A Confession
photo by ryantron
I’m going to admit something here, but first:
You can still enter to win 16 makeup, hair, and skin-care products in my Totally Awesome Beauty Package here. It’s open for entries until Friday, which means you have T minus 96 hours to mosey on over there and leave a comment, tweet about it, or become my friend (officially).
And also, the crazy end-of-times weather we’ve been having in Virginia left me without power last night. It’s always nice to have a reminder at just how terrible of a pioneer you’d actually have been.
So, there’s that.
Anyhow, my confession: I break the don’t-eat-after-6-even-if-you-haven’t-eaten-all-day-and-are-on-the-verge-of-passing-out rule. It’s quite the rule, I know. Not eating late night is, like, the golden rule of healthy eaters right? It’s what magazines tell you to do in order to Wittle Your Middle—Fast! or Drop Pounds In No Time.
Don’t hate me (or, um, do hate me, but don’t tell me), but that’s a load of baloney. I’m one of those crackpots who thinks a calorie is just as much a calorie at 11 a.m. as it is at 11 p.m.
For a very long time I figured that if I ate at, say, 8 p.m. I’d wake up a size larger. Don’t ask me how I assumed that worked. It just did.
Since The Man started his new job we’ve been getting home too late for that rule to apply. Unless, of course, I wanted to give up on food in general. Which I don’t. So after we do the gym thing and the making dinner thing it’s about 8:30 p.m. I know.
However.
It’s not that bad. Sure, I basically zero free time before I head to bed and do it all over again. But the whole late-night dinner thing? Not bad at all. By the time I’m done eating dinner, I’m too full to mindlessly snack.
This sugar fiend doesn’t even eat dessert most nights. Yes, I just wrote that. And I’m not lying. See, before I started this late night eating thing, I’d finish my meal around 6 or 7 then have plenty of time to get hungry and fill up on all sorts of unnecessary yet delicious desserts.
Therefore the point of this long post is this: Eat late curse dessert cravings.
Or, you know, do what works for you.
When do you eat dinner? Do you set a cutoff point for nighttime eating?
24 comments
I don’t follow the rules
. I eat my last “meal” at 7:30 or 8:00ish every night. I figure I’ll “break the fast” at breakfast a good 7-9 hours later one way or another.
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you know what? I totally don’t believe that rule, I always eat late (8 or 9) and go to bed within two hours!!! there’s nothing better than fall sleep while you do the “digestion”
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I don’t think there should be a specific cut off point. You should eat when your hungry. Simple as that. Obviously easier said than done though. But if I’m hungry later or don’t get around to eating until later, well I’m going to eat!
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I think it’s perfectly reasonable. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. I bet those who find themselves “heavier” in the morning are accidentally weighing water retention and the food in their bellies, too.
Wei-Wei
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Um. I ate breadsticks at 3 this morning. I’ve never even heard of that rule, but kudos to you for NOT following it. I eat when I’m hungry and when my body tells me to, not when the clock does.
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Could not agree more–a calorie is a calorie no matter whether you consume it when the sun or the moon is up
I do agree with ya though, that when I eat later, my sweet tooth seems to have already gone to bed, so I tend to skip dessert (and my gawd, how I love dessert!).
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I use to have those little rules. Now that I have a kid… things kind a change a little. I just eat when I’m hungry
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I rarely follow that rule. When I say “rarely”, I mean never. My work schedule every other week will put me home after 6:30. By the time I get situated and go workout or do anything afterwards, that doesn’t put me in my kitchen making dinner until at least 8:00. And a girl’s gotta eat…
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I totally hear you on the late night dinner thing. By the time my hubby and I are both home and sitting down to dinner it’s past nine. I don’t have a rule about when to stop eating, but I do have a rule about staying awake and/or sitting upright for 30-45 minutes after I eat. At the end of the day I’m so stupidly tired I want to sleep right after our late night dinner but I have nightmarish visions of my food not digesting and having it fester into some kind of alien being ripping it’s way out of my stomach. Well okay, that last part was a bit much, but still, must digest dinner before sleeping.
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Tracey Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Ha ha…that was a great image.
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I agree with the calorie is still a calorie thing but for me, eating late just doesn’t feel good. I don’t like to eat and then go straight to bed. Just feels nasty.
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I generally don’t eat after dinner, but I too believe a calorie in the morning is the same as a calorie in the evening! Don’t people in France eat late dinners? Aren’t they thinner than Americans? Maybe there is something to that whole notion.
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Tracey Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
That’s a good point: Europeans eat late dinners and they seem to be doing just fine. (They also take ridiculously long lunches and midday rests, but whatever. I’m not bitter.)
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I follow my hunger not that rule
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I am the same way….a calorie is a calorie no matter what time you eat it. We usually eat dinner around 7:30p.m and I am usually in bed by 9:00…so I don’t ever do the mindless snacking either. I eat and 90 minutes later I am in bed!
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Oprah says don’t eat after 7, she does know it all, jk.
A calorie is a calorie in my book, however I do feel better eating earlier and doing something post-dinner. If you have a good balance you don’t have to worry about flying off the deep-end with your eating habits.
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I use to follow “rules” but now I just eat a light dinner but not too light when I am hungry! Easy as pie!
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totally agree that a calorie is a calorie – plain & simple. i eat late at night if i’m hungry. my tummy wants what it wants when it wants it!
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What an enlightening post!
I always want to snack at night-time so eating a late dinner might really help me.
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I absolutely agree with you that a calorie is a calorie, no matter what time you have it. Your body needs a certain amount of food every day, and if your body gets hungry at night then all it means is that you need more food…and you should eat. It isn’t good to ignore your body’s signals. And yes, I think that everyone is different and should do what works for them.
I personally don’t eat really late at night. I have my last meal/snack at around 7 or 8, and then I’m not hungry so I have no reason to eat again. I prefer to eat earlier rather than at, say 11…or at 2 in the morning like some people I know…because eating too close to when I want to go to bed really interferes with my sleep.
I wish I could enter your giveaway- you know I’m a fan of makeup and beauty products! Unfortunately I’m Canadian. Oh well. It looks like you’ve got some great stuff. I think it’s a good idea to use it for a blog giveaway.
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I am that kind of person that wakes up, scrubs my face…and eats…and then its basically every 2-3 hours nonstop eating…i wish i were joking (but i am not at all!).
I eat quite late. I will be up late eating and eating for certain…and go to bed…only to wake up and do it all over again.
Probably not the best. But I know no other way at this time in my life.
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Dude, I feel you. I hate this rule. Its funny, I have read some places that you should stop eating a few hours before bed because otherwise your body is digesting those carbs or calories or whatever instead of descending into fat burning mode so your metabolism is slower during the night. But then, I have ALSO read that you should eat something close to when you go to bed so your metabolism stays active all night.
I say screw it. I think that if people say no eating after 8, it often works because it makes them more mindful of late night snacking when you are NOT actually hungry. But if you need to eat you need to eat, no matter what time it is!
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I totally agree with you!! A calorie is a calorie! I definitely have a healthy snack (or icecream)
after dinner if I’m still hungry!!
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Oye…I’m one of those people that stops eating at 8p. No. Matter. What. Even if the bite is in mid-air, I stop. It’s so insane..even to me, yet I can’t stop this habit. I am very aware of it and I do want to slowly push myself out of this rigidity because it really squashes my ability to be spontaneous have fun late night eats with my husband or friends.
Great topic!
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