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Friday, November 11, 2011
Did You Know: Eating After 7PM
by Erika Nicole Kendall
Here’s an interesting little tidbit I picked up from a Weekly Spark article about misconceptions that we have about our bodies and doing right by them:
So what makes 7 (or 8 or 9) p.m. a magical cutoff time anyway? The original idea was that people should stop eating about 3 hours before bed, using 10 p.m. as an average bedtime. Although it is a good idea to stop eating a few hours before bed, the reasoning has nothing to do with weight gain; it’s basically an issue of digestion and personal comfort. Going to sleep on a full stomach may make sleeping uncomfortable, as the body is simultaneously shutting down to rest while still exerting energy to digest the food. This may lead to fitful sleep as well as gas and indigestion—but not weight gain. Your body is smart, but it doesn’t know what time it is when you eat. It will metabolize calories eaten after 7 p.m. the same way as it does the calories you eat earlier in the day. They will NOT automatically be stored as fat.
So… what’s the takeaway? The original thought was that eating so close to bedtime would mean that food wouldn’t be broken down properly – which is true, if you’re talking about digestion – and would be stored as fat. That’s not true! If you want to sleep a little better, there should be a relatively wide window between your last meal and your bedtime. Other than that? Sounds like a green light…. but no overeating! 
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You should also do some light exercise after dinner. Take the fam and go for a 15 minute walk around the neighborhood or throw the ball in the back yard or something. I don’t believe in eating a full dinner, sitting on the couch vegging out to tv and then hitting the hay.
—Elita @ Blacktating
Thanks for clearing that up! Great Information.
—Lori
*thumbs up*
—Tracie G.
I need to eat something at bedtime. I take medications and when I don’t eat something my stomach hurts. i usually eat applesauce or a few crackers. I also heard that eating every 4=5 hours keeps the metabolism up. Is this true ?
—cheryl Wright
AWESOME!! I needed that clarification.
—Rachael Nobles
It is amazing how many people still do not know this
—Chad Goller-Sojourner
Phew! I saw the title and was like, ohhh boy, here is another rain on my parade. but great news instead! I did stick to the 3 hour rule throughout my weightloss journey for the reasons you’ve mentioned as false. It’s kinda hard to stick to that now and I often felt bad about it, but this makes me happy
—Cookie
I read this article a while back and ever since I’ve been trying to explain to people there’s no magical weight loss or maintenance because you stop eating after a certain time. The body doesn’t stop burning calories during sleep. I attribute any weight loss because of that to people actually cutting out an unnecessary/extra meal around 9pm to begin with, thus consuming less calories. So if a person’s last meal ends at 7:20 that’s close to 3 hours of them being active so they burn more than they would if they were laying down, I guess. Anyway, Spark People are awesome and I fall asleep easily on a full stomach
.
—Kels
I KNEW it! Been telling people this for years. Eating late (especially something heavy) may give you a food hangover, but calories can’t tell time, and don’t say “It’s 9PM – I’m gonna hang out on your hips!” I’m a night owl – if I can’t eat past 7, I’ll go to bed hungry every night, and that’s not happening.
Always wondered why people were hanging on to that foolishness. Now I can direct them here. Thanks!
—Nicole J. Butler
Exactly, I so agree with you. My rational was always, what if you do not go to sleep at 10 pm, or what if you work all night? How can you then tell me I have to stop eating at 6 or 7? I’ve been eating all night over the past 6 months and still managed to loose nearly 45 lbs. But I will caution the portion sizes and ‘what’ is eaten at night. I try to make healthier choices at night but if I’m hungry you bet you that I am gonna go and find some food to eat!
—KaraB
That is one of the reasons why I couldn’t/didn’t follow Oprah’s plan years ago ago…thanks for this info! Now I can let go of the guilt I sometimes feel when I do get hungry at night!
—Johnnie
I knew it!!!! I’ve been telling people this and they just don’t get it. What about healthy people that work overnight? Don’t they have to eat as well? Do you really think that they limit the times that they eat between the hours of 6:00am (when they’re probably finishing their shift or are already home fast asleep) and 7:00p.m.? You’ll lose the weight based on what you eat and your physical activity, not what times you eat. I’m a night owl and sometimes I snack during the night, but over time I’ve learned to snack wisely by picking up a fruits and vegetables like berries and celery or a handful of nuts.
—Christina
I never really “knew” this but I did know that even though there were times that I ate late it didn’t really “affect” me like people who stopped eating at 7pm. Dang I thought I was special :O). I didn’t really feel guilty about it so now I REALLY don’t have to feel any guilt about it.
—T.R.
All I’ll say it Thank you for the clarification!
—Fitempress
Thank you for the tidbit of information. That is the type of added knowledge and information I seek! I always go to bed late and worried about eating late and found that intellectually, I would not eat late for the simple fact that I might get indigestions but I had not idea that I was not gaining extra weight. That is the perception.
—Lorrie
Very informative and helpful information.
—Maxine Beckford