How bad is it to eat late?

I've been having trouble losing the baby weight and finally went on South Beach and am trying to exercise more regularly. I'm a FTWM. DS2 went from being a great sleeper to now waking 1-3 times per night. I don't have the energy to wake up early and exercise. This week I've been going to the gym around 8:30. I usually don't get home until at least 6:30 and DH starts to make dinner generally after 7/7:30. When I go to the gym, I end up not eating until around 10. The dinners are healthy, but I'm still eating late.

How bad is it that I'm eating late after going to the gym? Is that really going to hurt my attempts to lose weight? It will be tough to do, but do I really need to exercise shortly after getting home at night?

Re: How bad is it to eat late?

I'm kind of a believer in calories in/calories out. I don't think it particularly matters when you take in your calories, as long as they are within the range you need to lose weight.

A lot of people prefer to eat late. I generally eat dinner around 8 pm most nights, but then I find I don't snack at night. I know some people who have a firm "I close the kitchen at 6 pm and don't eat for the rest of the night" rule. I think it's just personal preference and either can work. 10 pm is pretty late, but if it doesn't bother you to eat that late and you are not eating a lot before the gym and then eating again later (so that you wind up eating more than you otherwise would), it's probably not an issue for weight loss.

But personally, I think the food piece of things is the more essential one for weight loss (versus exercise). So if you have to prioritize one over the other, I would focus more on the eating part and less on the gym (esp. if you find getting to the gym is impacting your ability to eat a healthy dinner at a reasonable time). Maybe you can go to the gym once or twice a week, but not every day, so you are not eating so late every night?

Re: How bad is it to eat late?

Unless you're over eating and stuffing your face with fast food, I'm a believer that time of day doesn't matter. I would try to stick to a light meal at dinner. After working out you're going to be hungry, you should be eating something small at least. As long as you aren't exceeding your daily calories, I don't think you are sabotaging yourself.

How bad is it to eat late?

I don't think it matters when you eat...It matters how much and what. My only problem with eating late is that I find the later I eat the hungrier I am when I wake up the next day. I would tend to eat more the next day but that's just me.

How bad is it to eat late?

It doens't really matter. It is def cal in cal out. But that beign said I try and eat my carbs and anything "bad" for you earlier in the day.

But I eat dinner 8pm or later.