Good read from NPR citing research that we have multiple internal clocks, not just one for sleep. It also states that timing of your meals does matter....largest one should be breakfast. People living this way lose 25% more weight than those that do not
Hi, I too made the expierence that it matters due to the simple fact that the metabolism slows down when you sleep for example. So if you eat at night or just before going to bed you will most likly gain weight, because it isn't burned as it is during the day.
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Even if you aren't looking at it from a weight-loss standpoint, at night while you sleep, your body is resting/repairing. If you go to bed with food in your stomach, you body has to work to digest that food, instead of resting and repairing.
Back when I was single (and thinner) I ate a big breakfast and lunch because I was at work and needed the fuel. In the evening I was rather sedentary so I ate just a small snack instead of a big dinner. That worked great for me, but then I met and married my husband who always eats a big dinner and snacks in the evening. Changed my lifestyle, and not in a good way. I need to get back to the way I was.
I'm not hungry in the mornings. I usually don't eat until 11 or 12. I eat all of my calories in the late morning - evening and I stop eating until the next day. I have lost 80 lbs and have been maintaining for over 2 years.
At the end of the day it's all about calories. How much you consume and how much you burn. How you divide up those calories is a personal preference IMO.
Last edited by SunnySide99; 01-11-2016 at 07:33 AM.
Good read from NPR citing research that we have multiple internal clocks, not just one for sleep. It also states that timing of your meals does matter....largest one should be breakfast. People living this way lose 25% more weight than those that do not
I'm quoting myself now, because I have different feelings about meal timing after changing things up myself.
I started mini-fasting on a daily basis when my weight loss stalled after a loss of 40 lbs. I never really liked to eat breakfast anyway and was just as hungry by lunch as if I had not eaten. It helped kickstart my losses again, not because it's magical, but because I end up eating less in my "brunch" than if I would have if I had eaten two little meals (and I feel more satisfied). My bloodwork came back so much improved that my life insurance premiums were cut in half! It's not for everyone, but it's part of my life now. I do have an occasional fastfood breakfast sandwich or a late weekend splurge, but I mostly skip it. It helps that my scheduled lunch is 10:45 am (I work in a school), so it doesn't take much effort to wait to eat.
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Hi PQ. I think it's more important to eat when you're hungry, than to eat breakfast just because. If you don't get hungry until later on, then don't eat until later on. When I worked, I could never go to work without breakfast, but that was because I knew I couldn't make it until lunch time without food. My lunch was always very small. Now that I'm retired, I eat when I get hungry. Sometimes it's first thing, but most time it's around 10-11 AM. Then I skip lunch and eat dinner arounf 4-5 PM. It's what works for me. I still believe that eating at night is detrimental. Your body is resting and repairing overnight and should not be digesting food. But each of us is different, and other have said that they cannot sleep with an empty stomach.
My understanding is most of us metabolize carbs at a slightly increased rate after waking up and walking. Proteins sermon metabolize steadily no matter the time of day. If you don't walk for about an hour after your last meal of the day? Then it's probably not a good idea to consume a majority of calories from fat.
Thanks for this piece of information. Going to introduce the same into my dieting routine as well. Also to add in more to your piece, its recommended by some dieticians that breakfast should be carb heavy and dinner as light as possible in terms of carbs if somebody is trying to lose weight.
Some people are natural breakfasters. Some people are natural non-breakfasters. I'm a small breakfaster myself. We all have different patterns, and need to learn how to work with them on an individual basis.
I can't find it offhand, but there was a study where they got the participants to eat large breakfasts, which they hadn't previously been doing. Did they shift their meal patterns and lose weight? Nope! They ate the same as usual for their other meals, which meant that they were eating more overall and gained weight. If eating your largest meal as breakfast works for you and feels great, that's lovely, but it seems to be a minority thing, considering how most people eat their smallest meal as breakfast or don't eat it at all.
I wonder if it's tied to your sleep pattern style? Night owls, early birds, that sort of thing? Night owls don't tend to be keen on breakfast, in my experience.
It does matter when you eat!
