Weight-Loss Don't eat after 4:00PM????

Weight-Loss
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CanadianGuy

New member
Easy question.

I heard, don't eat after 8:00PM

Then I was told, to not eat after 4:00PM. (My friend seen great results with this)

What should I do?

Im 20 years old, 6'3, 300lbs. I want to get down to aprox 220-240. Please, let me know guys.
 
Why not eat that late? It is all a matter of what you eat and your caloric needs for the day. I go to bed at 11:30 and I am eating a cup of cottage cheese and either almonds or peanut butter on my way to my room. Eating after 4pm or even 8pm for that matter is fine.
 
You have to be sure that you can follow that advice. I don't eat after 7pm . It works for me.
 
there's another thread around here somewhere where i believe the bottom line was - it's really all about the number of calories you consume in a day -not necessarily when you consume them.. your body technically needs more calories in the early part of the day when you are more active...

Not eating after 4:00pm soounds like it would be difficult, unless you go to bed at 6:00pm...
 
If your body uses up 2,500 calories a day, and you only consume 2,000 calories a day, you will lose weight, even if you consume all 2,000 calories in one meal at 10 pm. If your body uses 2,000 calories a day, and you consume 2,500 calories a day, you will gain weight, even if you eat 5 small meals of 500 calories each, and never after 4 pm.
 
TomO said:
If your body uses up 2,500 calories a day, and you only consume 2,000 calories a day, you will lose weight, even if you consume all 2,000 calories in one meal at 10 pm. If your body uses 2,000 calories a day, and you consume 2,500 calories a day, you will gain weight, even if you eat 5 small meals of 500 calories each, and never after 4 pm.
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Nail on the head. If you are in an energy deficit, how to you expect your body to add tissue, fat or muscle?

Hint: It won't.
 
I might add that the reason these gimmicks work sometimes is that people have bad eating habits that occur after dinner. For example, some years ago, my wife and I would each have a bowl of ice cream around 9 pm. When we made a resolution to stop eating anything after 7pm, we lost some weight. It had nothing to do with not eating after 7pm; it had everything to do with not consuming 400 calories of ice cream per day.

Good video on this:
 
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TomO said:
I might add that the reason these gimmicks work sometimes is that people have bad eating habits that occur after dinner. For example, some years ago, my wife and I would each have a bowl of ice cream around 9 pm. When we made a resolution to stop eating anything after 7pm, we lost some weight. It had nothing to do with not eating after 7pm; it had everything to do with not consuming 400 calories of ice cream per day.

Good video on this:
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Tom, where did you come from? I like the way you think, need more people like you around here promoting solid info. :)
 
Steve,
Thanks. I'm an old fart (58), and have had struggles with weight all my life -- which means I've fallen for every fad and trick in the book. I started with a book called "Calories Don't Count!", which was published decades ago. I've failed so many times I almost had given up. I hate all these fads and the people who grow rich off people like me who fall for them.

I generally gravitate toward people and programs that are, to the best of my knowledge, grounded in solid science and not based on "magic tricks." That's why I like the videos from Steve Turano. It's a no BS approach to getting healthy -- no gimmicks, just hard work.
 
I think the reason people say not to eat after a certain time at night is because most will want to eat unhealthy food at this particular time. You have most likely already eaten dinner, and had a long day of work, and just want to plop yourself down in front of the tv with a bag of fritos! I suggest first, not buying any of the stuff, and second if you are going to eat later in the evening watch what you are eating! If it is healthy it is most likely not going to hurt you unless you've exceeded your daily caloric intake by a mile!

Jaclyn
 
Also, after 8pm is the time of the day where you're least likely to be active...most people either sit in front of the computer to check their emails, stretch their feet in front of the TV to rest up from a hard day at work, or take a bubble bath and relax in the tub...etc etc etc. Whereas if you eat in the morning, you're most likely going to burn off whatever you ate by the end of the day. That's why when I'm really craving sweets, I eat a piece of chocolate in the morning:)
 
rsaiki said:
Also, after 8pm is the time of the day where you're least likely to be active...most people either sit in front of the computer to check their emails, stretch their feet in front of the TV to rest up from a hard day at work, or take a bubble bath and relax in the tub...etc etc etc. Whereas if you eat in the morning, you're most likely going to burn off whatever you ate by the end of the day. That's why when I'm really craving sweets, I eat a piece of chocolate in the morning:)
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Logically this makes sense. However, it does not work like this. Theoretically, and I am def. not suggeting anyone does this, but let's suppose your maintenance level is 2500 calories.

You don't gain or lose eating 2500.

Now, let's suppose you eat 2000 calories in one sitting each and every day, right before bedtime.

Guess what. You are not going to gain weight. You are still in a net deficit. Your body can't make something out of nothing.

Is this optimal for nutrient utilization? Of course not.

But eating late at night does not make you fat.

Eating too many calories, no matter when you do it, makes you fat.
 
When people are alone at night by themselves, in front of the television or computer monitor, they are probably more likely to binge-eat. I do agree with you Steve. 2000 cals is 2000 cals, no matter what time you eat it. It's a personal issue--if you have trouble controlling your calorie intake at night, then avoid eating at night. If you allow yourself enough calories throughout the day where you can eat a meal at night, then go for it. I'm a college student so I keep very odd hours and I eat at night all the time, and I'm still losing weight.

I would cut off eating way later than 4pm though...if you go to bed at 10pm (which most people stay up later) that is six hours without anything to eat. I would starve.
 
Working shifts my evenings / mornings, etc all become muddled up. I use the last few hours to balance my diet - I check my Fitday.com stats, and see how many macronutrients I have consumed. I usually have some calorific allowance to spare, so I use that up to readdress any unbalances. More often than not, I'm a little low on fats, so I top up with a bowl of mixed nuts with a nice delicious serving of low fat yoghurt. Nuts, berries, or dried fruit covered with yoghurt are a great ice cream substitute during the evenings :)
 
i think your friend was meaning not to eat carbs after 4 .... but i would push that to 6. It is recommended, especially if you are weight training, to get some quality protein a couple hours before bed ... this is when your body does it's most recover and it needs protein to do this. You don't, however, need any carbs. Carbs are great for energy and you will have enough carbs from the rest of the food you ate during the day to make it through the rest of the evening. I think the only exception is if you have a big tourney or something big the next day.
 
AllCdnBoy said:
i think your friend was meaning not to eat carbs after 4 .... but i would push that to 6. It is recommended, especially if you are weight training, to get some quality protein a couple hours before bed ... this is when your body does it's most recover and it needs protein to do this. You don't, however, need any carbs. Carbs are great for energy and you will have enough carbs from the rest of the food you ate during the day to make it through the rest of the evening. I think the only exception is if you have a big tourney or something big the next day.
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This is all very dependent on when you workout. If you weight train at 9 pm, you better believe you should be eating carbs right up until the point where you go to sleep.
 
the problem with my eating habits, is that i sit at a desk all day at work, and get the nibbles, that when i eat all the chocolate bars and chips....mainly out of boredom...

I would have to eat after 4pm cause i work don't get home till 6...but i will try and start eating less than usual...

most of time i eat its the wrong foods...
 
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