To eat after a certain time or not to eat...

xsabrinalynn
xsabrinalynn Posts: 146 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sure this is a popular topic so sorry if this is yet again another one about whether or not to eat after a certain time.

Thoughts on this subject? I personally go to the gym THEN eat dinner. And sometimes, it's after 830/9pm. I don't want to eat dinner and then head straight for the gym because that wouldn't work. And not to mention, I don't like working out really late.

I'm eating late and still losing weight so it's obviously working for me... just wondering where everyone else stands on the subject!

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    The timing of meals makes no difference at all, it's total intake that counts.

    Having said that some people experience discomfort of they eat too close to bed time but that has no impact on weight loss.
  • carolinedb
    carolinedb Posts: 236 Member
    I have found that there is no magic witching hour that suddenly makes calories count more. However, I do watch what types of foods I eat before bed, because I don't like going to sleep feeling stuffed or bloated.
  • rcthale
    rcthale Posts: 141
    I've heard a theory, I think from Bob Harper's rules book, that if you avoid carbs several hours before sleep, your body will be forced to burn fat during sleep. Theory.
  • kris4chloe
    kris4chloe Posts: 245 Member
    <
    currently eating dinner at 8:24 pm :tongue:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I think that we each have to experiment to find out what makes us feel good.

    If eating late makes you sleep badly, then it's a good idea to stop a few hours before bed.
    If snacking mindlessly in the evening puts you over your calorie goal for the day, then having a cutoff time is probably a good plan.
    If you go to they gym late and come home and eat dinner just before bed, that's no problem.

    I don't believe that our bodies suddenly start working differently if we get all our cals in early or late in the day. Do what suits you!
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
    Some people like to create extended fast times through the late evening and night to burn more fat.
    I don't. And the whole science around that concept is shaky anyway.
    I eat right before bed time.
    If I didn't, I'd be down in the kitchen eating supper all over again.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,225 Member
    I don't like eating late...but that's me. Also, the later I eat, the more likely my morning fasting blood sugar reading is going to be elevated.
  • HorseWithNoName27
    HorseWithNoName27 Posts: 188 Member
    If I eat too close to bedtime, I wake up feeling nauseous and/or vomit bile. It's really disgusting. :sad: I toss and turn a LOT in my sleep, so I think the combo of digesting food + movement = heartburn and upchuck.

    BUT, unless you have issues like that, you should be fine. :laugh:
  • curtnrod
    curtnrod Posts: 223 Member
    A sumo wrestler consumes 20,000 calories a day, split between two very large meals of 10,000 calories each. By sleeping after a meal of 10,000 calories a sumo wrestlers body is able to process them slowly for storage (as fat).

    http://www.intermartialarts.com/article/sumo-wrestler-diet/

    I'd say as long as your not consuming 10k in calories you're probably safe LOL
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
    calories can't tell time.
  • iloso
    iloso Posts: 156
    If it makes you feel any better, my last meal is usually around 11pm give or take and this is either my dinner or bed time snack (I never go over my calorie limits)
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    Since I am recuperating from a lot of stress, which manifested in my poor gut, my body really appreciates the break it gets from the intermittent fasting (IF) I am doing right now. Also, IF fits in with my lifestyle right now. I like it! I eat between 11am and 7pm, not before, not after. I exercise in the early AM because that way it is for sure done, and it did not interfere with my family life at all. It is also MY TIME.

    Incidentally, it may be that my eating and exercising pattern is capitalizing on some physiology principals and giving me lots of fat burn. Whatever the case, I am likin' it.
  • PhilyPhresh
    PhilyPhresh Posts: 600 Member
    A sumo wrestler consumes 20,000 calories a day, split between two very large meals of 10,000 calories each. By sleeping after a meal of 10,000 calories a sumo wrestlers body is able to process them slowly for storage (as fat).

    http://www.intermartialarts.com/article/sumo-wrestler-diet/

    I'd say as long as your not consuming 10k in calories you're probably safe LOL

    Lol! Well we certainly can't argue with that logic now, can we? ;)
  • InezRny
    InezRny Posts: 53 Member
    I always try my best to eat dinner no later than 6.. but there are alot of times I don't do that and it's because of what I am doing through out the day and more likely on the weekend since I sleep a little later.. However.. I agree with previous post that if you are counting your calories it may or may not matter... because you are also exercising no? I exercise late so sometimes I allow myself to eat later only because I know I am going to work out... I also work later in the day too.. so it all depends on your schedule..
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    It makes no difference to weight loss whatsoever.
  • GumbyAnne
    GumbyAnne Posts: 130 Member
    I don't think it really matters for overall weight loss, but personally I like the way my stomach looks in the morning and the way my pants fit if I didn't eat for a couple hours before bed. It's good for my motivation to wake up feeling a little thinner than I was the day before.
  • nickyrobinson
    nickyrobinson Posts: 161 Member
    It's probably more how the food impacts your sleep and exercise than anything. For instance, if you can't sleep well because you ate, or you didn't eat, or you wake up hungry at 4 AM, or don't eat breakfast because you ate late...

    Like you I only eat after exercise (if I eat less than about 3 hours before even moderate exercise, I get nauseous during the exercise). And I am ravenous afterwards. That means I've had some really late meals on Fridays, when I might finish a hockey game at 10:30 pm, then have to dress and get home.
  • beautifullyblessed16
    beautifullyblessed16 Posts: 180 Member
    Just ate a bowl of greek yogurt with almonds and protein powder...at midnight. Yum!
  • dreamsofsomeday
    dreamsofsomeday Posts: 62 Member
    I sometimes have a hard time sleeping on an empty stomach, so I have a tiny snack before going to bed if I need it. Only if I need it.
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
    <
    / night eater
    Has never stopped progresss
    Just stay in ur macros and cal limit you'll be fine
  • Agator82
    Agator82 Posts: 249 Member
    Just to stir the pot a little, there was ap recent study with mice that showed that mice that fasted for 16 hours a day while eating a high-fat diet were able to lose or maintain a healthy weight. One of the conclusions is that the digestive tract might need time to 'rest'. So that would translate to breakfast at 8 AM and dinner at 4 PM, ick. General disclaimer, more experiments are needed to know the effectiveness on humans.

    That being said, as others have referred to above, the main concern with eating late is the mindless snacking that can pack a lot of calories in a short period of time. Dinner after exercise would hardly be looked at the same way.
  • avt85
    avt85 Posts: 64
    i'm with the OP here, I've lost all 40kgs thus far by just watching my calorie intake and not worrying about the time of day I eat it.
    Because I go the gym at night (afterwork), I find myself eating light breakfast and lunch so that I do not feel bloated at the gym.

    Then I used my remaining allowances for dinner and head to bed.....repeat.
    Have worked for me so far.

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