Does time of day and number of meal really matter?

graceeabbott
graceeabbott Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I work night shift and don't have a consistent eating schedule. I rarely eat breakfast in the mornings. Generally, I am not hungry until about 2pm. I eat lunch then and eat dinner later. On work nights, I eat a third time during the night. I do stay within my calorie limits on all days though. I usually go completely without eating from about 6am to 2pm. I know I hear a lot of people saying to eat six small meals a day, etc. Is that really necessary to lose weight? Or is it more about calories eaten in a day overall?

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    No. It's about the total calories you consume, not when you consume them.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Nope
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    Timing and number of meals is completely irrelevant.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    your body cannot read a clock - it only knows hungry and not hungry - feed it when it's hungry...

    scientifically speaking, time of day and meal frequency do not matter - total calories in vs total calories out is what matters.
  • cthakkar1985
    cthakkar1985 Posts: 137 Member
    Yes they matter - a little. Overall, if you're going to the gym, you need the right amount and right type of fuel to get the most out of your workout. Better workouts = better body compsition. Also, you need proper nutrition post workout. Need healthy fats, fast-digesting carbs, and adequate protein to optimize muslce repair after working out. Number of meals or time of day don't matter AT ALL. Just before and after workout is the only thing that matters.
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
    graceeabbott wrote: »
    I work night shift and don't have a consistent eating schedule. I rarely eat breakfast in the mornings. Generally, I am not hungry until about 2pm. I eat lunch then and eat dinner later. On work nights, I eat a third time during the night. I do stay within my calorie limits on all days though. I usually go completely without eating from about 6am to 2pm.

    This is my schedule almost exactly. Eighty+ pounds lost. No, it makes no difference.

  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
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  • cthakkar1985
    cthakkar1985 Posts: 137 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
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    This is great
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    No! it's so wonderful! I lost the majority of my weight after I found out timing doesn't matter. I can not go to sleep hungry and when I was told I had to stop eating after 5 to lose weight I would try to do that, end up bingeing and fail. Now I always save 200-300 calories right before bed. It's so great.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
    cthakkar1985 wrote: »
    Yes they matter - a little. Overall, if you're going to the gym, you need the right amount and right type of fuel to get the most out of your workout. Better workouts = better body compsition. Also, you need proper nutrition post workout. Need healthy fats, fast-digesting carbs, and adequate protein to optimize muslce repair after working out. Number of meals or time of day don't matter AT ALL. Just before and after workout is the only thing that matters.

    Not for me. I work out better on an empty stomach because eating before or immediately after makes me nauseous. I know other people in the same boat so to answer the OP,

    No. It doesn't matter. Meal timing and frequency are personal preference and have no bearing on weight loss as long as you stay in your limits.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Alluminati wrote: »
    cthakkar1985 wrote: »
    Yes they matter - a little. Overall, if you're going to the gym, you need the right amount and right type of fuel to get the most out of your workout. Better workouts = better body compsition. Also, you need proper nutrition post workout. Need healthy fats, fast-digesting carbs, and adequate protein to optimize muslce repair after working out. Number of meals or time of day don't matter AT ALL. Just before and after workout is the only thing that matters.

    Not for me. I work out better on an empty stomach because eating before or immediately after makes me nauseous. I know other people in the same boat so to answer the OP,

    No. It doesn't matter. Meal timing and frequency are personal preference and have no bearing on weight loss as long as you stay in your limits.

    I also work out best on an empty stomach or at least 4 hours after a meal. In addition to nausea, I will also get side stitches if I eat before a hard cardio session.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    edited February 2016
    Context. My 2 hour workout in the morning or cycle in to work needs fuelling 2/3 hours before, because I am usually up in the higher heart rate zones.
    I need to eat to sleep well.
    Consequently I have a smallish lunch (15% of my calories) big high carb breakfast (30-50%) and biggish dinner with most of my fat (30-50%).

    For weight loss, it doesn't make any difference, it's just personal choice.

    Though:
    I believe that pre fuelling gets a really good calorie burn and weight lifting performance which would make a difference to calories out.
    I also believe post weight lifting carbs are important.
    I'm not a professional athlete by any means but these things are a massive part of my fitness goals.
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    Alluminati wrote: »
    cthakkar1985 wrote: »
    Yes they matter - a little. Overall, if you're going to the gym, you need the right amount and right type of fuel to get the most out of your workout. Better workouts = better body compsition. Also, you need proper nutrition post workout. Need healthy fats, fast-digesting carbs, and adequate protein to optimize muslce repair after working out. Number of meals or time of day don't matter AT ALL. Just before and after workout is the only thing that matters.

    Not for me. I work out better on an empty stomach because eating before or immediately after makes me nauseous. I know other people in the same boat so to answer the OP,

    No. It doesn't matter. Meal timing and frequency are personal preference and have no bearing on weight loss as long as you stay in your limits.

    You only need to worry about pre and post workout nutrition if you're a professional athlete who needs to recover as efficiently as possible. For the vast majority of people, it just doesn't matter. The carbs can be as quick or as slow digesting as you like, you can have fat or not, it just doesn't matter for most of us.
  • graceeabbott
    graceeabbott Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you! I suspected that was the case. I've only been doing this for 16 days now. I'm down 9 pounds from my start weight. I do realize that's probably mostly water. I feel soooo much better. At this point, my workouts are kinda lightweight. I started walking on the treadmill a little over a week ago, about three times a week. This week, I've added strength training 4x/wk. I do try to eat something somewhat light but with a high protein count before i go.
    Your answers make me feel better. Its easy to get lost in all the different concepts out there.

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