If you want to maintain or lose weight, then you shouldn't eat after 7 p.m. There are myriad reasons why people might not want to eat after a certain time in the evening, especially if it's close to when they go to sleep, says Cara Harbstreet, M.S., R.D., L.D., owner of Street Smart Nutrition..
What time should you stop eating to lose belly fat? There's no set time you should stop eating to lose belly fat, but, as a guideline, you should avoid eating two to three hours before bed to stop it from disrupting your sleep and body clocks, which can cause belly fat gain.
Myth: You Shouldn't Eat After 7 P.M.
“However, there's no magic to the 7 p.m. time,” Dobbins says. “Losing weight is a matter of limiting our calorie intake, and most people tend to eat most of their calories in the evening, at dinner and snacking afterward.
According to Dr Mosley, the best time to eat is before 8PM, that is hours before bedtime. He said, "Try and stop eating by 8pm and then not eat anything with calories after that."
Calories consumed at night won't change your metabolism or count more than calories consumed during the day. Weight gain and weight loss comes down to a simple math equation, explains Day. “Too many calories taken in versus not enough expended on any given day, regardless of the time, will lead to weight gain.”
Human studies don't support this theory. A study involving 1,620 children found no significant difference between evening meal timing, energy intake, and weight gain. If you're hungry after dinner, keep light snacks handy.
The study also suggests that skipping breakfast or dinner might help people lose weight, since they burned more calories on those days.
Drinking water before bed like lemonade contains polyphenols that help to get rid of accumulated fat. Grape juice contains resveratrol, which converts white fat to brown, which is easier to burn. Apple juice, ginger tea or strawberry juice are also effective choices.
Having a decent overnight fast may be a great place to start to give your gut bacteria a helping hand. Having a 10-12-hour overnight period, say 7pm-7am where no food is consumed, is a very traditional way of eating.
Aside from causing belly fat, eating late and reclining on a full stomach increases your risk of developing acid reflux and indigestion, since gravity is no longer able to pull everything in your tummy straight down.
One of the most common, easy-to-follow schedules is 16:8. This means you fast for a 16-hour period of time and eat your daily meals during an 8-hour period of time. For example, you may want to fast from 7 p.m. until 11 a.m. the next day.
Most people are brought up thinking that dinner should be the biggest meal of the day, meaning they opt for a light breakfast and lunch. However, research has found that a smaller dinner and larger lunch could be the key to helping you shift those weight.
There is no evidence to support the claim that drinking water before bed will help you lose weight. In fact, it may lead to weight gain if it interrupts your sleep. If you're trying to lose weight, the best time to drink water may be before meals and throughout the day.
1. Lemon: Although one might think lemons to be acidic because of their sharp and sour taste, this citrus fruit actually has an incredible alkalizing effect on the body. This is great for the health of our liver, which in turns aids digestion, boosts metabolism and burns fat while we sleep.
Skipping dinner, the researchers found, was "significantly associated" with weight gain of 10% or more, and having a BMI over 25, which is classed as overweight or obese.
Skipping Breakfast
People tend to find it easiest because generally, it's the meal commonly taken at a time of hurry, as you rush out the door in the morning. This is coupled with the fact that, of the three meals of the day, breakfast tends to be the smallest.
Besides the extra calories, eating too close to bedtime can have other health implications such as digestive issues. When sleeping, our digestion naturally slows down as our metabolism enters a resting state. Lying down in bed immediately after eating can lead to symptoms such as indigestion, acid reflux and heartburn.
So when exactly should you stop eating at night? Scientists can't agree on a single set time, but the consensus seems to be within three hours before bedtime. So if you go to bed at 11 p.m., don't eat after 8 p.m.