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Healthy Eating Tip: Pick a Time to Stop Eating

Wed, 01/30/2008 - 10:30am by FitSugar
1,278 Views - 20 comments

When you're home from work and you've finished dinner, it's easy to crave a late night snack, especially if you're watching TV or staying up late to get some work done. You can end up eating mindlessly and consume an extra 200 calories even though you weren't really hungry.

If you're trying to lose weight or maintain the weight you have, it's best to stop eating about two or three hours before you go to bed just to avoid those extra, unnecessary calories. Since bedtimes are often sporadic, I like to choose a "stop eating time." Mine is 8 p.m. That gives me enough time to exercise after work, make dinner and eat my meal. I have a satisfying meal so that by the time I go to bed, I don't feel hungry and I don't feel stuffed either. It also gives my body a chance to digest, so that I don't end up with indigestion from laying down right after eating. So what is your "stop eating time"? Tell me in the comments section below.

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20 Comments Add a Comment

  • Lovely_1's picture
    Lovely_1
    1

    I usualyl try and go to bed around 11 and try not to have anything to eat after 9. Sometimes it's hard though. But I try Smiling

    37 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • ur_momm's picture
    ur_momm
    2

    i eat until 2 minutes before bed lol. I just eat when i feel hungry, i dont stop myself at all. I'm obviously not a good example to follow!
    I go to bed at 10 but theres no way i can stop eating by 8... i only get home at 6:30 and my bf at 7 so often we dont eat till 7-7:30...

    37 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • MissyE543's picture
    MissyE543
    3

    I have issues with that...I eat after the gym around 8..and then always end up eating cereal before bed or in the middle of the night! I wish I could stop!

    37 weeks 6 hours ago Report Comment
  • MangoTango82's picture
    MangoTango82
    5

    I never eat after 7pm. If I do, even if it's something light, it makes me feel so sick and as if I've gained 5 pounds instantly

    37 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • julieulie's picture
    julieulie
    6

    I wish I could do this, but it doesn't work with my schedule. My hours are so variable... 80+ hours per week, but the times are always different. I'm a scientist, so I'm in the lab when my experiments require... case in point, I'm in the middle of a time course experiment and I have to add a drug at 1am tomorrow morning, but I still have to be in the lab at 7pm that night for something else. When my hours getting home are so varried, and so late, if I said I wasn't going to eat 2 hours before going to bed, I wouldn't eat dinner, period. And considering I often wind up skipping breakfast AND lunch because I'm so busy, then I'd basically be consuming 7 granola bars per week and nothing else.

    37 weeks 5 hours ago Report Comment
  • sarahrah's picture
    sarahrah
    7

    There actually are benefits to eating before bed when it comes to balancing your blood sugar levels, though. Think about it - do you go 8 hours during the day without eating? If you don't snack before bed, you're starving your body, and your liver starts releasing its sugar stores. This probably isn't an issues with people who are healthy, but this is advice given from a local diabetes clinic. Those who are overweight (& usually have elevated blood sugars) should reconsider whether or not they snack before bed - and a gentle snack, not a giant meal but rather a yogurt or an all-bran bar.

    37 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • Novaraen's picture
    Novaraen
    8

    I was just thinking about this last night as i dozed off. I plan on not eating after 9pm...8pm is my sons bedtime so once they are in bed is when i finally get to eat something. So 9pm it is!

    37 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • Taadie's picture
    Taadie
    9

    7 pm though i do slip up sometimes. i try to only drink after 7 and mostly water.

    37 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • hottpink's picture
    hottpink
    10

    I usually don't eat anything after 8 pm and if I do, it's something small like an apple or cantaloupe.

    37 weeks 4 hours ago Report Comment
  • aimeeb's picture
    aimeeb
    11

    Usually 8/8:30 although sometimes when I go out to dinner it's hard when there can be a wait and such. But I try my best not to eat too late...

    37 weeks 3 hours ago Report Comment
  • ElectroPopTart's picture
    ElectroPopTart
    12

    During the week, it's 6pm since I go to bed at 9. On weekends, it varies because meeting friends for dinner and what not is never done at a specific time. Although, I don't ever really eat after 8pm.

    37 weeks 2 hours ago Report Comment
  • DeviousMuse's picture
    DeviousMuse
    13

    Unfortunately, my hours vary in the evening... I teach a few evening dance classes during the and rarely get home before 10pm on Tuesdays and 9pm on Wednesdays, having only had a granola bar for energy. Then when you combine Thursday night gym with the girls, which lasts until 8-8:30pm... well, sometimes I come home and am so wired it's midnight before I fall asleep; other nights, I'm passed out on the couch moments after I walk in through the door.

    Oh well, I try to keep my evening meals light anyway. If I have a heavier lunch, I'll have more time to burn it off.

    37 weeks 2 hours ago Report Comment
  • GlowingMoon's picture
    GlowingMoon
    14

    I don't have a stop eating time. However, I must eat three meals a day. There were days when I was so busy, I didn't have time for lunch or dinner until late in the evening. So ate a huge meal (combining lunch and dinner), and went straight to bed.

    I have no weight problems whatsoever.

    37 weeks 48 min ago Report Comment
  • pixelhaze's picture
    pixelhaze
    15

    For me it's two hors before bed, whenever that happens to be.

    I've found that this happens semi naturally because if i've just eaten I have a hard time sleeping, so I'll toss and turn for two hours. Might as well plan it out and eat earlier.

    36 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • sushiii's picture
    sushiii
    16

    I tried to stop eating after 6 pm but that didn't work for me. Everyday I sleep at 12 am (sometimes up to 2 am due to school work and studying..) and I stop eating around 8. In between 8 - 12, I eat a small snack such as a cookie, croissant or fruit. Is something small like that OK to eat right before bed?

    36 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • behemoth_the_cat's picture
    behemoth_the_cat
    17

    The standard "stop eating time" in my family always used to be 6 P.M. I've found that way too early for me; on most days I only come home round that time, and if I try to stick to it I end up binging on something unhealthy around 9-10 P.M. So my new time is 8 P.M.

    36 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Tutta's picture
    Tutta
    19

    Mine is 9pm, I'm seldom in bed before 11 and depending on our schedule we may not eat till 7:30. It seems to work for the most part.

    36 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • Soniabonya's picture
    Soniabonya
    20

    i try not to eat after 8pm. kinda hard tho when meeting up with the boyfriend or girls for a dinner. dinners can last over and hour when we go out. . .

    36 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment

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