Do you eat after 8 pm? If so, what? Are you overweight?

[Anonymous]

My partner has been very supportive of my efforts to lose weight but I can tell that he's getting tired of eating dinner alone on the nights he gets in after 8. I'm pretty sure that I can't burn off any calories I take after 8 pm so I have dinner early. He says it's total calories that count and not the timing.

[Anonymous]

I rarely eat after 8pm and am overweight. I think your partner is correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My partner has been very supportive of my efforts to lose weight but I can tell that he's getting tired of eating dinner alone on the nights he gets in after 8. I'm pretty sure that I can't burn off any calories I take after 8 pm so I have dinner early. He says it's total calories that count and not the timing.

Do you join him at the table? If not, you should. Grab some veggies and hummus or a salad and you will be fine.
I thought the not eating late was more about the fact that the later is gets the poorer eating choices we tend to make.

Also remember eating out once in a while after 8 will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the whole "never eat after X time because it turns into fat" is backed by very, very little scientific evidence. Plenty of studies out there.

Late night smackers gain weight because a.) they are more likely to eat junk like ice cream, chips, and other comfort food and b.) if they're in for the night, they tend to graze.

[Anonymous]

Almost never eat before 8pm. Not overweight.

[Anonymous]

I live in a foreign country where obese people are rare. The restaurants don't even OPEN until 8-830pm here... so I don't think that has anything to do with it.

[Anonymous]

1. Yes
2. No

[Anonymous]

Yes, ice cream. 5'6" 120

[Anonymous]

It has nothing to do with time, it's how much your eat. If you are hungry before 8 and snack at 6-7 before dinner at 8 then that's a problem. If you eat dinner at 6 and then snack after 8 that's a problem. But reserving your dinner for 8 is not an issue.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Tonight after 8 I expect to have ice cream, laffy taffy, and probably a salad. I have 15% body fat. I eat lots of simple carbs at night because they're easy to digest and the insulin spike is short lived.

[Anonymous]

It depends on what time I get to eat dinner.

If I eat at 6-6:30, then no, but if I don't get to have dinner before, then yes, I eat after kids go to sleep, which is about 9:30. Usually something not very heavy, e.g. Salad with added egg or chicken etc. sometimes tea with sandwiches. Sometimes if I sit down to watch a movie I make popcorn. Or glass of wine with cheese.

I am not fat but not stick thin either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the whole "never eat after X time because it turns into fat" is backed by very, very little scientific evidence. Plenty of studies out there.

Late night smackers gain weight because a.) they are more likely to eat junk like ice cream, chips, and other comfort food and b.) if they're in for the night, they tend to graze.

Spot on!

This is one of those things that get repeated and finally accepted as fact when it is nothing of the sort.

We eat close to 9:30 pm and go to bed at 11:30 or so - a full dinner but we don't stuff ourselves. Frankly the advantage with eating late is that we don't snack at all after dinner.

If you over eat - and it does not matter what time that occurs - you will gain weight. Overeating at 6pm does not make a difference.

About the only real factor about eating late is that if one goes to bed shortly thereafter you are more prone to indigestion.

[Anonymous]

Don't think you are asking the right question. More interesting to know if a change in eating time results in a change in weight. My dh and I both eat late and I am thin and he is overweight. I think if he stopped eating at 8 it would help him bc he never stops eating, the after 8 is extra. I eat a lot of ice cream but not a lot of calories overall.

[Anonymous]

OP, I used to wait to eat with my husband. Usually we were sitting down to eat at 8:30-9pm. Maybe 7:45 on a really good night. I did gain weight.

Due to a job change, we now come home earlier and eat around 6 or 7pm. I feel healthier and less bloated/sluggish. I've lost a few pounds as well! We do snack after 8 - usually popcorn or frozen yogurt, or maybe some tea and a cookie.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Usually wine or buttered popcorn. Sometimes a handful of chips or a scoop of gelato. Usually around 11:30 during Jimmy Fallon.

I am not overweight. I could be fitter but no one would call me fat or skinny. I used to be skinny with those same eating habits or worse but child #3 and crossing into my 40s has changed my metabolism.

I think quantity has a lot to do with it. When I see some overweight family members snack, they will say they are grabbing a snack but are polishing off 1/2 bag of chips or a box of girl scout cookies. Generally (not always though) I am just grabbing a handful of chips or one/two cookies. Managing portion sizes helps a great deal in maintaining weight.