hi guys



so..the last few days have been weird, because i work all day. just curious about something, as a result-







i don't buy into that 'don't eat before bed' crap, coz..i always have . and can't sleep without doing that. but ive also always been a 6 mini meals kinda girl and these days, while i have a breakfast of beans and a bar on my one break during the day, the last 3 days ive eaten the same amount of calories but basically all at night im talkin' like..2000 calories all up and 1400 (over half!) in a meal in the evenings.



...is that ok? will the energy 'last' my body? and is all that metabolism stuff not nec. accurate?





coz im a-ok doing it this way. ive never been able to fit this much in at one time, but seems to be that im SO hungry that i can!! and i dont even notice hunger during the day now! so if its an ok way to do it..then thats ok. but if im gonna get more tired eventually or gain weight, id rather just somehow (although i can't figure out how) do it another way. i know all that matters is 'calories in calories out' but surely eating over half withing 4 hours (its a LITTLE spaced out) isn't good? or is it fine? bah. no idea.

I'm happy to be corrected but I think that eating like this can slow down your metabolism. Instead of keeping it ticking over, it is swinging between 'famine' mode (eating nothing) and working. The problem with sending your body into famine is that it will make you conserve fat and sugar for when you next go into famine, and you can put weight on as a result.



Also, it makes your body systems fluctuate wildly between nothing and everything. Therefore - depending on what you eat - your pancreas will have to work hard at kicking out insulin to get your blood sugar down, your stomach will have to work hard at kicking everything out and into your bowel, and so on. Then everything will go back to not working - it's all or nothing. Also - and don't want to upset you - but I can't see how it's possible to eat a balanced diet when you eat all of your calories in one sitting.



As I said, I'm no nutritionalist, and I'm really happy to be corrected on any of this.



Cyr.

you are so hungry then because you haven't eaten all day! I used to do the same thing- eat the majority of my calories at night, but since I got into the habit of breaking it up more throughout the day, I have much more energy and can actually eat more calories than I had been maintaining on before- so I guess it DOES fuel your metabolism to be boosting it every few hours...

taurus, if you are eating all night it means you aren't getting enough food during the day. I understand that you are working, but even when I was working 5 hour long shifts, I'd eat right before and right after my shift, 8 hour shifts came with a break for food...

Taurus,



I am no physician but from personal experience I know that in the long run eating all your calories at night doesnt work well, especially with an ED history. When I used to do this because of work or school I'd end up feeling the empty stomach high I used to get from my ED during the day and then at night I'd just load it all in and wouldnt do much else...and spreading it out helps you get more of a variety of foods I think....

Its also horrible for digestion, and I do beleive it overworks your pancreas as cyrillia said before. My dad is a diabetic and he actually ate this way for awhile and he had terrible troubles with his diabetes until he started eating regularly throughout the day...

I dunno though its your body and you are the one to judge how it functions properly, but it seems like a tricky situation...

Also, on days when you're off work your body wont know what to do maybe? It will be used to not eating throughout the day....and this could be problematic...



I'd say try sneaking in as many snacks throughout the day as possible and eater a larger dinner but dont go so long without ANY food



I hope it works out well for you!

thanks guys, this is what i wanted to know! wonderful.



and id love to sneak snacks but there's literally no chance. i hate this. and my break is at about 10am so that means having a massive lunch (if i have time) then? which feels gross. its all just gross. these hours suck. BUT..today i have a plan. on my break im going to eat a muffin. they're huge muffins, about 700 calories. which is why since my option was that or nothing i go with nothing. they're just sugar. but i think maybe thats better than nothing.. ee

(id write more but im running late. no life anymore. sigh)

When I waitressed I'd bring little snacky things to eat when we were slow. I'd bring trail mix, fruit, veggie sticks, luna bars, naked juice, etc.



You just need a few calories to eat really quickly to keep your energy up, even if you don't have "lunch" a bunch of healthy snacks should help.

what's your job?

thanks guys

and cissy, my job this summer is working at a restaurant/cafe. i bus food, i make drinks, i work the till. the standard stuff.

usually only about 5 or 6 hours straight now though.

You could try bringing drinks - like pure fruit smoothies, or milk shake type ones if they'll keep, etc... and drink those during work. I don't think [?] it matters if a food is solid or liquid from a nutritional point of veiw and that way you can get calories, essentially food and goodness - and your work can't complain about you drinking (can they?)!



I dunno just a thought :/

Even if you don't buy into not eating at night, you need to watch the things you do intake. Remember that it's actually best to eat your largest meal at lunch rather than dinner so that you have time to work off all of the calories. If you're going to eat a meal at night be sure to include a lean protein and complex carbs but not so many carbs overall. Carbs are some of the worst things you can intake before falling asleep. Many people I know who are fitness addicts (like myself) choose to eat a few handfuls of nuts before bed rather than meals.



You really need to consume, for the best results, a small meal every 2-3 hours. If you're working you should bring some sort of cooler with you so that you can still be sure to eat. I know it's hard doing that if you have to work - but it's the best choice for your body and to keep up your metabolism...which will actually really help you do better at work and feel less tired .



Also, make absolutely sure you're drinking enough water. It's SO SUPER important. *at least* 64oz per day, preferably more than that.



HTH

Taurus, you really don't see anything wrong with eating a meal like 20 minutes before bed? I've heard it is so bad to digest all that food whille you sleep. Am I mistaken?

I've also come across your problem with work and meals. Is there any type of meal you can dehydrate into a bar form? Then we could just eat that!