For decades, mainstream doctors told us the formula for weight loss was simple…
Eat fewer calories and you’ll lose weight.
As millions of unsuccessful dieters can attest, it doesn’t always work that way.
Now, a new study shows that when you eat may be as important as what you eat.
The researchers recruited 32 participants. All were overweight or obese.[1]
The subjects were outfitted with devices that monitored their activity and sleep. They were asked to take photos of everything they ate. And they put a time-stamp on the pictures with an app called MealLogger. The research team evaluated the subjects’ meal timing.
Dr. Adnin Zaman was the study’s lead author. She found that people who ate more of their calories later in the day were more likely to be overweight. “Eating later in the day was associated with a higher body mass index and greater body fat,” Dr. Zaman said.[2]
Professor Lona Sandon is program director with the Department of Clinical Nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She said that when you consume more calories early in the day, “they may be more likely used for energy…and less likely stored as fat.”
Also, late eating causes the body to store more fat “due to hormone differences at this time of day.”
Front Load Your Calories to Stay Trim
The bottom line?
Be sure you have a substantial breakfast and lunch. It will make you less likely to overeating later in the day.
Professor Sandon said that if you skip breakfast and have a light lunch, you’ll end up “eating late into the night because you have barely eaten all day.”
4 Eating Strategies to Lose Weight
- Keep a food and mood diary. Experts say late day and evening eating is often linked to an emotional trigger. If you can identify a pattern, you can learn to defeat it.[i]
- Follow a meal plan. Studies show that if you plot out what you will eat for the day, you are less likely to eat impulsively.[ii] Late eating is often based on impulse.
- Make sure you have protein with every meal. Getting enough protein curbs hunger and snack cravings.[iii]
- Make a point of distracting yourself. If you’re prone to eating after dinner, it may be because you’re bored. Keep your mind occupied with other activities…a hobby, reading, exercise, etc.
Editor’s Note: Learn how you can shed pounds of body fat—without cutting back on the foods you love.
Discover how to unlock your fat-burning potential HERE.
Related Articles
Scientists Swear by This Weight Loss Trick
Weight Loss Drug Breakthrough? Don’t Believe It
There’s No Evidence No-Cal Sweeteners Help You Lose Weight
[1]https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/weight-gain-health-news-702/want-to-stay-trim-don-t-eat-in-the-evening-study-finds-744152.html
[2]https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-day-obesity.html
[3]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1495575/
[4]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24146885
[5]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20339363