Eating at night
 

Because of a busy schedule lately, I tend to find myself eating a meal (to fullness, not overeating) close to bedtime. I am so hungry by then. I'm trying to curb it because I think it's a bad habit that was an issue for me when I was bingeing. But I'm wondering, do any of you notice a significant difference in weight loss or anything else when you do/don't eat in the late hours?

RE: eating at night
 

What I've noticed about eating after about 6 pm, is that I feel like crap in the morning (tired).

When I don't, I bounce up with lots of energy and am on top of the world!

Wish you success! :)

Thank you! It's hard to do consistently because of my schedule but o have noticed that as well. I wouldn't say I feel bad if I eat late but I definitely feel more energetic if I don't! I'm actually considering intermittent fasting. Experimenting with it just a bit the last two days. I never could've done it before atkins, I'd be way too hungry! Anyway thanks, and best of luck to you as well!!

I've heard that while you sleep, your body is supposed to be resting and repairing, and can't do that if it's busy digesting food. Others say there is no difference in when you eat. I seem to sleep better if there's no food in my stomach.

FACTS:
Humans Are Inherently Nocturnal Eaters Programmed for One Meal Per Day

I'm not going to say this is wrong, but it has never applied to me. I have never been a noctural eater, even when I was eating poorly. I can understand eating OMAD and it being supper, but for me, supper is rarely eating after 5PM, and I don't consider that "night." I have never slept well when I had food digesting. I just toss and turn.

I believe there's always an exception to the rule.

I eat a large breakfast around 8AM and a small lunch, no supper. I finish eating between 2-4PM and have an absolute rule to not eat anything after 6PM. There's some evidence that this is the healthiest way to eat. It seems to work best for me, meaning that it is easy for me.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/...ml?mcubz=3&_r=0

Jean

I find that when IFing, I normally eat only from ~11am-~5pm, but if my schedule is flipped, or I happen to be hungry in the morning I'll have breakfast and lunch instead. Switching it up is also a good idea because your body won't get into a metabolic rut if it has no clue when you'll eat next.

I sleep better if I eat earlier in the day. This seems to matter more for protein than for fat. One meal a day, or all my protein at one meal and fat fast type meals at other times works for me when the one protein meal is around midday or earlier, later in the day I won't sleep as well. I dream more, or remember more dreams at least, on a ketogenic diet, but it's more consistently so when I eat early. Also if I get up in the middle of the night to pee, I'm more likely to get back to sleep if I ate earlier than if I ate later.

"Gurus" debate whether we should eat early, late, or throughout the day. I think the answer is yes. One of these is likely to work best for you.

Yeah, I find if I eat late, unless it's just a protein snack other than say cheese I can toss and turn.

Bacon or sometimes beef can give me heartburn, but not chicken, beef jerky, ham or pepperoni? Go figure.

Anything with meat and tomato together like spaghetti sauce is a definite no-no!

I find that I sleep much better and my weight does not go up even ounces if I eat my last meal by 6 p.m and breakfast at 6 a.m.
But we are each so different.
Maybe experiment a bit to see what affects you.
Maybe aim for at least 12 hours of not eating between dinner and breakfast....see what happens.
If your work hours prevent you from cooking you could try to make your meals ahead of time.
I sometimes make chicken for the week on Sunday and then can add it to my breakfast (add to omelette) , lunch (salad) or dinner(just add veggies).

I eat my last meal of the day by 6pm as a rule. This works very well for deep sleep. My first meal of the day is between 12-1pm, so I've got an 18-19 hour fast built in to each day. With this schedule and eating to satiety at each meal, I sleep well and never get hungry outside of my meal times. There are days when I'm busy and don't eat my midday meal either due to not having the time or because I forget to stop and eat. This schedule works very well for me.

Thank you all for your input. I've noticed I do feel better when I don't eat right before bed so I'm really trying to make the time to eat earlier. I'm also experimenting with IF, really just dabbling thus far.

That regimen works well for me. Sometimes I don't have a chance to have my main meal till 5PM!
People wonder how, but it's not that hard once you work up to it. If I am extremely hungry in the am ill have a high-protein snack with coffee. For some reason a few ounces of barbacoa (a very fatty and rich beef product) eaten early lasts me most of the day :yum:

I will be the contrarian. I lost 45lbs eating my main meal between 7-9pm and going to bed between 10-11pm. Due to my work schedule and commute, that's pretty much the only way for me to eat a hot meal. And also, it keeps me from snacking. If I eat dinner too early, I want to snack. Not because I'm hungry, I just "want something". Not much affects my ability to sleep well, including food.

I do only have coffee with cream and coconut oil for breakfast, so I get a decent fasting* period. Lunch is usually a salad with protein and fat or leftovers from the night before or I might skip it if I am working on increasing my fasting period.

* I may have more calories in the morning than is strictly fasting, but virtually no carbs or protein.