2 Dumb Questions!

When people recommend that you don't eat after 7 or 8pm, does that only apply to not eating within 3 hours of bed time?

If I eat at 10pm but I got to bed at 2 am, does that matter? Like as long as it's digested before I go to bed?

Also, when you lose the fat, where does it go?! I've always wondered that..

thanks in advance :) just curious

I'm no expert, but I think it's just to have the food digest and have it not store as fat.

And the fat usually passes through your urine. x3

Excuse me people, but "who" says not to eat after 7 or 8, and why are they saying that?  Many people work odd shifts.  What ever time you decide to quit eating is entirely up to you.  If you're out of calories, don't eat, if you're not hungry, don't eat (I'm not talking about 100's of calories),  If you feel like a snack at 11:00 at night and you have the calories to consume, who's going to stop you?  I've had many a bag of late night popcorn because I had the calories, and I wanted it. 

Twilitwing, you're  insinuating that the food won't digest and will get stored as fat if you eat after a certain hour.  What???  Your body works 24/7 digesting food.  There is no cut off time for that.  It's little statements like that that get information all backwards and twisted around and blown out of porportion.

I used to work evenings as a waitress. I would eat my first meal of the day around 11am, have lunch at 3pm and dinner at 11pm. I'd finish around midnight and be asleep by 2am. It was the skinniest I've ever been (healthily - I'm not counting a previous ED) so I don't give a rat's arse about what people say about when to eat. It's your overall intake that counts.

Yes, it has nothing to do with the time of day, only to do with the fact that your body is supposedly less efficient at burning calories while you sleep. I don't know if this is true, I've never paid much attention to it myself.

There are some good reasons for not eating heavy meals late at night.  The main one would be that rich food right before bed-time could disturb sleep or cause indigestion.  The connection of eating cheese and having bad dreams is no myth!  When it comes to weight-loss, many overweight people have got into the bad habit of eating lots of fatty/sugary/starchy snacks whilst watching TV  - and those people find that calling time at 8pm is a good way to avoid doing that and reduce their total calorie intake as a result

But a light, healthy snack at bedtime within your calorie allowance won't hurt your weight-loss and won't disturb your sleep.   In fact the combination of lactose and carbohydrate in a milky drink and a slice of toast will actually aid sleep.  Your body is digesting food 24/7

Where does burned up fat go?... It exits the body like all the other waste products in the urine and faeces.

Sorry if this is too simplified but:

Fats, sugars, starch, petrol........ all 'fuels' (doesn't matter if it's in our bodies or in our cars) get 'burnt'. Chemical reactions occur to combine them with oxygen to produce energy, water and carbon dioxide.

So by providing less fuel for our bodies when we diet we use up our reserves and burn the fat off. A balanced diet provides the right chemicals to make sure that it's our fat and not our muscles that we burn which is why there are recommended levels of each food group.

Original Post by nads101:

If I eat at 10pm but I got to bed at 2 am, does that matter? Like as long as it's digested before I go to bed?

You could eat at 10pm or 1:55am and it wouldn't make any difference.

That don't eat after 7 rule came about as an easy way to limit calories.  Alot of people have a problem snacking at night, so ruling out night-time food automatically reduced daily calorie intake for alot of people.  But, as long as you aren't sitting down with a bag of chips, there is nothing wrong with having some fruit or some other healthy snack/meal close to bed-time as long as you will still be in your healthy calorie range for the day.

The 7 or 8 pm time frame came from people eating dinner at a "normal" time of 5 or 6 pm and going to bed around 10 or 11.  For anyone, you should try to only have 1 snack after dinner and have that snack 2-3 hours before going to bed. 

Original Post by kthompson92:

For anyone, you should try to only have 1 snack after dinner and have that snack 2-3 hours before going to bed. 

Why? 

Original Post by vwiggins:

Sorry if this is too simplified but:

Fats, sugars, starch, petrol........ all 'fuels' (doesn't matter if it's in our bodies or in our cars) get 'burnt'. Chemical reactions occur to combine them with oxygen to produce energy, water and carbon dioxide.

So by providing less fuel for our bodies when we diet we use up our reserves and burn the fat off. A balanced diet provides the right chemicals to make sure that it's our fat and not our muscles that we burn which is why there are recommended levels of each food group.

 I understand what you are saying, but what does that have to do with the OP's question about not eating after a certain time of night?

Original Post by kthompson92:

The 7 or 8 pm time frame came from people eating dinner at a "normal" time of 5 or 6 pm and going to bed around 10 or 11. 

I wonder who says this is normal. I have always had dinner around 7.30-9pm and go to bed around midnight. I am certainly not the odd one out amongst my family and friends.

Original Post by floggingsully:

Original Post by kthompson92:

For anyone, you should try to only have 1 snack after dinner and have that snack 2-3 hours before going to bed. 

Why? 

So you burn off the calories before you go to sleep.  If you eat a fattening snack and then lie right down, there's no chance to burn off any of that fat until the next day.

Also, I never said that time was normal. I said "normal" which means it isn't necessarily the norm for everyone.  I think that 5-6 pm time frame is more common for families with kids who need to be in bed between 7 and 9 pm.

Original Post by kthompson92:

Original Post by floggingsully:

Why? 

So you burn off the calories before you go to sleep.  If you eat a fattening snack and then lie right down, there's no chance to burn off any of that fat until the next day.

If you sit around for 3 hours, then eat dinner, then go right to sleep, you aren't consuming or burning any more or less calories than if you ate dinner, then sat around for 3 hours, then went to sleep.

Total energy in < total energy out, what time the energy goes in or out doesn't matter. 

Original Post by mommakitty:

Original Post by vwiggins:

Sorry if this is too simplified but:

Fats, sugars, starch, petrol........ all 'fuels' (doesn't matter if it's in our bodies or in our cars) get 'burnt'. Chemical reactions occur to combine them with oxygen to produce energy, water and carbon dioxide.

So by providing less fuel for our bodies when we diet we use up our reserves and burn the fat off. A balanced diet provides the right chemicals to make sure that it's our fat and not our muscles that we burn which is why there are recommended levels of each food group.

 I understand what you are saying, but what does that have to do with the OP's question about not eating after a certain time of night?

It is in answer to the OP's second question - "when you lose the fat, where does it go?"

I totally agree with most of the posts.  I work 7a-7pm and don't get home until around 8pm, which is when I eat dinner.  I have to be up at 5am for work, so I am asleep by 1030,  I eat when I can usually at 530am, 9am snack, lunch between 12-2pm and snack at 5pm ish.  I don't have any trouble sleeping with a full stomach..only if I am hungry

I have read that it really doesn't matter. It's all about cals in vs cals out.

thanks guys! that makes things way more clear :)