[taekwondomom]

My questions are:
Do you eat in the 3 hours before bedtime?

Do you think it hinders weightloss to eat right before going to bed?

I was just wondering what you all think. Most of what I have read, says no eating right before bed. However, if I am genuinely hungry I will have something to eat. Usually yogurt topped with my new favorite Kashi GoLean Crunch (a granola cereal with NO fiber twigs!) or a salad with shredded cheese or sunflower seeds on top.

[suunflowrr]

Do you eat in the 3 hours before bedtime?
No.

Do you think it hinders weightloss to eat right before going to bed?
This is a good question. I asked this at a WW meeting and my leader said "No". Still, I've seen first hand that it can make a difference because there's no real time to get rid of it. This has just been my experience and I guess it could be different for someone else. I'd be really interested to see what others have experienced. Good luck!

[kykaree]

I do because I work 12 - 8 shifts and get up at 6 in the morning to exercise, so I eat around 9.30 (I have an hour and a half commute) and go to bed around 10.30 or 11. I have lost weight at a good rate, 1 - 2 pounds a week, so I don't think it makes a difference. It can hinder your quality of sleep as your tummy is working to digest food, so I try to keep my evening meal fairly simple without too much acid or spices, and save the fancy stuff for the weekends!

[alphabetsoup]

I've heard mixed opinions on this - maybe it's something that is an individual thing. Perhaps some people can eat before bedtime and not experience any adverse affects and others who eat before bedtime don't burn it off. <shrug>

I DO eat in the 3 hours before bedtime. Dinnertime is around 6:30 here - kids go to bed around 9 and I don't go to bed until midnight (or later like tonight) - I'm too hungry. I've had a bad habit in the past of eating a lot after the kids are in bed (sometimes it's just nice to be able to eat something from start to finish, ya know?) - but now, I'm just eating a snack is all which is usually some sunflower seeds (they help my cravings since I'm used to muching at this time of night) or I might have a small bowl of ice cream...

If I go to bed hungry, I have trouble sleeping. But, on the flip side, if I drink a ton of water before bed (like I'm doing right now ) then I get sick to my stomach during the night...but I love water...I guess it's worth it.

So, anyway, I don't know the definitive answer, but I bet it's different for everyone.

[boiaby]

I do! I usually have some yogurt every night at about 9:30 and I go to bed around 11:00-11:30. I think one of the main reasons for the no food before bed idea is because so many people struggle with night time snacking, and once they get started it's hard to stop. I look forward to my nightly snack (which isn't always yogurt, but that's my fav. so I choose it most often) and I know that's all I'm gonna have, so I don't have the urge to continue snacking. It's all about planning, right?? So, I say, if you're hungry during that time between your last meal and bed, then plan a light snack and enjoy!

Beverly

[teapotdynamo]

You know, no one has ever been able to convince me that it really is a really a bad idea to eat after a certain hour at night, although it seems to be handed down as diet gospel (I'm gonna guess Oprah is related somehow ) My THEORY is that, for people who weigh in every morning, the scale is obviously less kind because they aren't as *dehydrated* when they weigh in the next day. But does that really mean they've gained/lost either way? Nah. It's about the calorie deficit over time!

I honestly don't think it matters when you eat your calories, as long as they're within your daily allowance. But if nighttime snacking is a real problem for you, by all means draw the line! I definitely file this one under "whatever works for you."

[dakotamidnight]

I do, because my schedule is soo full that quite often I have no other choice

[Jo]

I usually have a small snack in the evening. My dietician thinks it's OK, so I don't worry about it.

[KIMMIFIER]

I TRY not to but if I am really hungry I will have a high protein snack like nuts or cheese. I try not to eat carbohydrate foods (fruit, whole grains) by themselves ever as it revs up the glucose production and I have insulin resistance.
As far as the 3 hours before bed rule. I think food is food any time of day. I personally just dont care for the feeling of going to bed on a full tummy. A snack when I really need it like if I've taken an evening walk or exercised after dinner.
Kim

[funniegrrl]

I'm with teapot on this one! Calories in, calories out. If you struggle with OVEReating at night, I can see where it would be a great idea to have a cutoff time, not only to avoid triggers but to break the habit altogether. However, does it affect metabolism, etc.? I can't believe that it does, and I don't think there's ever been any research to PROVE that it does.

[DishyFishy]

I prefer not to eat after about 20:00ish, although I'm not all rigid about it. My reasons are twofold:

1. Once I start snacking, it's difficult for me to stop;
2. If I eat later, I find I wake up not wanting to eat anything, and I think it's important to have breakfast.

I also subscribe to the thinking that it's energy in and energy out that determines weight loss/gain. The scientist in me just refuses to accept that eating before bedtime will sabotage my efforts.

[barbygirl43]

Do you eat in the 3 hours before bedtime? sometimes if I am hungry.

Do you think it hinders weightloss to eat right before going to bed? For me it does because I would end up binging. I always tried to not eat after 9 p.m. That helped keep me from piling on another 100 on up to over 1000 calories a night.

I think it's all in how you plan it. If you know you're going to be getting hungry late evening/before bed then plan in a 100-200 calorie snack or whatever. If the time comes and you aren't hungry then don't eat it but if you are then you've allotted for those calories and it's not going to throw you off plan.

[lessofsarahtolove]

I'm with Jennifer (teapot) and funniegrrl.

[famograham]

I often do, and my weight-loss is going really well.

Before I began here...I'd eat a really big dinner and then a LOT at night.
I was getting to the point where I'd eat a really big bowl of chips and sour cream..and THEN something sweet too..usually chocolate or ice cream...YIKES!!!

One of he things that triggered my decision to begin the weight-loss journey this time was the fact that I started getting *REALLY BAAAAD* heartburn every night when I went to bed immediately after my chips 'n chocolate binge. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and have stomach acid in my mouth....OMG that is so horrible and disgusting (the feeling itself, and mostly, the fact that I did that to myself!)
I had convinced myself outwardly that the two were not correlated...but DUHHHH, how stupid is that? Obviously I knew the truth deep down.

Anyway, as SOON as I got on plan...it went away completely...thank goodness!

So, now I'll save about three hundred calories and have *air popped* popcorn at night. On the occasional night, I'll get myself some chips and have a serving or two if I have the cal's.
It's working perfectly for me. The popcorn is awesome because it lasts a long time and I can feel like I'm eating and eating...but it's low cal and on plan.

But I definitely agree that you MUST be capable of drawing the line at what you have planned...I know I wouldn't have been able to do it until that mysterious...elusive........ CLICK happened in my mind....didn't even try. I'm sure I was eating at LEAST 1000 calories every night between 8 and 12...so sick.
If you can't draw the line and comfortably follow it without "cheating", then I would say YES...by all means...the kitchen is CLOSED after 7,8,9...whatever.

That's my two cents.....VERY different for everyone...

xoxoxo
Linda

[taekwondomom]

Thanks everyone. Kept reading advice to NOT eat before bed but it just hasn't been working for me with my late hours at work. I either have a late dinner or I skip that meal and go to bed hungry. I am trying not to skip meals.
While I used to have an issue with eating MOST of my calories after work (fast food meal after work, followed by cookies or ice cream while watching TV), but now that I am improving my eating habits by eating more frequently during the day I don't anymore. I do eat if I am hungry before bed and to make sure I am truly hungry I drink a big glass of water. If still hungry 10 minutes later, I eat a protein/carb snack like toast with peanutbutter, salad with cheese or sunflower seeds, ect.