Not eating after 3p.m.

hey there! a week ago, i started this new thing. i have normal consistent breakfast (usually corn flakes) and lunch (soup and salad or a veggie sandwich or corn flakes again)and, after 3 p.m., i only have three fruit snacks (usually 2 carrots and an apple.)

the first days, i didn't eat anything after 3 p.m., but i read it's not healthy for the stomach to be inactive for so long, so i introduced the three snacks.

i already lost a kilo and i am feeling great. does anybody know if it's healthy or not? any thoughts on that?

Just to warn you, you're really gonna get beat up on this forum

It's not the 'not eating after 3pm' that's the problem especially... it's not eating enough food in total which is dangerous and silly.  Cereals, soup and a couple of carrots is not a healthy diet so you're going to have to wise up and start eating properly if you don't want to have serious medical problems quite quickly.  Use the CC food log tools to measure how much you're eating.... don't guess.

Minimum 1200 cals a day for a sedentary adult female over 20 to keep body and soul together.  Minimum 1500 if you're under 20 or if you're even slightly active. 

Well I'm pretty sure It's not about when you eat, it's what you eat that determines if you gain weight.

But in any case, lately I've been having all my calories consumed around 3 pm also. I don't really do it intentionally though. I just mindlessly eat sometimes during the summer. Anyway my digestive system is pretty sluggish so sometimes I can't sleep when I eat around 6 or 7. Every body is different though.

Yea.. that's a huge waste of effort. =/

(ETA I almost thought this was a joke about the 'no eating after 6pm' thread)

It really doesn't matter when you eat -- however, how much is another story.  You are not eating enough enough calories.  Regardless of whether you have lost a kilo -- eventually you will stop losing.  Please read the articles I've linked below and some additional information.

Eating too little (under 1200 for most adult women) can easily lead to a very painful side effect -- weight GAIN.  Besides the ever present nutritional problems.  I've linked a couple of articles for your reading "pleasure" regarding under-eating.

• Dieting & Metabolism (explains starvation mode and why undereating is counter-productive)
• The Body Neglected (explains what happens when you undereat a long time)

 

And just so you have the information -- these are the body's uses for those 1200 calories if you are a 5'2" 19-year old woman, currently weighing 100 lbs (if you are taller, weigh more, older/younger -- your requirements will vary and you will need more calories):

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive. Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a  5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing (if you are taller, weigh more, older/younger, more active -- your requirements may vary):

-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

And just a friendly reminder:

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I, personally, don't like that discussion of eating disordered behaviors is considered "pro-ana/pro-mia". Some people are just suffering and want to talk. It doesn't mean they like/support/encourage/condone what they are doing to themselves.

i tried that with 5 o'clock.. its hard after a week.

 

 

 

sometimes i hate this site because you want to hear everyones opinions of you.. but all they do is just nag.

but it really doesn't matter what time you eat you just have to eat enough.

 

that seems like a good diet i think soup and salad is good for you! at least your not eating reeses and KFC!

 

just add some more food!

yeah, thats sounds very hard.

I find it hard to not eat after say 9pm, so 3pm would just be crazy for me.  I mean, 3 pm I am ususally still in class or have just gotten out of class.  Its' pretty much when my day's work actually starts.  To not eat at all is Gah.

After doing this for a while, I am going to warn you, you may find yourself falling into a binge-cycle.

Malnutrition can happen at any weight, and you have to make sure to get in the right types of foods to keep your system working correctly. Its not so much about how much you eat (1200 min. is based on the idea that it would take about 1200 calories for the human body to receive enough of the nutrients for it to run properly)

What could possibly happen is that your body will start to crave certain nutrients. Cravings can be for a certain vitamin (zinc, or iron) and you will ACTUALLY crave chocolate or ice cream. And restricting yourself to not eating after 3pm (which is kind of early...) can also lead to binges. You can possibly send yourself into all sorts of trouble.

The last thing I want to address is................ Do you think you could eat this way for the rest of your life?

If your answer is no. Stop now and find something that you CAN do for the rest of your life!!!

Original Post by ilisa:

I, personally, don't like that discussion of eating disordered behaviors is considered "pro-ana/pro-mia". Some people are just suffering and want to talk. It doesn't mean they like/support/encourage/condone what they are doing to themselves.

It's important on this site to encourage healthy habits.  Unless someone starts a post saying, "I know I shouldn't do this" or "help me stop doing this" or "what's a healthy alternative to this?" everyone assumes they do not know how unhealthy they are being.  As a site encouraging healthy lifestyles, it's our duty as members to report these posts and try to assist the person in making better decisions.

Honey, weight loss isn't everything. Unless you go to bed at 5pm, eat after three. If you don't give the body the calories it needs, you'll die.   The goal for all of us should be to have a good healthy life.  We can't do that super fat but if we starve ourselves, we aren't having the healthy life we wanted. Please, eat a whole days worth of food.  Starvation will cause more problems than being fat. 

Original Post by ilisa:

I, personally, don't like that discussion of eating disordered behaviors is considered "pro-ana/pro-mia". Some people are just suffering and want to talk. It doesn't mean they like/support/encourage/condone what they are doing to themselves.

 There is a health and support forum for those discussions. I'm sure no one wants to hear about my runny poo this morning or how my farts smell, etc.

No, it's not 'healthy' to only have a light snack in the evening unless you're having your DINNER in the middle of the day so that you get enough protein. A bowl of cornflakes is fine for breakfast but it has very little food value, and nor does a bowl of soup. If you're going to eat very light meals in the morning and the middle of the day, you need to eat a REAL dinner, not a couple of pieces of fruit. It's the total amount of calories you eat over the day that matters, not when you have them, and you need to make sure you're getting enough.

Actually I was on a doctor devised program where you don't eat after 3pm one day per week. (not every day of course) the doctor had done a study about the metabolism and the animal instinct that kicks in. Something about not eating after 3pm and your metabolism kicking in like an animal that does not have a food source in the immediate area and will get a boost to travel further to find food, hence tricking the metabolism to burn more calories. Sorry but don't have any links or research numbers for you but I did lose a good bit of weight and my biggest drop was after my 3 0clock diet day. I would not recommend going under 1200 calories or doing this every day. I don't even recommend doing it once a week as I was famished by bed time, and eventually gained back the weight.

I am only giving my experience and do not wish to debate.

Going to bed on an empty stomach (not eating too late) results in your brain producing more growth hormone while you sleep. Which burns fat and promotes muscle growth. Add this to a proper diet for better results.

There is a book about this, it is called "The 3 pm Secret".  Look on Amazon if you want to see about it.  The "secret" is that you don't eat after 3 pm on five out of seven days a week.  While that might work for some, it is not sustainable for most in the long term.  I am a diabetic and I can't go that many hours without eating because I have to take medication and the medication has to be taken at certain times around food consumption.  I tried it one day.  It didn't work for me because I had to choose between skipping my medication or taking my medication and eating like I'm supposed to.  It might work in the short term, but it doesn't sound like something good to do long term.  But anyway, you can check out the book if you want to find out more.  There is also a 3 pm secret website.  You can google it.  Good luck whatever you decide to do.

This no eating after 3pm is really unrealistic and uncalled for. There is no problem with eating late at night or any time in the evening . It just depends on what you eat.Have some fruit or cereal but not a huge greasy hamburger and fries. People have this misinterpretation that the metabolism runs real slow when we are sleeping but in fact our metabolism really does not run that much different than how it normally runs in the day. So people start eating right. Don't starve your body, you are just going to slow your metabolism down and your body will go into starvation mode if you are not consuming the right amount of calories your body needs. This will make weight loss much slower and harder to lose. See when you starve yourself your body thinks its actually starving itself (which in most cases you are) and will store the fat it already has not letting you lose any of it resulting in no weight loss.

Original Post by allibugg:

sometimes i hate this site because you want to hear everyones opinions of you.. but all they do is just nag.

I completely agree. I'm sure most of them mean well, but it seems like most people on this site will jump all over you for breaking the *gasp* "Calorie-Count Commandments". I mean, it's fine if a person really is putting themselves in danger, but for example, there are certain people in these forums that no matter what calorie-intake you tell them you are at, if you ask why you have stopped losing weight,  their answer is ALWAYS "you're not eating enough." I'm almost afraid to tell people I've lost 50 pounds in three months on here because every time I do I get all these lectures and messages about how "men should eat no less than 1500 calories a day" (when I have been no lower than 2000 calories since I started) and that it is a mortal sin to lose more than 2lbs a week. Sorry, but I can't help that I lost so fast! Jeez. Sorry for being off topic.

Original Post by joekame:

Original Post by allibugg:

sometimes i hate this site because you want to hear everyones opinions of you.. but all they do is just nag.

I completely agree. I'm sure most of them mean well, but it seems like most people on this site will jump all over you for breaking the *gasp* "Calorie-Count Commandments". I mean, it's fine if a person really is putting themselves in danger, but for example, there are certain people in these forums that no matter what calorie-intake you tell them you are at, if you ask why you have stopped losing weight,  their answer is ALWAYS "you're not eating enough." I'm almost afraid to tell people I've lost 50 pounds in three months on here because every time I do I get all these lectures and messages about how "men should eat no less than 1500 calories a day" (when I have been no lower than 2000 calories since I started) and that it is a mortal sin to lose more than 2lbs a week. Sorry, but I can't help that I lost so fast! Jeez. Sorry for being off topic.

You know I totally agree with you. It doesn't have to do with weight loss either. If I decide to post I usually figure I'm going to get "called out" by someone wanting a debate. You know I've always wondered why calorie count has these guidelines but accept money from advertisers for diets that do not fit into the "rules" ie: lose 11 lbs of fat in such and such days, I usually see this ad to the bottom or right of the screen. I love cc but wonder about this almost daily.

Okay so I'm going to be totally honest with the OP...

 

I used to do this. It actually started out with a healthy mindset, I practiced this type of eating because I was ignorant and really thought I was going about it in the right way... but please please listen to everyone! I developed an ED and a very unhealthy relationship to eating--time became an issue for me. Dinner with friends? Didn't happen cuz I had my dinner at 2:30. Don't go down this road! It may seem innocent now, but I promise it has some bumpy paths if you continue to go skipping downt this one.

 

If your stomach really can't handle "food" that late, try eating a blended soup. Yes I'm totally talking about the kind you eat when you first get your braces, tonsils out etc. Go for mushy stuff or meal replacements--I swear after eating these for a week you'll want food again.

 

Good luck!