Anyone shed some light on metabolism?

crocodiles

Hey, I was just wondering what the real relationship is between when you eat and your metabolic rate? I heard that if you eat in the morning it 'kickstarts' your metabolism in a way, but then I also heard that if you don't eat until midday or dinner then you won't feel as hungry? The latter works for me a lot better, but I'm just a bit worried that it won't be as sustainable (or that I won't lose any if I start eating early again, as I'm such a big snacker). Could anyone (who knows more of the technical side than me) help out with which would work better?

loseiteli

Bump

agthorn

No real relation. You do get a slight metabolic boost from eating food because it takes energy to digest it, but it's proportional to the amount of food. So it takes the same metabolic energy to digest twelve 100-calorie meals as it does to digest one 1200-calorie meal, or two 600-calorie meals, etc etc.

Break your meals out in whatever way keeps you on track and minimizes the chance that you'll eat over your goal.

sharper43

You are hungrier on days that you eat breakfast because it did just that, boosted your metabolism. When you add fuel to the fire and you start burning calories, you are going to get hungry again later.

If you don't eat breakfast and don't fuel that fire, you won't be burning many calories because your metabolism is still slow and it takes a lot longer to wake up.

which is better? boosting that metabolism. Eat your breakfast. If you get hungry 2-3 hours later, eat a snack. Yes, it adds calories to your day, but they do get burned up. Make good food choices.

lorihalsted

You do have to eat to kickstart your metabolism. Even if it's just a piece of fruit or protein shake give your body some fuel. I am not an expert by any length of the imagination but I have been on both ends of the spectrum. For years I didn't eat anything in the morning and wouldn't eat until 5 or 6 in the evening. Over the course of 15 years I ballooned to 335 lbs. I am now 85 lbs lighter and eat breakfast every day. I hope this helps! Good luck with your journey. "You have to eat to lose."

mandylooo

Hi Crococdiles,

I don't think it matters what time of day you eat, and it doesn't look to me like you're struggling to stay under your calorie goal. In fact, unless you're not recording everything you eat, it looks more like you're struggling to eat enough!

You should try eating small meals regularly - maybe that way you could get closer to eating enough.

hush7hush

It depends on who you ask, and who you want to believe.

There have been studies to prove both, I believe.

I've read many studies that state that meal time/frequency has NO impact on metabolism, and that's what I choose to believe.

Debbiejenn

Basically, if housing give your body food regularly, it thinks it's not going to get any and therefore when you do eventually eat, it will hold onto it instead of burning it because it thinks it won't get anymore for a while.. The best thing is notnto go more than 4 hours without food.. And always always always eat breakfast x

agthorn

It depends on who you ask, and who you want to believe.

There have been studies to prove both, I believe.

I've read many studies that state that meal time/frequency has NO impact on metabolism, and that's what I choose to believe.

"As long as total caloric and nutrient intake stays the same, then metabolism, at the end of the day, should stay the same as well. One study that carefully demonstrated this, published in 2009 in The British Journal of Nutrition, involved groups of overweight men and women who were randomly assigned to very strict low-calorie diets and followed for eight weeks. Each subject consumed the same number of calories per day, but one group took in three meals a day and the other six.

Both groups lost significant and equivalent amounts of weight. There was no difference between them in fat loss, appetite control or measurements of hormones that signal hunger and satiety. Other studies have had similar results. "

More references:
http://www.theiflife.com/eating-more-meals-does-not-speed-up-your-metabolism/
http://www.theiflife.com/eating-more-meals-does-not-speed-up-your-metabolism-part-ii/

JanetGordon21

Basically, if housing give your body food regularly, it thinks it's not going to get any and therefore when you do eventually eat, it will hold onto it instead of burning it because it thinks it won't get anymore for a while.. The best thing is notnto go more than 4 hours without food.. And always always always eat breakfast x

This is awesome advice for someone like me who was completely clueless about metabolism and burning calories! Thanks!

4theking

Eating does not cause a rise in your metabolic rate. On the contrary, not eating does. Short term fasting does raise your metabolic rate 5-7% because of raised levels of your adrenal hormones.

There are studies that show eating most of your calories and carbs at night lead to reduced bodyfat levels and more muscle mass retained during dieting. I ate this way while losing my weight and continue to do so. I love it!

HMonsterX

Basically, if housing give your body food regularly, it thinks it's not going to get any and therefore when you do eventually eat, it will hold onto it instead of burning it because it thinks it won't get anymore for a while.. The best thing is notnto go more than 4 hours without food.. And always always always eat breakfast x

This is awesome advice for someone like me who was completely clueless about metabolism and burning calories! Thanks!

Be very careful taking advice on here without evidence. This forum perpetuates so many of the myths that shroud weight loss.

That awesome advice is actually completely incorrect, and i'm sure others will back me up. Read the links already posted in this thread.

All breakfast does is make it less likely you will get cravings later on. If you don't get them, or can easily resist, then there is no real biological benefit to eating breakfast as far as fat loss is concerned.

Also, it takes several DAYS for your body to start "storing fat" and going into "starvation mode", not 4 hours.

brucedelaney

Basically, if housing give your body food regularly, it thinks it's not going to get any and therefore when you do eventually eat, it will hold onto it instead of burning it because it thinks it won't get anymore for a while.. The best thing is notnto go more than 4 hours without food.. And always always always eat breakfast x

This is entirely unfounded and utterly wrong. If it was wrong to go more then 4 hours without food we'd all have to get up every night in the middle of the night just to keep our metabolism going....

Truth is it takes several days without food to cause a slow in your metabolism like several people are saying. With this week being an exception I never eat breakfast. (I'm eating breakfast this week do to a radical change in my normal life schedule) In fact I typically wait 15-16 hours every night between my evening snack and lunch the next day and have continued to lose weight at 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per week.

The honest truth of the matter is you have 24 hours within to consume a set number of calories and if you eat them over 3 meals, 6 meals or 1 meal your bod will still burn them and more if you're eating at a deficit for the day.

Sidesteal

No real relation. You do get a slight metabolic boost from eating food because it takes energy to digest it, but it's proportional to the amount of food. So it takes the same metabolic energy to digest twelve 100-calorie meals as it does to digest one 1200-calorie meal, or two 600-calorie meals, etc etc.

Break your meals out in whatever way keeps you on track and minimizes the chance that you'll eat over your goal.

This is 100% correct, and a good explanation.

LiveEnjoyEndure

Let's demystify what metabolism is... so as to understand what our bodies are doing.

Metabolism is the breaking down and the making of cells. Our body is always working metabolically. The speed at which your metabolism works is called your basal metabolic rate. MFP has a tool that calculates your BMR and this will depend on a variety of factors. Your BMR is what MFP uses to calculate how many calories you body uses when you do your normal activity and how many calories your body will need to loose weight.

Calories are the measure used to express the energy our body uses to break down and create cells (what energy we need for our metabolism). Everything you do requires energy and the more you do the more energy/calories you use (of course). If your body has surplus energy this can be stored in a variety of ways and one that can be negative is fat, which is deposited around our body by our blood. If we consume too little energy (calories) then our body has to break down the energy it has stored to supply the deficit. This is what MFP is helping us do is work out how many calories we need to consume to loose fat that our bodies have consumed.

There are three basic energy sources protein, fat and carbohydrates. Carbs (some carbohydrates are not digestible and are called dietary fibre) require the least energy for our body to metabolize, then fats and the most energy needed is to metabolize is protein.

Our metabolism is complex to say the least, and the time of day we eat will effect how our body uses the food we eat, but by far a bigger factor is the type of food we eat and the things we do. Each individual is different and we do not live under experimental conditions, we have complex lives. The best thing to do is find a sustainable (enjoyable and fulfilling) lifestyle that allows you to eat nutritious food and do a healthy amount of exercise. The more active you are and the less processed food you eat the more your metabolism will have to do, the more calories you will consume, the more fat your body will metabolism and the quicker you will loose weight. Once you have reached a body mass you feel comfortable with them you can think about shifting to maintenance. All the best to you in your journey :-)

Rae6503

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/380925-3-meals-a-day-versus-snacking-hypothesis

agthorn

No real relation. You do get a slight metabolic boost from eating food because it takes energy to digest it, but it's proportional to the amount of food. So it takes the same metabolic energy to digest twelve 100-calorie meals as it does to digest one 1200-calorie meal, or two 600-calorie meals, etc etc.

Break your meals out in whatever way keeps you on track and minimizes the chance that you'll eat over your goal.

This is 100% correct, and a good explanation.

Thanks.