Eating at different times of day- DOES IT MATTER?

cfmusgrove

Hi Everyone-

I was just wondering....Does it matter what time of day you eat your calories or is the main point just that you stay within your budget? I've heard people saying how important it is to eat breakfast and or not eat after some arbitrary time in the evening....are these things really true....it seems like the net number of calories would be what really mattered. But what do I know, I'm no physical trainer or MD.

Anyone?

kmeekhof

To help control blood sugar and insulin levels it its important to eat several times throughout the day, including breakfast. If you divide breakfast into two works it becomes a BREAK from your FAST. So yes, it does matter.

change_happens

Hi. Personally, I don't eat breakfast. I don't begin to eat until around 12 or 1 and end around 8 or so. (at least two hours before my bedtime)

blessedmomx3

I admit that I'm no expert and am new to all this also but it seems to make sense that you would want to eat the bulk of your calories during the day when you're more active and able to "burn them off" even through just normal activity. I would think that if you ate a few hundred calories and then went to bed, they wouldn't get burned off. Does this explanation make sense? It makes sense in my head but I'm not sure how to put it into words!

fionarama

I think its important to spread them out in at least 3 meals a day just so your blood sugar level is kept constant. This is mainly to avoid cravings and to make life easier yourself , to stick to what you want to do - if you didn't eat all day when you get to eating your calories for instance you might completely lose it as you are so hungry. Consistency is vital and skipping meals and things is not condusive to consistency.

candistyx

According to what I have read the latest science says no.
Your body is smart. It knows how much energy you give it not just today but generally. If there is no fuel it quite happily switches to stored fuel (glycogen and fat) for a while without freaking out on you. If you eat the same amount of calories late at night compared to early in the morning this is what happens, when you wake up, you start moving, the blood gets flowing, this tells your body to ramp up metabolism, you get out of bed too and to warm you up the body is forced to again heat you up a bit (that said if you are prone to feeling cold even an hour after waking up if you don't eat, eating a bit to warm you up is a good idea). Until you eat, it uses stored calories, when you finally eat it for the most part replenishes the stores with that food, and burns a little bit of the food.

Eating late at night is not bad as people think, what happens is that people who eat a lot at night often ate also during the day, and then they're bored at night and spend the whole time nibbling, its the total calories that matters. Likewise with breakfast, if you eat a bit of breakfast that might help get you going IF you are the kind of person who needs it, but if you don't feel hungry in the mornings and don't need food to warm you up, its fine not to eat until you do feel hungry.

If you didn't eat much in the day then have lots of food after 8pm or whatever, all that happens is the energy used in the day from stores is restored from the food (as much as is contained in the food). If you'd eaten earlier instead you'd have used that energy instead of taking it from storage, so its the same either way.

bjohs

In my opinion, it DOES matter. Eating most of your daily calories late at night will do nothing to energize you throughout the day when you are the most active. I'm a huge believer in getting a hearty breakfast, light lunch and light dinner with snacks in between. I eat all day long and I'm rarely hungry but still continue to lose even at my goal weight. I also don't believe that you can eat whatever you want as long as you meet your caloric intake. Not all calories are created equal. If you are going to eat them, why not have them benefit your health, right? Feel free to send me a request if you would like to look through my diary. It may give you ideas. Good luck to you!

sccamero

personally I don't think it matters. I have lost weight even with eating right before bed. The calories matter more than what time but a nutrionist did say to me that it is best to eat every 2 to 3 hours to keep your body full and going.

craft338

i think that eating breakfast as soon as i wake up and several healthy snacks throughout the day is the main reason why i've lost so much weight. everyone's different, but if i only eat 3 meals a day, i won't see as much of a loss

good luck!

DontThinkJustRun

My take is this, in the big picture it does not matter. The ONLY thing that matters is what works for you and what you can sustain for enough time to lose the weight you want and then maintain that lose over your lifetime. You can get into all the specifics of blood sugar and this and that, but I have done a ridulous amount of research and for every credible article you can find me that tells you X I can find another credible article that tells you Y, it's ridiculous.

So seriously find a system that works for you, don't question it and rock on! Good luck!

rileysowner

All the research I have seen, and I an open to other studies to show differently, it makes no difference as long as you eat within your calorie budget and eat good food. Having said that, for you personally there may be eating patterns that will help you maintain your calorie budget better. For some people that is eating a bunch of small meals, but for others doing that leads to eating too much because it keeps them constantly hunger. The opposite is also true, eating 3 meals a day can help some people stay within their calories, but for others it doesn't work. Not because of the physical aspects or how their body works, but because it leads the to eat more calories then they are supposed to. As far as your body is concerned it makes no difference, but as for your mind and how well you stick to the program, it may make a difference. I think that, and people not bothering to look at the research that makes people say "In my opinion" so much in answer to these questions. There is lots of research on it though so opinion is not what is important, feel free to eat a whatever pattern you want as long as you maintain your calories and know it won't hurt you.

bjohs

I think that, and people not bothering to look at the research that makes people say "In my opinion" so much in answer to these questions.

No, it is my opinion because it is what worked for me. I used to be one of those people who didn't eat anything until the end of the day due to my work schedule. It was that eating pattern which put 33 pounds on my small frame. It may not work for everyone to break their meals out into smaller portions throughout the day... thus the reference to "my opinion". For every research article written which says it doesn't matter, there are equally as many that say the opposite. With that said, I agree that each individual must experiment with what kind of meal plan works for them.

rileysowner

I'm glad it worked for you, but I would love to see those many research papers that say the opposite. I have simply not found them. Now I admit I don't have the sort of time I would like to search them all down, but since you state there are so many I would very much like to see them. As you may not have noticed my final conclusion is eat the way that works for you. For some people like you eating a bunch of small meals makes a difference, but my guess is it does so by keeping you within your calories. For others eating that way, myself included, it will push me the other way. I tried the 5-6 small meals and I was always hungry and always wanted to eat. A meal never satisfied me. I then simply went the 3 meals a day and a big evening snack if I had calories left over and it seems to work for me. Biologically it makes no difference, this is all what works for you in your mind and keeps you on the program. Hence the answer to the question in the big sense is, it doesn't matter. In the individual sense it matters in what helps you maintain your calorie deficit. If that is 5 or 6 meals or 1 whatever works and is sustainable, but there is no best way.