What time do you eat dinner?

_Schatzi_
_Schatzi_ Posts: 112 Member
in Food and Nutrition
For a long time I would start dinner around 5 or 5:30 and we would eat around 6 or so. But lately people have been saying that is way too early (or as my coworker put it 'what'd ya live in a nursing home?'). I always ate then because I was starving!

But now we are trying to eat later (7 or 8), which means a serious snack (200-400cal) around 5pm.

I'm not convinced, however. Aren't you supposed to avoid eating too close to bedtime? Could I just have dinner instead of snack, or would I just end up eating more, or getting hungry later?

I don't know... What do you guys think?
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Replies

  • MrsLeibas
    MrsLeibas Posts: 43 Member
    We eat dinner as late at 8 or 8:30, sometimes even 9 but that's not by choice, I'm an RN and I don't get off work until 7pm (if I get off on time) and then there is at 25-30 minute drive home. Usually my fiance tries to have dinner ready when I get home so we eat between 7:30 and 8. I wish we could eat earlier.

    I don't know what the "right" time to eat dinner is, but I often think that we should eat earlier because I've heard that you shouldn't eat for at least 2 hours before you go to bed. And when we eat at 8:30 that doesn't happen, because I go to bed fairly early (10:30ish)

    I'd love to know what other people do, and how they think it affects their weight.
  • skinnylion
    skinnylion Posts: 213
    We usually eat at 5:30. There's nothing wrong with eating that soon. I don't get hungry again before bedtime, and to me going to sleep on a full stomach doesn't seem appealing.
  • beyg
    beyg Posts: 212 Member
    5 pm until 100 sometimes is difficult to stop munching or eating
  • WildflowerAL
    WildflowerAL Posts: 41 Member
    You should eat dinner at whatever time is convenient for you. We usually eat between 7-8, but this is because I go for a run after work, walk the dog, take a shower, etc. A calorie is a calorie no matter what time you eat. Of course the earlier you eat, you have a better chance of burning it off.
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 784 Member
    I try to eat between 5 - 7 and if I get hungry, I usually eat a snack. I try to have few calories left for reserve.
  • angng
    angng Posts: 137 Member
    I love eating early when I can. I like to get my son bathed and in bed by 8ish, so a later dinner just doesn't cut it.
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
    I make dinner when I get home, between 5:30 and 6:30. And I eat a snack around 10:00.
  • mochomito
    mochomito Posts: 81 Member
    i eat between 6 and 7:45pm nothing after 8pm - except water. But I also don't go to sleep until 1 or 2am.
  • raindancer
    raindancer Posts: 993 Member
    7:00 -7:30 I don't get home till 6:30.
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
    Between 6:30 - 730pm. However I dance once a week at 7:15pm, so I do half dinner before, half after class.
  • NU2U
    NU2U Posts: 659 Member
    Most days, between 4-5...dessert later, if I skip dessert, I'll have cheese or almonds as a snack...or something else low carb.
  • DannyMussels
    DannyMussels Posts: 1,842 Member
    I usually work 2pm-10pm. So I have a small lunch before I go (200-400calories) and a smaller dinner at work (again, 200-400) cause I know when I get home around 10, I'll have a ton more food. So I hold out til then.

    10-11pm at least 3-4 nights a week.

    Otherwise anywhere from 6-8pm usually, depends on what I'm up to.

    For me, its not a "Dont eat after __pm" deal, its a "You know youre gonna eat lots late, so hold off on calories til then" so you don't get into a predicament.
  • Lisammy
    Lisammy Posts: 34 Member
    We usually eat by 5:00 pm. My daughter gets home from school at 4:00 and is HUNGRY! Sometimes it's as late as 6:00. And we always have a snack, usually a bowl of cereal or some low fat popcorn a couple hrs. before bed.
  • kazzari
    kazzari Posts: 473 Member
    It doesn't matter what time you eat your dinner, early or late, eat when you're hungry. I usually eat later purely out of laziness. Or because I got home from the gym late. If you eat your dinner early, and you still have leftover calories, if you get hungry before bedtime eat again.
  • genuinelyfrans
    genuinelyfrans Posts: 584
    I eat dinner right after school (generally around 2:30-3). We are used to eating early because my grandmother cooks early (I think it is a Dominican thing lol).
  • ShawnaCurley
    ShawnaCurley Posts: 82 Member
    My husband get's home from work at 5:45, so we eat at 6. I hate eating late!
  • jjnt007
    jjnt007 Posts: 302 Member
    7:30 or 8 pm. I work 8 - 5. Zumba from 5:30-6:30. Arrive home by 7pm unless I excercise at the gym one more hour.
  • rrcaudill
    rrcaudill Posts: 87
    I start cooking at 5:30, eat at 6, clean up the kitchen, and get all 3 kids in and out of the bathtub and in bed by 8:30. Then I do a quick cleanup of the living room and bathroom, catch up on any tv I wanted to watch, and go to bed at 10:30. :) My life is very scheduled even though I'm a stay-at-home mom.
  • adriana_hackney
    adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
    We eat dinner around 5:30 - 6. I'm not usually hungry after that, and if I am it's nothing an apple or something of that sort don't take care of.
  • sarahdee2007
    sarahdee2007 Posts: 257
    4pm (my husband works nights)
  • adriana_hackney
    adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
    I start cooking at 5:30, eat at 6, clean up the kitchen, and get all 3 kids in and out of the bathtub and in bed by 8:30. Then I do a quick cleanup of the living room and bathroom, catch up on any tv I wanted to watch, and go to bed at 10:30. :) My life is very scheduled even though I'm a stay-at-home mom.

    Totally know what you're saying. That sound EXACTLY like my life...lol I'm a stay at home mom too, and my life is also very scheduled.
  • pat6250
    pat6250 Posts: 90
    Generally, I like to eat at 5 or 5:30. If I eat at 6:30 or later, I feel too full when it is near bedtime. If I eat at 4:30, I want an evening snack, and that can be trouble if I want sweets. When I was in Europe, I was sightseeing and walking between 5 and 10 miles per day, so eating at 7 or 8 didn't bother me. I guess if you are active enough, eating late won't keep you up.
  • Articeluvsmemphis
    Articeluvsmemphis Posts: 1,987 Member
    eat whenever you like :)
  • wndnls
    wndnls Posts: 25
    I eat dinner around 5pm...I go to bed around 10...so If i do get hungry, I eat a low cal snack around 8pm.
    But then again, If I do eat late the next day I try to burn more calories...
  • litatura
    litatura Posts: 569 Member
    I eat supper around 7:00pm because I hit the treadmill as soon as I get home from work and before I eat. However, I'll have an apple or a banana around 4:30pm so that I have energy to work out and not starving. Eating late works great because it eliminates PM snacking.
  • christenwypy
    christenwypy Posts: 335 Member
    That's weird that your coworker makes fin of you for eating at that time. Most people eat at 5 or 6 I think. I try to shoot for that time. Sometmes I run late but I always feel bad when I do and we eat at 7 or after. I think the earlier the better although I do always find myself eating something before bed.
  • xoeva
    xoeva Posts: 209 Member
    For a long time I would start dinner around 5 or 5:30 and we would eat around 6 or so. But lately people have been saying that is way too early (or as my coworker put it 'what'd ya live in a nursing home?'). I always ate then because I was starving!

    But now we are trying to eat later (7 or 8), which means a serious snack (200-400cal) around 5pm.

    I'm not convinced, however. Aren't you supposed to avoid eating too close to bedtime? Could I just have dinner instead of snack, or would I just end up eating more, or getting hungry later?

    I don't know... What do you guys think?
    Since you asked...I eat dinner by5:30...lunch at 12 so by 5 I'm hungry...then I eat an orange or an apple - sometimes yogurt - at night before bedtime - anytime between 9:30-10:30.....I'm at up 6am every single day..Monday, Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and yep, Saturda and Sunday.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Usually sometime between 7 and 10. During the last few months, I've been eating late or in the middle of the night in a way I never used to do. I've been doing Intermittent Fasting (IF) for the last couple of days and that has helped me refrain from eating after dinner.
  • glpennington
    glpennington Posts: 14
    The late meal is part of a bigger plan based on keeping your metabolism constant so it always revved up to burn calories. It reflects well on the dietary requirements of a diabetic. The point is to keep your six meals and snacks per day so small that thru digestion and activity you are able to burn off what you consume. Many say that your late meals should be lean. They should never include starch or fruit sugars which turns to fat easily. However in reality, I have found that eating within two hours of going to bed usually results in sleep problems. I've also found that one tends to make their meals larger than required. As a result additional calories are consumed and fat is gained. I would suggest making your last meal of the day your smallest meal and to avoid eating within two hours of bed time because in the real world we tend to overdo it.
  • wanttobeskinny1212
    wanttobeskinny1212 Posts: 16
    when i eat earlier i sometimes find it hard to stop eating but for some reason if i take a shower after eating it stops me from eating more and my body seems to recognise that it is full.A lot of the time i eat dinner at 5 or 4 and my dinner is generally between 400-600 kcal.If im realy hungry ill have a small snack around 7 or 8 like a small apple.I have noticed that using this method even if i ate too many calories in the morning i still lose weight.Its probably becasue my body has more time to burn it off.

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