Small (and potentially obvious) eating tips aka timing is everything
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I'm going to say calories not meal timing is what is important.
I have not noticed when I eat having an impact on my weight. I weigh myself once a week in the morning after I use the toilet and before I eat or drink anything.
To gain an actual pound of fat you need to eat 3500 calories over your maintenance level. If your food did not do that at 6 pm it isn't going to do it at 10 pm. You might weigh yourself the next day and have undigested food, waste you have not passed, or water retention causing the scale to go up.
If you ate less than you used to at a party and the whole day then you took in fewer calories that day. It wasn't because the party was earlier in the day.
Your body burns calories all day and night. You don't have to burn more calories right after eating something. CICO is everything you consume and burn in the whole day/night.3 -
*holds up hands* I'm just putting up what's happened with me and the results on the scale reflect this.
We are all different. For me, sleeping is very important to overall health, including weight loss, and I absolutely cannot sleep if I'm hungry. (Same goes for having a cold nose or feet, or really any mild discomfort. I am SUPER sensitive at night, lol) So I HAVE to have a premeasured snack ready for bedtime or in csde I wake up hungry. When I try to go without, I don't sleep, I feel like hell, and I often have less weight loss on the scale in the morning. My personal rhythm seems to work best at no or very light breakfast, large late lunch (3-4 preferably), later and substantial dinner (7-8), bedtime snack, and maybe a half fiber bar or some crackers at night if I neef them.0 -
*holds up hands* I'm just putting up what's happened with me and the results on the scale reflect this.
No, you're telling people this is the bottom line. Throwing in your own experience at the bottom of the paragraph doesn't negate the "This is how it works for everybody" aspects.
Your information is incorrect, that's not how your body works. While following these rules works for you (and it's great you found a way of eating you're comfortable with), meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss.8 -
Interesting comments on this thread. Given the discussion about meal timing, what's the general consensus on intermittent fasting (IF)? Specifically:
- Does meal timing have a greater effect on the body's ability to burn fat?
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My understanding of IF is that it's not as important WHEN you fast as it is HOW LONG. It's just that most people preder to sleep through as many of the fasting hours as they can, because it's much easier to deal with that way. Alot of people I've read about eat thier large meal at dinner and before bed, instead of earlier in the day and it seems to work for them. When I tried it, I stopped eating after my 1 am munchie and didn't eat again until after 4pm.Worked out well for me until summer ended and I had to go back to chasing kids around all day. Then I noticed I was feeling really lousy if I didn't have a light breakfast, so IF went bye-bye.3
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chiefwilson wrote: »Interesting comments on this thread. Given the discussion about meal timing, what's the general consensus on intermittent fasting (IF)? Specifically:
- Does meal timing have a greater effect on the body's ability to burn fat?
Yes...but here's that pesky "context" word, during periods of fasting the body is going to be heavily reliant on burning fat as fuel...but that doesn't translate into losing weight any faster or better than not fasting.4 -
chiefwilson wrote: »Interesting comments on this thread. Given the discussion about meal timing, what's the general consensus on intermittent fasting (IF)? Specifically:
- Does meal timing have a greater effect on the body's ability to burn fat?
The overwhelming advice is to not worry about timing, to do what works best for your personal preference, and sets you up best for adherence and consistency.
Personally, I'm willing to accept that there is a minute benefit to some iterations of IF, but those benefits are very, very small, and only apply under very specific circumstances.3 -
It does but only in the very short term. If you are fasted you are very likely to be utilizing stored glycogen and fat as your primary sources of energy. When you are fed you are more likely to be storing fat. All of this is irrelevant as soon as you stop looking at the short term and look at net fat loss (or gain) for the day/week/month. The longer a block of time you look at, the less relevant timing becomes to the point where it holds virtually no relevance. While it's technically incorrect to say "nutrient timing is irrelevant" it's very much correct to say "Over the course of weeks and months, the time of day you eat and number of times a day you eat are virtually meaningless when it comes to changes in body composition".chiefwilson wrote: »Interesting comments on this thread. Given the discussion about meal timing, what's the general consensus on intermittent fasting (IF)? Specifically:- Does meal timing have a greater effect on the body's ability to burn fat?
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What a load of rubbish. I have eaten most of my calories from 8pm right until bedtime for the best part of 4 years now and have never had any issues losing or maintaining weight this way. I even eat biscuits or cake before bed.
Evidently you do not realise that a pound or two up on the scale the next day means nothing beyond more food in your system or water retention. You don’t magically, instantly gain fat/muscle weight the day after you have a meal.
It makes no difference when you eat as long as you are hitting your calorie and macro goals. The body burns energy asleep or awake and plenty of those doing IF eat all their calories in the evening up until bedtime.4 -
It's ironic, but the studies that I have read say that increasing meal frequency actually resulted in more in between meal hunger.
This is personally true for me. I find that when I eat more frequent, smaller meals, I feel hungry for most of the day. When I eat three bigger meals, I feel more satisfied between meals.4 -
It does but only in the very short term. If you are fasted you are very likely to be utilizing stored glycogen and fat as your primary sources of energy. When you are fed you are more likely to be storing fat. All of this is irrelevant as soon as you stop looking at the short term and look at net fat loss (or gain) for the day/week/month. The longer a block of time you look at, the less relevant timing becomes to the point where it holds virtually no relevance. While it's technically incorrect to say "nutrient timing is irrelevant" it's very much correct to say "Over the course of weeks and months, the time of day you eat and number of times a day you eat are virtually meaningless when it comes to changes in body composition".chiefwilson wrote: »Interesting comments on this thread. Given the discussion about meal timing, what's the general consensus on intermittent fasting (IF)? Specifically:- Does meal timing have a greater effect on the body's ability to burn fat?
Good post!1 -
chiefwilson wrote: »Interesting comments on this thread. Given the discussion about meal timing, what's the general consensus on intermittent fasting (IF)? Specifically:
- Does meal timing have a greater effect on the body's ability to burn fat?
I have no idea and can only speak from personal experience. I reached my leanest whilst practising IF 16/8 and training fasted but then I did a lot of training so it could simply have been that. I just tend to not much like eating in the daytime so naturally gravitate towards IF.
As far as I know, however, there is no evidence in terms of research studies, to suggest that one loses fat more efficiently whilst doing IF.1 -
chiefwilson wrote: »Interesting comments on this thread. Given the discussion about meal timing, what's the general consensus on intermittent fasting (IF)? Specifically:
- Does meal timing have a greater effect on the body's ability to burn fat?
Yes...but here's that pesky "context" word, during periods of fasting the body is going to be heavily reliant on burning fat as fuel...but that doesn't translate into losing weight any faster or better than not fasting.
Additionally, with IF, your body has a limit on how many calories it can extract from food per hour.... It's a really high limit, but. Overeating once per day or week or month or year has a much smaller impact than overeating every meal... and that applies even with the same caloric load.
This is a two edged sword.
IF your maint calories are hypothetically 3800 and you eat 4000 calories in a OMAD format, you may maintain or even lose weight(in which case eating more calories in the OMAD format will not help) . Which can be especially problematic if that requirement is due to training load.
As always YMMV1 -
I eat some meals late because I've been working late, and would often swim afterwards (coming home at 11:00 pm). I don't think there is any "set" timing for everybody. I try not to eat meat in the evening. I can't go to be hungry, but I also don't like to be too full either. So a late snack or dinner is fine with me as long as it is relatively light and no beef. (chicken or fish I can handle, but usually I will not have it in the evening). I was eating lighter breakfasts and lunches but I realized about a week ago that my day is better if I eat at least a total of 700-800 calories before I go to work in the afternoon. I had been only eating 400-500 before--either a light breakfast of about 250-300 calories and a snack. I walk to work--about 40-45 minutes and back and I'm on my feet. I would need multiple snacks during the day. If I eat more earlier, I'm less hungry in the afternoon and in a better mood. So this is a great shift for me--timing counts for some people's convenience and energy levels throughout the tday, but no evidence it does directly for weight loss.0
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I eat 1000+ calories after 5pm. No effects.
Goodbye.1 -
So I should be drinking wine in the morning and not coffee? Awesome!4
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Alatariel75 wrote: »Meal timing is irrelevant.
The only benefit from it is cutting out snacking. Being able to say "oh only 1 hour till lunch, I can wait". Has been invaluable to me.1
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