sinkkb,

First, you are right.  It is best to eat breakfast within an hour or two of waking up.  This helps to jumpstart your metabolism.  As for eating before bed, there is no scientific rationale that eating late at night will make you gain weight - a calorie is a calorie no matter when you eat it.  As long as you stay within your recommended calorie level for the day, having a nighttime snack will not make your weight loss any less effective.  You should avoid eating late at night, however, if you tend to munch on high-calorie snack foods.  Also, don't let eating a big meal right before bedtime or eating a late-night snack interfere with getting a good night's sleep, as sleep loss has been associated with increasing hunger and adversely affecting the body's metabolism.

As far as an eating schedule, the goal is to eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.  Then, try to eat every 2-3 hours from there.  In your case, it may be best to figure out what time of day works best for your Sensible Meal.  Then you can work backwards/forwards from there and add in your Slim-Fast Meal On-the-Go, Slim-Fast Meal Combination, and Snacks.

Sincerely,

Ali Auerbach, MS, RD

Registered Dietitian

I'm up at 3 am and don't go to bed until 9 or 10 pm. What is a good eating schedule to include all the Slim Fast recommended meals and snacks in my day?

I've always heard you should eat within 2 hours of waking and shouldn't eat 2 hours before bed, is that true?