Not eating at night... losing weight, but is it healthy?

I just started a new waitressing job that keeps me on my feet from 3pm until I go home to sleep. I always eat a large, healthy meal before I go to work so I won't be hungry while working. Others eat at 10 at night after their shift ends, but I just can't justify eating so late and so close to my bedtime.

The great thing is I'm losing weight! The thing I wonder is whether or not this is healthy?

Well it would depend what you were eating before work.

If you were eating 200 calories before work then no ;) . But if you had, lets say, 2 to 3 meals before your 3pm shift it would be fine (assuming you didn't eat anything crazy during that time.) 

A lot of places say you have to space out your meals, and try to eat 6 meals. This is to try to control binging and insulin spikes. Fact is calories are calories. If you eat your targeted amount during your eating window and don't binge at all then go for it!

The jury has been out for some time on how late is late for someone to eat. It looks like you are getting a good meal in before your watressing shift, but being on your feet all evening can be tiring. If you are concerned about actual eating at night, Perhaps a couple of suggestions. If you are starting to feel run down near your shift, maybe eating a protein bar would help you, they aren't bad in the calories (around 290 per bar), and they usually have around 25-30g of protein, which could help you later in the evening. Another idea is using Slim-Fast shakes for a late meal. These are usually around 200 calories, have generous amounts of nutrients as these are replacement meals, and should help you not feel run down later in your shift. BTW, my older sister used to waitress so I've heard all the stories about waitressing.

Good point, amb19440... I guess a protein bar would be good for the energy while not adding up any empty nighttime calories. Thanks!

I don't think it's unhealthy, at all.  I don't eat a meal at night, either, Mon - Thurs.  I eat a med breakfast and a large, late lunch (around 1-1:30).  Between 3pm and when I go to bed about 11pm, I have a light finger snack right after work (usually fresh fruit or veggies, or maybe a cheese stick) of 50-150 cal (depending on where my calorie totals and nutrition is for the day) and then a 150 calorie protein shake AFTER I work out, around 9:30 pm.  That's no more than 300 cal after 3pm. It's worked well for me.

you don't want your body going into starvation mode, so eat properly and get enough calories, dirnk plenty water etc, eat lots of fruits/veggies to get leaner...just eat healthy, eat 6 meals a day space them out 3 hours a part..3 main meals and 3 smaller ones(snacks I call them)

If you're worried about it, pack a snack to eat during a break (you must have a few of those if you're working from 3 to 10!). Maybe a high protein granola bar or some grapes.

Personally, I think it's best to keep eating to keep your matabolism going.

amb- i can't seem to find any protein bars with more than 23g of protein, do you have any suggestions for bars that have a higher protein content then this?

xxana: Yes there is, as I have a wrapper of one in the trash near my computer. A company called Met-RX sells a protein bar titled "Protein Plus". The bar has 310 calories, has 32 grams of protein, 0 grams of trans fat, and 1 g of sugar. These come in three or four different flavors, the one I had in the trash was Chocolate Chocolate Chunk. The local grocery store near me sells these alongside the other protein bars and the Slim-Fast products. Here is a link to a picture of the wrapper:

http://www.metrx.com/labels/045827.pdf

I have these occasionally after exercising to get back nutrients and protein used during exercise.

wow that looks like a great bar, thanks.. i went to the grocery store today but they didn't have those, it's probably something id have to get at GNC or just order online i guess

xxana: It does look like you can find these at health food stores like GNC, or Vitamin Shoppe (not sure if you have one of these in your area.) Another store that sells a smaller version of these is Wal-Mart. I was on their website yesterday, and typed in protein bars, and they showed a smaller version of the Met-RX bar with 19g of protein vs. 32g for the larger bar.

Another protein bar I found online that may also be in the stores is called Detour. Haven't tried these yet, but these bars have 30g of protein, a little higher in calories, around 320, but high in protein like the Met-RX bar. They come in a few different flavors, also differing amounts of protein. Here is a picture of a box display from Amazon.com.

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/vitadigest_2052_87947 4485