What is truth about eating times?

As far as I'm aware, timing does not affect anything. It's just caloric intake that matters. It also comes down to personal preference. For me, I feel I'm less likely to gorge myself at night if I follow a pre-set eating schedule. I plan on keeping this schedule long after I've entered maintenance, just to help me along.

I eat when I'm hungry.

I don't think it matter a jot. It's a cow's opinion, as our old Friend Joey would say. What matters is your total intake of food, not when it was injested.

There are times where it would be more (and less) beneficial and I do think you should always try to make things as easy for yourself as possible but I wouldn't stress because I've eaten a couple of carbs and it's dark out. If you feel that if you were to sit down at 8pm and crack open a pack of biscuits but just have two and then you'd stop then I don't see any point in moving biscuit time to 1pm instead just for that reason alone. However, if once the packet is open you won't be able to stop as you munch through the soaps then yeah, I'd avoid the biscuit tin at that hour.

But that's nothing to do with the time on the clock and everything to do with stopping at a couple of biccies instead of carrying on til you see the end of the pack. If you can do that after dark, go ahead. If you can't, don't.

Timing is of no issue. All that matters is how many calories you consume total. You can eat every 20 minutes or one giant meal a day.

I agree with folks in the thread, there is nothing magic about spreading meals out, it's all about calorie deficit or not. The only thing I would add is that I try to time meals/snacks to help me with workouts. If I know I have a run coming after work I try to eat a protein bar and drink some water an hour or two prior to help my blood sugar level and not be full at run time. When you are operating at a deficit sometimes you feel weak which means your workout intensity will suffer. Meal timing can help mitigate that.

QFT - Very well said!

Ah yes, I will modify what I wrote by saying that the only exception I would say is the post workout intake. I really like to have my protein shake after workouts.

I am a health professional and one of the biggest reasons suggested to eat every 2-3 hours is just to try an stave off hunger so you are less likely to overeat. We tell diabetics this because it helps them maintain their sugar levels.

NYT had an interesting article that contradicts "conventional wisdom" about diabetic meal timing. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/a-meal-schedule-for-diabetes/

It says, given equal caloric intake, 2 big meals is better for diabetics than 6 small meals.

It helps me stick with my calories better if I eat 5 small meals during the day.

It's also shrank my stomach so that when I do have a cheat day/meal I literally cannot eat very much of whatever I'm indulging in.

For me it works. Don't care about if it is good for my metabolism or if it matters- it's what fits best.

*note: if I'm not hungry, then I don't eat and my calorie distribution isn't always even through my meals. But generally, I eat every 3 hours between 200-300 calories.

Well honestly there are only a couple big mistakes you can make. In my opinion.

1. Loading most of your calories into one meal. This will cause the big meal to make you deposit more fat and cause you to be ravenous through the rest of the day.

2. Eating less than 2 hours before you sleep. This will marginally impact weight loss.

Proof?

Thanks for the link! I will check it out. I think it is up to the individual which is why I said we suggest. Thanks again for the link!