
    khagador Posts: 175 Member
    Basically repeating what everyone else said.

    It's a myth.

    If it helps you to not binge by putting a qualifier of "I won't eat past 5 pm" then go for it.

    If you find that going to bed with a full stomach interrupts your sleep, then use a cut off time.

    If neither of these things apply to you, then eat whenever you want.
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
    Maybe you are like me. I am hungry at night so I eat at night.
    As others have said meal timing is irrelevant.
    I personally find that if I eat two larger meals a day - one of them later in the evening. I feel good. Sleep better. Don't wake up starving. Are you getting enough calories? Open your diary maybe?
  • Jess5825
    Jess5825 Posts: 228
    I as told it doesn't matter when you eat, but it was recommended to me not to eat carbs 3-4 hours before bed.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    Perhaps you need to address why you feel hungriest in the evenings and why you give in to binges. :ohwell:

    Have you ever stopped to think how you're feeling when you get the urge to binge? Is it boredom, stress, some other trigger?

    Understanding the triggers to binges is often the best step to knocking them on the head.

    Good luck!

    This.
    You say you cannot control your appetite at night and are crazy hungry, so.unless youre starving yourself throughout the day, there is somethin more to this. Perhaps at night you are lonely or dealing with a ton of stress brought home from work/school... you may have conditioned yourself to eat to deal with these things rather than facing the issue and finding another way to deal. Think about this- have you ever snacked at night or binged and did not remember much of what your food taste like? (Meaning your mind wasnt really present while you were munching) then once you are done eating that item, you think you are still hungry so you move on to the next thing.
    I went through this and its a serious issue. If you think stopping eating ar a certain hour will help, think again. You need to attack theissue at its root cause and figure out a way to better dealwith negative emotions first, before you can think placing restrictions on yourself will help. If you would like to talk just message me. I can give you ways that I overcame this very issue. Best of luck!
  • JulieWH94
    JulieWH94 Posts: 4
    Well, my personal trainer recommended that I don`t eat carbs from anything other than vegetables after 7 pm, but he said that eating proteins and vegetables later than that was ok. But I`m trying to lose some fat, and not muscles ;)
  • AlbionLass
    AlbionLass Posts: 136
    I don't eat after 5 pm but that is just the routine that works for me. Meals at 8, 12 and 4-5.
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