Eating before 5 or 6 pm will help you lose weight?

Answer 1

Short answer - No. Long answer is below.

There are two schools of thought on losing weight - the don't eat after X one and one related to daily caloric intake.

From a "don't eat after" perspective, some people believe that if you don't eat after about 8PM, it can help you lose weight. There are two facets to this: one, the idea is that most people are fairly inactive after 8PM since they relax in the evening and then are going to bed where they are doing nothing. (That's not actually true - your body does a great deal during sleep, including healing.) The second facet (and probably more relevant) is just a rule to help avoid snacking. In the hours between dinner and bedtime, some people snack, and on very high fat, high calorie food. So, they don't eat after 8PM, and say that it helped them lose weight. Not eating wasn't what did it - it was not eating high calorie food. Nutritionists say that eating several small meals (including a bedtime snack) is actually better because you avoid eating a large meal because you're so hungry. In additon, not eating for a long stretch of time will make your body think that you are starving, and it will get very efficient at storing food energy - i.e. fat.

The only way to lose weight is to burn up more energy than you consume. Either start actively excersing or reduce how much you eat. It is NOT advisable to drastically reduce your caloric intake for two reasons:
1) You need about 2500 calories a day to live (it's different for men, women and pregnant/nursing women...so don't quote me on that.)
2) If you eat too little for too long, your body will start to eat itself (including muscle...like your heart) and will also think it's starving. When you finally hit your goal and start eating again, you'll find you gain weight REALLY fast.

So, in the end, it's the same old story. Diet and exercise - both in moderation. If you lose weight steadily and moderately (not too fast, not too slow) your body adjusts properly and your long term health is better.

Answer 2

Yes it can. Our metabolism's weak at night since we to lessen our movements until we go to sleep. So when you eat before 6, while your body's still in active mode, your body will more have time to burn those calories. But don't take advantage of this because some people use this as an excuse to eat more. That'll make the diet useless. Still eat healthy or in minimal. If you get hungry in a couple of hours, just munch an apple or a banana, a yogurt, or even a slice of wheat bread, just to fill your stomach, as long as it isn't potato chips, cheesedog, or your leftover meal.

Answer 3

I always lose weight if I don't eat 5 or 6 hours before bed.

Answer 4

Eating just before you go to bed definitely contribute to weight gain as your metabolism is slowest then with little activity! Therefore, eating before 6pm would be better in this regard. However, I still believe the quantity and type of food contribute to weight gain more than the actual time of day that you eat.

Answer 5

old wives tale.
u r wot u eat.
there's never a right or wrong time 2 eat.
don't eat 2 much,
no more than 2,500 for a man
2,000 4 a woman per day.
eat more than that, no matter what time of the day, u will get fat.
going 2 bed with a full stomach, aids sleep.
listening 2 this lot & their belief in the Old Wives tale, no wonder the World has an Obesity problem!
links below proves there's no connection between when u eat as 2 whether or not u'll put on weight

Answer 6

Eating your last meal earlier, so you go to bed with your digestive system empty, will help in a number of ways. Also, do not have a little snack first thing in the morning. When you eat, eat a real meal. Vegetables are higher fiber, and lower colorie than other food types.

Answer 7

the trick of loosing weight - is to eat an healthy breakfast around 9 --- eat a little lunch - at 12ish -- then eat a good dinner at 5 or 6 and

NEVER NEVER eat past 6! that is the number 1 way to loose weight.


and what people say about eating small meals all throughout the day - is good too - it will keep your metabolism up.

Answer 8

Everyone says it does but even though this may be true, I sometimes eat right before I go to bed. I haven't noticed any weight gain.

Answer 9

When you eat after 5 or 6 pm, your body takes that fat and stores it, especially when you are about to go to sleep (9-ish)... Your body doesn't have the chance to work it off, so it digests and you gain more body fat.

Answer 10

If you are going to be active after that hour, it doesn't matter. What you should not do is have a large meal before going to sleep.