Does eating late really matter, purely in terms of time?

[mrsinez]

This is something I've tried searching about on the internet and wondered about for quite some time, and I just wanted to poll the audience here....


Does the time you eat matter for weight loss?

If amount of food/calories doesn't change at all, does it matter if I have dinner at 6 PM, 9 PM, or 11 PM and then sleep at midnight?


Back like ten years ago, when I first started learning about losing weight, somewhere I must've read that you shouldn't eat such-and-such amount of time before going to sleep, and ever since then, it's always been in the back of my mind as somehow ringing true, EVEN THOUGH I've since read many, many, many other times that it's not true at all, it's only total calories that matters, and that the reason people are advised not to eat late is more because that late night eating tends to be extra calories and more likely junk food, etc. etc.


Just want to hear what everyone thinks/knows about this. Thanks!

 

[Korrie]

See, I don't know how I feel about this. I know they say it doesn't matter. BUT I know that food is energy, so if your not gonna be up to use the energy...i dont' see how it doesnt' get stored as fat. PLUS they say nighttime eating, with your body digesting, you don't sleep as well.

 

[mrsinez]

Thanks for your answer, Korrie. I know that it is true for me at least that I don't like sleeping right after eating, like you said, because of digestion and I don't sleep as well. However, my husband is very used to eating late at night, and I don't like constantly pushing for an earlier dinner time or getting anxious when we eat late, so I'm really hoping it doesn't matter, or at least doesn't make much of a difference in terms of weightloss!

 

[HyungJun1]

Doesn't matter whether you eat 5 minutes before you sleep or 2 hours before you sleep because......




..... Calories don't know what time it is.


Just eat to your body's limit and you will be fine.

 

[mrsinez]

That's what I thought, HyungJung. It's good to hear it clearly articulated.

 

[Blaine Podaima]

Yes you do not want to eat 2-3 hours before bed as it interferes with leptin and GH production which are critical for weight loss.

 

[Heny Bemis]

You can make it very complicated by listening to all the voices out there, each purporting that you have to do it this way or that way, but keeping it as simple as possible works best for me. Counting calories is just about as complicated as I want to get, it has science behind it and it works. Everything else is just conjecture, including when is it best to stop eating for the day. Calories in-calories out for a 24 hour period is all I care about and it doesn't matter when I stop for the day as long as I stay within my limit.