I've heard it's not, but we do it too. It's just the way our schedule seems to work. My biggest problem is that I want something sweet after dinner. whenever I manage to watch portion control and make my dinner healthy, I do okay. The after dinner sweet is hard for me to avoid but when I do avoid it or keep it very small my weight starts to go down.

Timing doesn't matter, you're body doesn't understand time what time of day it is, eating late is bad is just a myth. Your weight loss won't be affected, don't worry..just give yourself time. You can eat carbs too guilt free, and it may be a good idea after such a long workout session.

The Issue I can see with eating that late is this: is this truly our 3rd main meal of the day, or is it our 4th one? Did we have a major snack at 5:00 and now we are having a major meal at 9:00?

That's a good point pepperman. I should add that it doesn't matter what time of the day you eat, provided that your total daily caloric intake is still in a calorie deficit. Eat whenever its suits your day, just be sure that you're overall intake is less than it takes to maintain your weight..

Because of the fact that you're just getting home from a 2 hour bike ride, it should burn off pretty quickly. It depends what time you go to bed though. If you're going to bed at like 10 then it might not be the best idea but 11 or later it should be fine, otherwise eating beforehand is fine too. Things burn off easier if you eat after, but you're doing such a long workout that I think you could use all the protein beforehand.

If I eat something before I go its a banana or a veggie burger just the patty or a serving of almonds or a greek yogurt. I still stay within my calorie range for the day. My app on my phone says I burn about 1000 calories. Not sure how accurate it is but I do sweat through 3 layers of clothing.

Go with what works for you.

Protein might help with muscle repair and soreness.

Carbs afterwards could well be restocking your glycogen stores which is good. Do you vary the intensity of the workout.

you can google HIIT high intensity interval training.

I heart rate monitor + weight in kg will do a reasonable estimate of calories.

If you wanna get really scientific and do increase the intensity - you can burn extra calories for up to 18 or more hours


Not be put off by the techie or sporty stuff in articles we all have the same bodies so ignore the context and just look at the science / theory behind it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excess_post-exercise_oxygen_consumption

The longer you go without food, the more your metabolism slows down. It IS healthier/better for weight loss if you eat small meals every 3-4 hours tops, to keep your body working through the food. If you don't eat between lunchtime and 9pm, that's bad, but if you have a snack before your bike ride (something healthy, like a handful of nuts, string cheese, or a protein shake) that'll help keep your body running. I do agree with the bedtime thing above too! ^^

The difference in the metabolism speed is so minute its not worth dweliing on. I know guys who fast for 20 hous a day, people who eat every 2 hours, people who eat every four, people who have small frequent meals, people like me who have 3 larger meals...everybody gets the same results. Whether trying to gain, maintain or lose. Simply keep on doing what you're doing, eat within your range, stay active, eat whenever you please, whatever as late as you like. You'll do great x

"The longer you go without food, the more your metabolism slows down." This IS true after 36 hours but NOT for a typical sensible intermittent fast.

But whatever you think go and find some reliable research then try it out for yourself - the eat every few hours thing is designed to sell protein shakes and has merit if you are prone to binges of food.

I'm kinda in the same boat as you. I'm just starting how to cook on my own, but sometimes I'll just eat with my mom and step dad. They both work very late so they dont eat until 9, 10, sometimes even 11 at night! I heard not to eat past 7 or 8 pm, but I've also heard that it doesnt matter when your last meal is because your body can't tell what time it is. I kinda combinded those two rules together, and depending how big my dinner is, I wont go to sleep until about 2 to 3 hours after I'm done eating, just so I know I'm not going to bed on a full stomach. So on days where I dont have to get up early the next morning, I'll eat later than I days where I have to wake up early in the am.

I have to agree with jonroland. Your body doesn't know what time it is. It will all come out in the wash.

The whole dont eat after a certain time is really trying to say dont eat "additional" foods too late, assuming you've already eaten for your whole day . Time itself makes absolutely no difference. Enjoy whenever : )

Are you hungry for breakfast? I find that when I eat late I usually don't get hungry until after 10am. That messes up my lunch, then in turn my dinner. Maybe it is ok if you are having a small dinner and you are still hungry for breakfast. Just a thought.

I would just like to interject that I think the myth that it's bad to eat late started by assuming that eating late meant right before actually going to sleep. Since the heart has to work harder if you're trying to digest food while sleeping, it puts a strain on the digestion process. Basically, as long as you don't have to get to bed super early, I don't believe it really matters whether you ate at 6 or 9. Personally, I have to go to bed early for my job so I try to eat earlier. But there's no magic time. and the food you're eating makes a difference too.