Eat after 7/8 a Health Habit Waste of Time?

LMP1979
LMP1979 Posts: 54 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I would have liked to see a little more scientific backing to this, but what are your thoughts????




http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/health-habits-waste-time/story?id=16603893

"Health Habits That Are a Waste of Time"

Don't Eat After 8 P.M.

Calories can't tell time. There's no difference between the 6:30 a.m. and 8:20 p.m. kinds, says Susan Bowerman, M.S., R.D., assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. Plus, hitting the sack hungry can disrupt sleep patterns. In fact, new research suggests you should eat right before bed if you exercise at night, or if you're over 60. A protein-packed meal—or even a whey protein shake—provides more fuel for your body to synthesize muscle. It also helps combat the effects of age-related muscle loss. (Have you found it hard to stick to your workouts? Don't worry—the No Gym, No Excuses Workout will help you incinerate fat and pack on muscle without lifting a weight.)

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How much protein? A recent study in the American Journal of Physiology found that elderly men who ate 35 grams of whey protein experienced more muscle growth than those who ate 10 or 20 grams.

Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    I would have liked to see a little more scientific backing to this, but what are your thoughts????




    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/health-habits-waste-time/story?id=16603893

    "Health Habits That Are a Waste of Time"

    Don't Eat After 8 P.M.

    Calories can't tell time.

    ^ I 100% agree (with the above premise -- I didn't read the entire article).

    But as to your request for research to back it up, you should instead ask for research suggesting that it is detrimental to eat after 8pm, since that's really what the (false) claim is.
  • JudyL5305
    JudyL5305 Posts: 196 Member
    i think it all depends on your schedule and lifestyle. For me after 8 is really pushing it but that's because I go to bed around 10-10:30
  • epmck11
    epmck11 Posts: 159 Member
    i think it all depends on your schedule and lifestyle. For me after 8 is really pushing it but that's because I go to bed around 10-10:30

    Did you read the article? Calories can't tell time! It doesn't matter if you eat at 8 and go to bed at 8:05, 10:05, or 12:05. Calories are all the same no matter what time you consume them.
  • Alexstrasza
    Alexstrasza Posts: 619 Member
    There is research out there to prove it does not matter what time you eat. I'm to lazy to find it at the moment but I have come across it quite a few times in my studies. I'm studying to be a fitness nutritionist, if that means anything.
  • RayRay1500
    RayRay1500 Posts: 158 Member
    I eat whenever, even a 1/2 hour before bed. This has not made a difference in my weight loss at all.
  • nwhitley
    nwhitley Posts: 619
    Agreed. But, I think the theory behind not eating after a certain time is b/c it keeps some people from snacking and eating junk late at night while watching tv. Most people eating after 8 or so are probably not eating an actual sit down healthy meal.
  • DesignGuy
    DesignGuy Posts: 457 Member
    When you look into these "don't eat late at night" studies, you usually find that the negative results were not due to some body science factor, but due to participants who:

    1. Ate more calories than they burned.
    2. Made poor choices and ate crap (ice cream, candy bars, etc).
  • amanda_ataraxia
    amanda_ataraxia Posts: 400 Member
    I believe there is a lot of merit to this. I was told this by a dietitian when I was in college, since college kids have such crazy sleep and eating habits.

    I have been known to have a tablespoon of unsalted almond butter (staying within my calorie allowance obviously) just before bed when I am starving.
  • acidosaur
    acidosaur Posts: 295 Member
    Agreed. But, I think the theory behind not eating after a certain time is b/c it keeps some people from snacking and eating junk late at night while watching tv. Most people eating after 8 or so are probably not eating an actual sit down healthy meal.

    Yeah, that was my take as well. I have a ban on eating after 8pm because otherwise I eat junk. It just cuts down on calories over all.
  • pinthin87
    pinthin87 Posts: 296 Member
    I usually do not eat after 7 because I do feel that if affects the scale in the morning. Wish there was more proof to this therory. Then I wouldn't go to bed some nights with a growling tummy.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    I usually do not eat after 7 because I do feel that if affects the scale in the morning. Wish there was more proof to this therory. Then I wouldn't go to bed some nights with a growling tummy.

    It can effect the scale if it causes you to retain water or if the actual food weight is still present the next time you weigh yourself. It does not effect net fat gain assuming you are not over-eating in total.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    It's only a problem to eat after 8pm if you go to bed at 7:45, because that would pose a choking risk.
  • LMP1979
    LMP1979 Posts: 54 Member
    :tongue: Kinda been my rule that if I'm really hungry right before bed, I eat or the hunger will wake me up! Usually cereal is perfect. Grew up that way, and its never made me gain weight.
  • oldmanstauf
    oldmanstauf Posts: 202 Member
    I almost always eat late, many times an hour or so before bed. There's no difference when you eat.
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    I have found it is best for me not to eat after 8pm, simply because I don't sleep well if I eat within a couple of hours of bedtime. I eat a full dinner so it's not like I am going to bed hungry.
  • zellagrrl
    zellagrrl Posts: 439
    i think it all depends on your schedule and lifestyle. For me after 8 is really pushing it but that's because I go to bed around 10-10:30

    Did you read the article? Calories can't tell time! It doesn't matter if you eat at 8 and go to bed at 8:05, 10:05, or 12:05. Calories are all the same no matter what time you consume them.

    Calories can't tell time, but I don't really feel all that well if I eat a heavy meal before I go to sleep, so it's a fair comment from that sense.
  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
    I think it goes back to the whole every one is different thing. I know people who eat before bed and it doesn't effect them at all. I am the opposite, if I eat before bed I gain like crazy even if I eat something healthy.
  • TriThreat
    TriThreat Posts: 313
    Ithink the idea behind that rule is that your body is "slowing down" cause you are getting ready for bed and less likely to burn as many of the calories. but I workout from 8pm to 9pm and then eat dinner around 9::30, and it hasn't hurt my weight loss AT ALL.
  • MsNewBooty83
    MsNewBooty83 Posts: 985 Member
    i dont think that weight managament wise that it would matter so much, but maybe sleep wise? i generally get a better sleep if i dont go to bed on a super full belly. i did the dont eat after 8pm thing, only because i found myself grazing out of boredom and it was when i would binge and take in large amounts of straight up empty calories. i fought it hard for a month and have pretty much broken myself of the habit now.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I eat whenever I feel like it, haven't seen it cause any trouble...in fact, I save calories to eat between 8 and 10 because I wake up like a hungry lion if I don't.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    My thoughts are that what time you eat doesn't matter. What and how much matters.

    I eat after 8 p.m. almost daily. I don't get home from work until 6:00 on a good day, then I change, workout, relax for a bit, prepare dinner. It's usually around 9 p.m. before we sit down to eat. I didn't have any problem losing weight or maintaining the loss.

    ETA: I typically go to bed somewhere between 10 and 10:30 p.m.
  • heatherina1983
    heatherina1983 Posts: 35
    Does your metabolism not slow down when you sleep or something? I thought that it was best not to eat after a certain time because then that meal is stored although I cba to research it as I'm hungry and it's too late for me to eat =p
  • aaronrlindemann
    aaronrlindemann Posts: 25 Member
    It's no secret that movement after eating helps digestion (ever walk a dog!?)... so it would make sense that if you eat earlier, you may be doing your digestive system (and weight loss) a favor by helping things along and stop eating so late. Not science, just common sense. That being said, calories are calories and really... it's just a matter of timing your eating with when you step on the scale so you're actually seeing your progress. I step on the scale first thing after my AM walk to see my low so I stop eating fairly early. "Eat like a king for breakfast and a peasant for dinner."

    Like mentioned above, it also helps me not eat junk while watching TV.
  • kathyms13
    kathyms13 Posts: 497 Member
    ive lost over 51/2 stones altogether and i have supper around 9pm at night i feel i sleep better.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    It makes no difference even IF you are less active at night. It doesn't matter whether or not you time your food intake so that you burn it all off (in the short-term). All that matters is this, over the course of time:

    Fat oxidation > Fat storage

    If you are in a calorie deficit, this will happen. Even if you eat ALL of your calories IN BED, every day, it still won't make any difference. Suppose you eat everything at night and, because it's 1 massive meal, you gain some fat in your sleep. The next day you're going several hours without any food (because you only eat at night). Your body will oxidize fat during this time period. The net result will still be governed by energy balance. The short term is unimportant.
  • slick8086
    slick8086 Posts: 6
    Article that references multiple studies related to this subject.

    http://justthescience.com/archives/681

    However, multiple studies have found that feeding frequency and timing does not have an effect on metabolic performance (Wilhelmine et al 1998) (Dallosso et al 1982) ( Verboeket van de Venne and Westerterp 1998) (Wolfram et al 1987). 4 5 6 7 In addition, Goldberg et al (1998) found that one’s metabolic rate while sleeping is roughly concurrent with one’s basal metabolic rate (BMR), which in combination with results from the previously mentioned studies suggests that there are no adverse metabolic effects from eating before sleeping.
  • wookiemouse
    wookiemouse Posts: 290 Member
    It depends on your schedule and you as a person. This made bigger news on Oprah a few years ago who told the world she doesn't eat after 7 PM. For a lot of people, once they're done with dinner they park themselves in front of the tv until bedtime. And grab a bag (not a serving) of chips. Or a carton of ice cream. You get the idea.

    I go by the philosophy of eating every 2.5-3 hours. Since I eat dinner at 6, I'm hungry again by 9, so I have a small snack. It's already worked into my daily calorie load, which is the key. As long as you budget for it in calories and serving size, eat whenever you want.

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