Eating at certain times of the day

[MRoberts]

Looking for peoples thoughts and experience on the subject of eating certain foods at particular times of day:

 

A while ago I read a book that talked about only eating fruit till like 12 and then not eating anything after eight o'clock (or only eating fruit after 8 if you really must eat). So in between 12 and 8 your free to eat regular meals, only fruit should be consumed at the other times though - something about digestive cycles or something, and how easy fruit is for your body to digest. Is there any merit to this?

 

I've also heard others reference the subject of not eating before bed. Again, any merit to this? And if so, is it like the above where there is a time (such as eight o'clock) or is it more like "Don't eat 2 hours before going to bed"?

 

Why I ask: Currently I eat only fruit till twelve and after eight. I eat 100% vegan and mainly raw fruits and veggies. Pretty much the only processed food I eat is Tofu, veggie burgers (vegan Flavors), and soy yogurts and the like - so for the most part my diet is raw plant based. I also use some Vega and Hemp Protein powder in post work out smoothies. I seem to do well with vitamins, minerals, and protein. However, I have found that I am only getting between 1500 and 2000 Calories a day. I feel this is very low since I believe I need more like 3k Calories daily (I am 6'1" 185lb and lift 4x a week with some Cardio throughout the week). So I am considering adding things like legumes, grains, tofu, and/or other "non-fruit" items in the morning.... I'm sure the best thing is to experiment.

 

But thought I would see if others did or have been following a diet like this; with restrictions on when you should/could eat certain foods.

[steffapeppa40]

I have also known (through assorted literature through the years) that fruit should be eaten separately from other foods. They digest more rapidly. If one ingests fruit with say, starches- like, bread, which takes longer to digest, there will be be a certain amount fermenting....gas....bloating.

I usually try to eat my fruit first in the morning and then scattered here and there as snacks. I love jelly and nut butter on bread so I eat that sometimes.

 

Also melons digest quicker than other fruit so I try to eat that separately too. I remember last year eating a big fruit salad at a baby shower after eating bread (which was all they had available for me, the vegan, thanks a lot). AND the salad had watermelon in it too. Well I felt pretty crumby after that mixture, even tho it doesn't sound bad all-in-all.

 

Maybe it doesn't even bother a lot people, but then again, maybe a big chunk of people aren't really in tune with the correlation between how they really feel and what they eat.

 

I also know about mixing protein and starches but I really don't heed that one.

 

Basically...I just always keep the fruit one in mind like a "rule of thumb".

[MRoberts]

Thanks for the input!

 

I wonder if that's been my problem.. For the most part I only eat fruit in the morning, and sometimes at night. But I've sometimes eaten fruit with other things - like bananas and melons with soymilk; or eaten a regular meal and had some fruit afterward as a "dessert". Some days I feel great all day, while others I feel bloated - I'll keep the not mixing fruit thing in mind and see how it pans out

 

Again, thanks for the response!

[steffapeppa40]

You are very welcome! I'm curious to learn if you feel any marked improvement from the simple changes..

[Marcina]

I break all the rules.

 

I eat carbs after 6pm and everything. I'm still fit and don't have diabeetus yet.

[lobsteriffic]

I usually eat fruit for dessert...because I have a sweet tooth and it's either fruit or some sugary junk. I'd rather have the fruit.

[Theresaann]

I've heard that fruit, or raw, before noon, is best, not to eat at least 3 hours before bed, and no snacking between meals (best for digestion), etc.

 

I don't eat only raw before bfast cause I workout HARD at 7 am in summer, and 5 am school year and there is NO WAY I can go on only fruit for 7-5 hours after that. Not only that, I feel SO much better if I eat every 3 hours or so, small, whole food, plant based meals.

 

I feel REALLY good if I do NOT snack between meals, don't eat crap (chips, refined carbs-"whole grain and vegan" or not, other "snack" foods) and do NOT eat after 6 pm or so. If I"m REALLY hungry, I'll have A piece of fruit. Plus going to sleep BY 9pm during school year and 10 during the summer, I feel amazing.

 

I think not eating at night and being whole food, plant based would cure most diseases in itself. Seriously. Try not eating at night and see if you notice a difference-its huge.

[Marcina]

If I don't eat before bed I WILL wake up in the middle of the night because my stomach is rumbling.

 

I usually have a big bowl of oatmeal before I hit the sack

[MRoberts]

So I have tried to eat fruit only on its own (or with greens as in the case of a green smoothie). I do actually feel a fair amount better. A big part, is I Think I am very sensitive to sugars. I just did a little research and found out the reasoning behind not eating fruit with other foods. It went more or less as follows:

Fruit is tremendously easy for your body to digest. So when you eat fruit with other foods, it causes it to start fermenting and also causes a build up of sugar in your system.

 

In addition to this fruit thing, I also ate some "dessert" the other night. It was a chocolate, peanut butter, and raspberry filling concoction of sorts. It was good, in taste, but left me filling horrible that night and all the next day! Something about sugar (or whatever the sweetener is in vegan candies) and me just don't get along - which is all good (since its no good for you anyway) except I seem to get drawn back to it. I'll go weeks to months without any junk food, but then one day I'll just completely blow it! Anyway...

 

I've also found that for me, personally, I feel really bad physically in the mornings If I eat ANYTHING (even raw foods) before bed (within a couple hours of sleep). I wake to cotton mouth and just an over all bad feeling.... Anyone else? I did a little research on this too and found: Even if you feel fine in the morning after eating before bed its unhealthy. Why? Because digestion takes A LOT of blood. At night is when your brain and mind, recoup, rebuild, ingrain memories (all memory is, according to what I read, short term until you sleep - then some is stored in long term), etc... So with all that blood in your gut, there's not enough to be present in the brain during this vital time.

 

Alright well, still would love to hear what all you have to say on this subject of eating foods together and eating at certain times of the day! Thanks for all the response thus far!

[steffapeppa40]

yeah, I know I don't feel good in the morning when I eat a meal and go directly to sleep! My husband does it all of the time and I can't/don't want to.

A lot of times we eat too late (like tonight we started at 9:30pm). If that's the case I try to limit the intake of non-raw veggies and I make myself stay up....but most of the time I don't go to sleep until 1 or 2 so it's not as bad (?)...