Help me settle this debate...

[whattaguy]

Thanks.

I don't want to be misunderstood...I don't eat a 15 piece KFC meal as I drift off in lala land at 2am. If I eat at night, I give myself a few hours before I sleep. But, for instance, if I have to work late until...let's say 10pm...I'll still eat a mild dinner before going to sleep. If I don't eat...the body will go into starvation mode and slow down my metabolism. Is that correct?

I also took Dr. Applegate's class at UCD...and the basics I took away from it was that calories in<calories out equals to weight loss. Of course, I'm not going to eat 1500 calories of pie or ice cream all day.

My diet was:

Yogurt in the morning.
1 handful of nuts for a snack.
Stir-fry for lunch
1 Chicken breast in the evening with some steamed veggies.
Dessert of my choice

I felt good and healthy and stayed around 1500 calories. I lost 1-3lbs/week.
I went from 215 to 190 in about 3 months.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Calorie is calorie but your metabolism slows down as the day goes on from what I understand.

So? Even if you were to store more fat at that particular point in time, you would spend more time burning fat earlier in the day. In the end, if calories are the same, it's really not going to matter when they are eaten. One exception being nutrients around training.

I don't think it's linear like that. So the idea is to minimize the amount of calories available for your body to store as fat at night.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: whattaguy
Thanks.

I don't want to be misunderstood...I don't eat a 15 piece KFC meal as I drift off in lala land at 2am. If I eat at night, I give myself a few hours before I sleep. But, for instance, if I have to work late until...let's say 10pm...I'll still eat a mild dinner before going to sleep. If I don't eat...the body will go into starvation mode and slow down my metabolism. Is that correct?

I also took Dr. Applegate's class at UCD...and the basics I took away from it was that calories in<calories out equals to weight loss. Of course, I'm not going to eat 1500 calories of pie or ice cream all day.

My diet was:

Yogurt in the morning.
1 handful of nuts for a snack.
Stir-fry for lunch
1 Chicken breast in the evening with some steamed veggies.
Dessert of my choice

I felt good and healthy and stayed around 1500 calories. I lost 1-3lbs/week.
I went from 215 to 190 in about 3 months.

1500 calories is fairly safe, and 1-3 lbs a week is as well. It's an easy concept but so many people just don't get it. A lot of people mess up and go with something like 1000 calories a day which causes a massive rebound when they can't handle their "diet" anymore.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Right now I'm losing weight, so I try to consume 2000-2400 calories a day. That virtually guarantees that I'll be at least 600 calories below what I burn on any given day. I don't think about it beyond that. I know that I have the tendency to eat more when I'm home in the evening, so I try to consume no more than 500 calories earlier in the day. That means that I can eat ~1900 calories between the time I get home and go to bed and still lose weight. It took a few days for my body weight to settle into the new pattern, but now every morning I weigh between 1/6th and 1/3rd of a pound less than I did the morning before. That follows my calorie calculations so closely that I can hardly believe it.

Cliffs: (Calories burned - Calories consumed)/3500 = Weight loss in pounds = End of Story

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Calorie is calorie but your metabolism slows down as the day goes on from what I understand.

So? Even if you were to store more fat at that particular point in time, you would spend more time burning fat earlier in the day. In the end, if calories are the same, it's really not going to matter when they are eaten. One exception being nutrients around training.

You missed the point. During periods of higher metabolism more of the calories you ingest will be burned instead of stored. Higher intake during higher metabolism periods will result in less fat being stored. Eating before you go to bed takes all of your calories in at a very low metabolism period, meaning you will store more of it. My personal experience has mirrored this exactly.

 

[cultgag]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Calorie is calorie but your metabolism slows down as the day goes on from what I understand.

So? Even if you were to store more fat at that particular point in time, you would spend more time burning fat earlier in the day. In the end, if calories are the same, it's really not going to matter when they are eaten. One exception being nutrients around training.

What? The point I'm bringing up was about dinner, not breakfast, as your metabolism is slower at night. It's easier to burn off 1000 calories in the morning than it is at night.

 

[PricklyPete]

If you are wanting to lose weight...it's simple...use more calories in a day than you consume. Doesn't matter what you are eating or when you eat it.

Obviously, if you want to be healthy...what you eat is important...but if you are trying to lose weight...just don't eat as much.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: cultgag

Originally posted by: KoolDrew

Calorie is calorie but your metabolism slows down as the day goes on from what I understand.

So? Even if you were to store more fat at that particular point in time, you would spend more time burning fat earlier in the day. In the end, if calories are the same, it's really not going to matter when they are eaten. One exception being nutrients around training.

What? The point I'm bringing up was about dinner, not breakfast, as your metabolism is slower at night. It's easier to burn off 1000 calories in the morning than it is at night.

If you limit your total calorie intake per day to an amount that is below the total calories you burn per day, it doesn't matter if you eat them all moments before you hit the sack. It doesn't matter if 100% of what you eat is turned directly into fat because you consume it during a period of low metabolic activity. All that would mean is that you're burning more fat than your body is adding. You will still lose weight.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: whattaguy
So...my girlfriend and I typically get into an argument of healthy eating habits/weight loss.

Her view:

Eat a big breakfast
Eat a big lunch
Eat a tiny dinner

She says that her parents follow this rule and have been successful in being healthy. I don't deny that, and I'm glad that it works for them. However, I cannot follow that schedule because I crash after big meals...at work especially. Also I like to go out, occasionally at night with friends, so I want to "save" my calories for later. Breakfast and lunch on workdays are the 2 most boring and monotonous meals of the day, so I'll eat the boring foods at that time. I'll eat my calories at home.

My view:

Calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). Take off no more than 500 calories/day to not shut down your metabolism, and eat whenever you want. I can eat fatty stuff, but I'll have to eat a lot less to maintain the calories. So I'll eat more of the healthy stuff. My schedule that lost me about 25lbs in 3 months was.

Eat about 200 calories for breakfast
Eat about 200-300 calories for lunch
Eat about 1000 calories for dinner


I like the fact that she is concerned about me, but she flat out says that I'm wrong. I've even told her that I've taken a nutrition class in college taught by an Olympic nutritionist (where I got my weight loss plan), and I've spoken to many doctor friends. The conclusion was that a calorie is a calorie and that it doesn't matter when you eat your calories.

My take is that it's all about preference, but she thinks I'm flat out wrong.

Your take?

Your GF is WAAAAAY ahead of you on this one. You do the opposite of healthy.

 

[whattaguy]

From reading all the posts...it looks like a split decision.

I looked at this from the first google hit for "eating late at night".

Weight gain and loss is over a long period of time. The body's always working...even when you're asleep.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: whattaguy
From reading all the posts...it looks like a split decision.

I looked at this from the first google hit for "eating late at night".

Weight gain and loss is over a long period of time. The body's always working...even when you're asleep.

Whatever satiates your appetite the best for a given number of calories for day will help you lose weight the best. Some people graze, some people fuel up and are good for a long time. There is no one correct answer.

 

[0roo0roo]

better to spread it..and to eat when you are hungry

though u have to wonder why you need so many calories to sleep

 

[oiprocs]

I think the resident doctors should be the ones to ask. Most here could set up vBulletin in ~15 minutes but they don't know what we're talking about when it comes to other aspects of life.

 

[hanoverphist]

isnt a calorie a measure of work needed to burn the food you eat? you dont store calories, you store the nutrients you ate. when a food is listed as 115 calories, it doesnt have 115 of something in it, it means that the equivalent of work youor body needs to do to process and get rid of it. if those calories are all from transfats and sugar and you dont do the work part, guess what it will store. fat. i could be wrong, after all... no one thinks a fat man knows anything about nutrition.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: hanoverphist
isnt a calorie a measure of work needed to burn the food you eat? you dont store calories, you store the nutrients you ate. when a food is listed as 115 calories, it doesnt have 115 of something in it, it means that the equivalent of work youor body needs to do to process and get rid of it. if those calories are all from transfats and sugar and you dont do the work part, guess what it will store. fat. i could be wrong, after all... no one thinks a fat man knows anything about nutrition.

Doing work definitely burns calories, but they aren't used to measure that work. Calories are just a standardized way to measure the energy in food. I think the literal definition of a calorie is enough energy to raise the temperature of 1 liter of water 1 degree.

 

[n7]

As has been said, you are both wrong.

But she's less wrong.

IMHO...

 

[SludgeFactory]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: whattaguy
From reading all the posts...it looks like a split decision.

I looked at this from the first google hit for "eating late at night".

Weight gain and loss is over a long period of time. The body's always working...even when you're asleep.

Whatever satiates your appetite the best for a given number of calories for day will help you lose weight the best.

This. If you're on a diet, trying to minimize hunger as best you can, then consuming a lot right before bed tends to screw people -- you sleep through the satiety that you should be experiencing. I think you're better off getting those calories during the day when you can appreciate the sensation of a semi-full belly for at least a little while, and then going to sleep on as empty a stomach as you can stand.

Timing and frequency of meals makes little or no difference metabolically, there are a bunch of Pubmed links I could give you on that. "5-6 meals a day ramps your metabolizm dude" is brotelligence. BUT... in practice, it does make a difference behaviorally, you tend to eat less with several smaller meals.

A binging eating pattern *can* work, and can even have some benefits (look into "intermittent fasting" if you care), but you have to be disciplined. If you're not careful, it can balloon into a 3-4 hour grazing orgy that totally blows your diet for the day. Starve all day and then come home and give yourself a license to eat everything in sight, you will fail.

And just to throw this out there, IMO sleep is as critical to successful weight loss as intake is. If your sleep habits are crap (i.e. getting 5-6 hrs when you really need 8), you're fighting a big time uphill battle.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I am 33 and eat whatever the hell I want and am in good shape whenever I get blood work done or my blood pressure taken.

I follow my dad's rule. You'll be dead one day so enjoy it while you can.

Also, I don't see living to 90 because you ate broccoli daily as a good reason to eat "healthy". Ever see how someone lives their life at 90? The day i want someone else to wipe my ass for me is the day I want to die.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They say your body does not process food as well at night, so guess it could make sense. I can't do that either though. I'm never hungry for breakfast so I don't eat breakfast. Lunch I'm hungry, but not starving. I could skip it sometimes, other times I actually am starving, but it only really hits me around 12:00-1:00. Then supper I'm usually the most hungry, then I get the munchies at around 8:00pm where I want to just snack on something like chips, popcorn, or nuts. Then again, my diet is not the most healthy, and I"m underweight. Finally gaining though. We order food way too often at work, too, so that does not help.

 

[whattaguy]

I'm not talking about binge eating.

My 800-1000 calorie evening consists of:

Dinner
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts - 400 calories
1 - 2 cups of steamed veggies or stir fry mix- 100 calories
1 tsp oil - 60 calories
1 cup rice - 100 calories
trail mix/dessert - 200 calories

That was usually my meal at night. That's 860 calories.

Does that sound like "binge" eating or unhealthy?

 

[nageov3t]

Does that sound like "binge" eating or unhealthy?

sounds like a ton of food, tbh, but that's just me... one chicken breast and half of that rice/veggies would be a pretty big meal for me.