Anyone see 20/20 last night?

[Bethany]

They were doing health/ beauty top 20 myths.

One of them was that eating late at night makes you fatter. They disproved this myth, saying that as long as you don't go over your calorie limit for the day, you won't gain weight regardless of what time you eat. Ex: 2200 calories at 11 am is no different than 2200 calories at 11pm. Unless of course you make poor choices at night ( greasy, high fat, convenience foods) which most (but not all) late night eaters do.

Also, they proved that not getting enough sleep affects the amount and types of foods you eat throughout the day. Getting as much as 1 hr less than you need can have a negative affect. Something about hormonal imbalance. You secrete more of the hormone that tells you when your full on a full nights sleep as opposed to more of the hormone that says you're hungry on not enough sleep. Supposedly you also crave the wrong kinds of food (sweets mostly) on not enough sleep. Forgive me for not knowing the actual names of the hormones.

I found this VERY interesting and wanted to share.

 

[Lani]

That's interesting about not eating right before you go to sleep. It doesn't make sense to me, since if I eat earlier in the day I at least work those calories off, right? Hmmm... interesting.

As for sleep, I never get enough. But I know that your body repairs itself while you sleep, so it's important to get that "beauty sleep"!

 

[Bethany]

I guess what the experts were basically saying is that as long as you don't go over your individual caloric intake for the day it won't make a difference what time you eat them at. Allthough, I was always under the assumption that eating earlier in the day is better because then you burn those calories off throughout the rest of the day. I suppose it's just an added bonus then if you eat your recommended amt of calories early and the work them off. Cause then you've eaten your amt AND burned some off....as opposed to just eating your amt and not burning it off??? Kind of confusing, huh?

I suppose for those people trying to *loose* weight it'd make more sense to eat earlier and for those people who are trying to *maintain* their desired weight it doesn't matter what time you eat.

 

[sap1227]

I have heard this before and I was surprised that Oprah had a no eating after 7:30 rule.

I think the theory is, it does not matter if you eat 250 calories and then exercise off 250 calories OR if you burn off 250 calories and then eat 250 calories. Your net calories is zero either way. Your body does not stop buring calories just because you are sleeping.

 

[Spoisal]

I think there is more to Oprah's "7:30" rule than simply not eating before you go to bed. I think it is helpful in controlling the late night snacking & binging. Setting a "no eating after 7:30" rule helps you to control yourself at night. I could easily add a couple of hundred calories to my daily intake after 7:30. It really helps me to control myself!

 

[sap1227]

I think there is more to Oprah's "7:30" rule than simply not eating before you go to bed. I think it is helpful in controlling the late night snacking & binging. Setting a "no eating after 7:30" rule helps you to control yourself at night. I could easily add a couple of hundred calories to my daily intake after 7:30. It really helps me to control myself!

I was just thinking this last night, since I am not eating after 7:30. I already knew I was not eating anything during this time and I did not want the normal snacks that I usually eat in the evening.

Christy

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Actually, there are some eating plans that include a bedtime snack, including mine. The idea is to spread the calories and carbohydrates eaten out over the entire day so that blood glucose levels remain stable. In great part this helps to alleviate the hungries that can accompany spikes and drops in those levels.

It is still imperative to control the number of calories eaten though. For instance, the plan the nutritionist I met with and I put together is in the 1100-1200 calorie range when I'm trying to lose weight and a bit higher when I am maintaining. About half of these come from carbohydrates combined with proteins, minimal fats, and veggies. They breakdown is based on counting the carbs as follows:

Breakfast 30 grams
morning snack 15 grams
Lunch 30 grams
Afternoon snack 15 grams
Dinner 30-45 grams
Bedtime snack 15 grams

I can spread my 6-8 protein serving allotments pretty much as I want them with one exception - I should include 1 protein serving with the bedtime snack as protien generally slows down the processing of carbs into glucose and this is the longest stretch between eating.

Deb

P.S. I know for you Atkins folks that seems like a LOT of carbs but this is the plan I followed when I originally took off the 110 pounds so it is what I'm using again.