Argument in office with guys... need help
 

Ok, I'm the only female in the office.

Everyone says I'm wrong, but I know this from experience.

Am I just the exception to the rule?

I need some type of evidence backing up my claim that it's best not to eat pasta or rice late at night or even a whole lot for dinner.

I know that when I stopped eating those things for dinner it helped me lose weight. Does anyone know of any research?

They keep telling me it doesn't matter b/c it's caloric intake which I do believe but I also think that if you eat a lot of carbs at night before you go to bed it turns into straight sugar and you haven't burned it off.

Can anyone help?

I dont think it matters what time you eat in all fairness. You need a specific number of calories to burn even if you stay in bed all day. So if your active during the day theres no reason your meal/food times should matter. Though everybody is different, so just go with what you feel is best.

I'm iffy on this one. I really do think this falls into the category of "whatever works best for you". I know that if *I* cut back on carbs at night, I tend to do better at losing, but I know it's not true for everyone.

I do know that carbs don't "turn into straight sugar" no matter what time of day you eat them. There's all kinds of variables there, including the types of carbs, etc.

Unfortunately I think you may be out of luck on this particular argument. ;)

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Hmmm, did you try googling it? I would tend to agree with you, and not just for carbs but any meal eaten shortly before bed. Isn't it just logic that you burn more calories when you're awake, assuming you are moving around, etc. rather than laying still in bed? But I don't know for sure one way or another. :shrug:

I did a small amount of googleing - here's a qoute:

"Now on the issue of meal timing - Eating a meal close to bedtime that is carbohydrate rich will trigger a high insulin response from your pancreas, and our body’s insulin sensitivity is decreased most of the time while we sleep. This means that the excess food/energy we consume may not be burned off as easily as it would compared to during the day. If you’re on a diet - watching your food especially at night helps greatly with fat burning as eating too many carbs/too much fat will affect and slow down the desired fat burning process that is occuring. In fact, did you know that Sumo wrestlers eat large meals that are high in carbohydrates and then take naps on purpose JUST to help ensure they store the most amounts of calories possible as fat? Now what does that tell you about meal timing? Feeling sumo-ish already? Good.

Insulin stimulates fat storage - and this is the last thing you want to do to your body right before you go to bed. "

look into it more though I think... I've heard so many mixed responses.

Thanks Gar, can you send me that link?

It's true insulin stores fat, but it doesnt prevent weight loss either. All of the diabetics on this board are testament to that :)

http://www.jimmythomas.com/training/...bohydrates.htm

There is the link to the previous qoute - HOWEVER ;



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle1016108.ece

This dismisses the rumors, researched based. I tried to find the ACTUAL research study, but no luck.

I think there might be a difference male vs. female too. I'm hoping.

Well... I tend to think this may have a lot to do with a person individually.

I find that as long as I'm within my food intake for the day, the times that I eat matter little if at all.

Yeah. I think it really is a matter of what works for each individual.

I mean you hear all those diet sites and books saying that you shouldn't eat after 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. or whatever, too. But the truth is for me, I don't eat dinner until 9 most nights and it's never affected my weight loss. And, most Europeans don't eat dinner much earlier - the idea of a 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. dinner is almost unheard of overseas.

You hear that you shouldn't exercise late at night, or that it's better to exercise during the day, but for some people working out at night works for them. For others it doesn't.

So .. you know. I think all of that is highly individual. Some people metabolize carbs better than others. Some people do better with different kinds of exercise. Some people can't eat earlier.

It's all about finding out what works for YOU.

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From someone who tests their blood sugar often, if I eat a high carb meal before I fall asleep my BS is super high when I wake up so I avoid carby meals at night, or I don't fall asleep until my BS is back to normal.

I've heard that it's not the time of eating, its what we tend to eat late at night. Our boddies really can't tell what time it is, and we do actually burn lots of calories in our sleep. Our bodies work really hard when we sleep to get restorative things done throughout the night. However, this does not help much if we've eaten poorly immediately before bed.

As for eating past a certain time, what I have heard is that we tend to want more comfort foods - like carbalicious things - later at night because we're relaxed and want to feel even more at ease. On top of this, we tend to eat mindlessly when we are tired and attempting to relax. So, as in my case, I'll get out the chips or gummies to have just 4 or 5 as a little snack, turn on the boob tube, and before I know it, 4 or 5 has turned into most of the bag. But - if you're used to eating later at night, this wouldn't be particularly problematic for you as you're making a structured meal.

I have also read that a carb-filled meal, like spaghetti or chinese food, is not as filling nor will maintain your full feeling as long as a high-protien meal. So, that tends to lead to eating larger amounts and/or increased munching on the goodies right before bed - and the mindless eating cycle continues.

Fraid I don't have any research to back that up, but I have read that before...

Sorry to say that, but I read once at a book about fitness that it is a myth. Doesn’t matter what time of the day you eat. If you want to lose weight you have to eat less calories than you burn.
That book was very clear about it. And I found it to be truth. My schedule is very tight and my dinner is right before bed. But if I follow my food plan I lose weight even eighting just before going to bed.

Actually...
 

That depends on what you eat with it so it does kinda come down to caloric and fat intake.

My family is Berber and so I cook and eat a lot of Moroccan food, and I eat lots of rice or couscous or both for dinner every single night, and I eat late. Usually around of after 8 p.m. Nobody in my family is overweight in the slightest.

*Shrug*

I think this is a matter of individual chemistry -- there are A LOT of diet-related rumors, myths, beliefs, etc. circulating so even if theoretically eating 300g's of carbs a day, eating carbs (or at all) before bed, etc shouldn't make you gain weight, that doesn't mean that that is universally true. Given how many people can't handle so many carbs AT ALL, I would tend to say that eating them late at night would also have some negative effects on at least some people too.

Dieticians and doctors change what they think/say about weight loss like every 3 minutes and I personally find a lot of their suggestions AREN'T helpful -- the 300-ish g's of carbs a day is one of the ones I disagree with the most for myself. I also think eating a higher fat diet than recommended is not universally bad, either (I think the whole low-fat thing is a little misguided, in fact, even though it's the "official" doctor-endorsed diet).

Having said that, I usually wind up eating dinner at 8PM or later most nights because I'm usually not even home from work until around 7:00, and that's if I don't stop at the gym first, but I fel better the next morning if I can eat closer to 7:30 or 8:00, rather than at 10.

It does matter what time you eat on bob greene's best life diet it says that since you are less active later during the day you should eat less... so eat bfast like a king lunch like a queen and dinner like a prince or something to that effect

I tend to cut down on carbs later at night, but that's becasue it works for me. I don't think it really matters though, your metabolism has no concept of time, so it isn't going to matter if you eat carbs late at night or not. I think the myth comes from the fact that late at night many people tend to eat foods like cake and pie and comfort food. If you eat that right before you go to sleep, chances are you're going to gain weight.

i read that your metabolism does slow down later during the day because you are less active

I told one of the guys in the office that there is medical research to back up both our claims and that it ultimately depends on the person. He couldn't argue with that and he didn't have the rest of the guys around to gain up on me again. :)

My proof is my weightloss of course, but out driver at work actually listened to me and he's lost weight. I didn't rub it in their faces just smiled.

So there u go :)

Unless you're a night person like me, in which case you're MUCH more acitve at night. I am a slug in the morning, even after my cup of coffee. I don't get my energy up until after noon, and I am at my best in the early evening (which is when I workout) until well after midnight. :)

We're all different.

My mama always told me if you eat cereal at night you'll get fat. Now I don't know if thats cause she hated it when we gorged on cocoa puffs after she went to bed or if she just didn't like us jumping around on a sugar high, but to this DAY she still tells me that when I offer my ultra skinny son cereal if he's hungry right before bed.
My theory is if my mama said it, its probably got some basis in old wives tale fact.