When is it too late to eat dinner?

I have been doing really well with CC  I had lost 25 lbs as of yesterday 1/30 but this moring I had gained 3 lbs. I ate dinner late last night around 8:30 pm.

My question is it better to skip dinner if it becomes to late or go for it.  I was stil under my calories.

Started count calories January 14

Thanks

Steve 

 

 

I am consistently still eating at 10PM -- occasionally, I will see a bump in a morning weigh in depending on what I ate the night before (the weight of the food or the amount of sodium), but I have lost almost 60 pounds, so late night eating has not really affected me at all (at the beginning I was pouring cereal down at 1130pm just to make sure I made my calorie goal)

There is usually a good reason, and it has nothing to do with you eating past 8:30 pm -- unless you managed to eat 10,500 calories more than your BMR at that time

 

You did not gain 3 pounds of fat.

You may be retaining 3 pounds of water though.

I ate my dinner last night around 9:00, right before I went to bed, and I'm still down this morning.... In fact, I'm down the 5 pounds of water I had been retaining for the last 6 days (due to over-sodium consumption -- and I knew it) plus another pound that would account for the last week/week and a half weight loss.

It's never too late to eat dinner. 

Thanks for the quick replies!   I thought that was the case but I just wanted to check with others and get their thoughts.

I ate a homade stew that my wife made us and had a few waters

 

Again thanks.

 

-Steve

It is never too late for supper. When this happens to me, I generally eat a bit less than if it were a more usual time.

When you think of how long it was since your last meal and how many hours you're going to sleep, it's probably far too long to go without fuel. Calories can't tell time, and your body burns fuel 24/7.

By the way, I got home really late last night and I ate supper around 9pm!

You can eat dinner late as long as you allow a couple of hours before the time you finish eating and the time you go to sleep.

You may not want to weigh yourself everyday, especially since weight can change from one day to another - you could end up obsessing over it.

The point of what we call 'weight loss' is not weight loss at all. It's fat loss. Since, as we all suspect, the three pounds are from the weight of the actual food you ate + the water you drank and retained, you did not really 'gain' anything even though the scale shows a higher number. Does that make sense?

Don't skip dinner.

It definitely makes since.

 

Thanks alot

-Steve

 

I've heard you shouldn't eat 3 hours before you actaully go to sleep, but to each his/her own.

You shouldn't eat after you've gone to sleep because your more likely to spill on your pillow, anytime up to then is ok though.

i have heard you shouldn't eat within 4 hours of bed.  simply because you aren't burning while you sleep. and you should eat or exercise within 1 hour of waking up to rev up you metabolism. 

don't worry about the 3 pounds it's not fat. just keep up the diet and watch your sodium and try to eat earlier.  i would keep weighing to make sure it doesn't stick around. i weigh everyday but i have heard many experts say just weigh once a week because your weight varies from day to day. 

personally if i'm headed i nthe up direction i would like to know before a week!

Original Post by sodafizz1982:

i have heard you shouldn't eat within 4 hours of bed.  simply because you aren't burning while you sleep.

Incredibly untrue - you burn calories when you are asleep. Unless you don't breathe or have a heartbeat or have brain function (nevermind...).

Do you burn as fast? No. But it doesn't really matter, since what you are burning isn't the food that is or isn't in your stomach anyway, it's the energy that has been stored in your fat tissues. Plus, it is recommended that you eat every 3-4 hours, right? So you are going for twice that long without food - eating before you go to bed isn't the worst thing in the world.

The reason people recommend you don't eat before bed time (besides misconceptions about how and when the body burns calories) is because when you snack when you are tired, you are more likely to eat things that are less healthy, and go for more dessert-type foods. Plus, for some reason, people who can eat reasonable amounts during the day sometimes eat at night as if it doesn't "count," which we know isn't true. So, as long as you are eating something healthy and you are within your calorie target, you'll be fine.

time means nothing.. 8:30 to someone might still be early.. just use your head and try not to eat a large meal right before bed...