I've heard before that you "shouldnt eat right before you go to bed" but i am not sure why people think this?? is it right in assuming it is better to eat long before you hit the sack??

my friend and I just had a talk about this today. I read a blurb at the Y about how you should give your body a 12 hour rest from food, it made sense in that, your digestive system needs some time to process all that stuff...As a rule for myself, I don't eat or drink (except water) after 7, and feel much better for it ( how many of our empty cals are consumed after hours, after all!!!)--My girlfriend had gone to a health seminar, and the 12 hours of digestive rest thing was a major point in it.

I think there's alot of debate on this point (if you consume 1500 cals, what does it matter when you're consuming them?)---I just believe that I'm upping my chances for loss if I'm giving myself a chance to be active after I eat, as well as I like the "rest" theory.

I had heard on Oprah when she had her personal trainer on, that she doesnt eat after 7 p.m. They stated that it was good to feel the beginning of hunger in the evening as it meant you were losing fat> i have a bad habit of eating in the evening<i seem to need my popcorn. That is one thing I need to work on. Maryse

From what i've heard and read it is true that you shouldn't eat right before you go to sleep..... there are a number of reasons for this though not just weight.... eating right before bed tend to cause also some very restless nights specially if you eat something heavey like a main meal or something, it also tends to give you some rather strange or even bad dreams... remember the days of thanksgiving or xmas when you gorge yourself on the meal and feel VERY sleepy afterwards... this is because all the blood that normally supplies OX to your system all over is now hitting the stomache to help digest it all... if you ever eat that much and start to feel sleepy i suggest you try going out for a walk or getting up and doing the wash or vacuming... do something to move around.... as far as the weight goes with going to bed right after you've eaten is usually a bad thing cause then instead of moving around and burning some of those calories your body goes into to "reserve" mode per say and starts turing that food into fat instead of trying to get rid of it or use it for energy... ... hope this helps a bit.. huggles
Missy9000
"Life is only what YOU make it!"

I'm one of the ones that voted no only because I'm not consistent with eating 3-4hours before bedtime. I try to maintain a schedule of eating dinner at 7pm, but due to changes in work schedule, etc., many times I have to eat at 9pm and I'm off to sleep at 10pm, I try to eat lighter those nights, but even that isn't consistent.
I've read that if your lifestyle is active enough, eating close to bedtime shouldn't cause you weight gain, and so far I haven't had any gain from doing it.

Donna

I find that not eating at least 4 hours before bed the number one thing that helps me with my weight loss. If I eat right before bed, there is no way the scale will be down the next morning. Plus waking up the next morning even feels better when its been like 12 hours since your body has had any food. I feel happier, and glad that I made it the evening before without having my popcorn or snacking foods. This is just from my personal experience. But if there were just three "rules" for weight loss, not eating before bed would be one of them. It just helps sooooooo much. But it's so hard to******rusturating...But...it most definitly works

Pixie--I'm smiling cuz I have just three rules that I'm hard assed about following--1. No eating after 7 2. Work out AT LEAST 3x a week 3. Like myself. (fifteen pounds down, so far...):D

I cannot possibly not eat 3-4 hours before bed. I feel like I will die. I have a very strange eating schedule. Wake up 6:45, breakfast 8:10, lunch 11:30, snack 2:00, dinner 4:30ish, snack 8:00ish, and bed 10:00ish. Thats my week day schedule. Weekends are more or less the same but I usually go to bed later, have a mid-morning snack and have lunch, dinner and evening snack a bit later. In the evenings I always eat something small and drink water with it and I don't feel as if I have just eaten when I go to bed.

:eek: I really had a bad habit of wanting to eat and lay down. In the evening after supper was the worst. I've almost kicked the habit, but I still sometimes do lay down. Another bad habit I have is laying down on the couch after eating. I don't really know if it's a bad habit or not, but to I feel like it is for some reason. Like all the food I just ate is mutating into fat because I am laying down. lol:lift: :wn

oops. I forgot I had a 4th rule--drink 3 L water minimum.

oh!!And I wanted to sayu to Tab..---sometimes drowsiness after a meal indicates that your body can't process the food, ...

sometimes it also just means you're really tired...there are also advocates of the siesta who say you should rest after a large meal....

I know that I probably often eat too late. But it isn't all the time, and the time always varies. I have heard as well that it's better to eat several hours before bed, but with work and school that isn't always possible, so whatdaya do?

I hear you, wanttolose, I found that a huge challenge when I was working. It's funny, emilyrose--I used to sleep on a full stomach, and I had issues with indigestion, etc...now I find my system works much better and I sleep better, too--I also liken the not eating late to having Christmas every morning--I'm not a morning person, but not eating late makes me want to get up to eat!!:D

Emily... you saw oprah too huh:) I was watching Oprah today and she had said the biggest thing that helped her lose weight is not eating after 7:30 pm.. she had bob green on the show with her today and they said that "gnawing" feeling you get at night is your body going into your stored fats to burn them off.... she says the earlier you stop eating before bed the better. its cool that i saw the show today!

Whether you eat or not is up to your body. I am dibetic now, but even years ago, if I went 12 hours without eating, I would be violently sick .. actually throwing up. IF your body can handle it, then ok, but if your body needs fuel, then you cannot deny it just to suit the clock.

Personally I eat a 1800-2000 cal diet. I break my cals into "time zones:" before 11 am, 11-3, 4-7, and after 7pm. I usually do not go to bed before 11:30pm. I allow myself 500 cals per zone ... So far I have lost 30+ lbs since January doing this, so the eating after 7pm has not hindered me. I think the main point is not overeating in the eavening, and it has to be in balance with what you had for the rest of the day.

very good pooints, Heather-- I think the lesson here is to listen to your body--if no food=sick, by all means, EAT!! Ultimately, our goals should all be health based!!

Is drinking all that water REALLY that important? Because..I drink probably...a total of 3 bottles of water A DAY and that's all that I drink really...i just don't get thirsty I guess...

i try to eat dinner as late as possible. That way I don't feel hungry before I go to sleep. Better to eat food an hour later than to snack on junk 2 hours later....

I can't imagine four hours with out some kind of food or snack. I've once tried going to bed hungry, and ended up tossing for an hour before I finally got up and gave in to my stomach. In fact, it's now 10:15 pm, and I'm munching on a stick of morzzarella cheese and having dried Jack Fruit chips.

I wait at least 2 and a half hours between my last meal and bed. It does help shed the extra pounds.

Since I've started reading this post, I have/am trying to not eat at least an hour and half before I got to bed.

Hey, one works form the bottom up, right? It's still reeeeaaaaal hard, though. I'll try see how the progress goes ...