Timing matters. More calories in morning?

Has anyone looked into the study that showed overweight women lost significantly more weight by having half their calories at breatfast than the women that had half at dinner? Same food and same calories over 12 wks. Assuming it would even out over longer amount of time but is curious if timing could be a quick start method for people.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512957/
«1

Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Nope, not me.
  • merekins
    merekins Posts: 228 Member
    I don’t like eating in morning and am close to my goal so not something I will be trying. But if that was an easy jumpstart for people to start with, that would be amazing. Heard about it on an NPR podcast.
    https://www.npr.org/2016/05/31/479754700/food-for-thought-the-subtle-forces-that-affect-your-appetite
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,226 Member
    Thanks for posting the link, I read the abstract only. I do better IF-style with a targeted 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm feeding period. We're all different. Thanks again.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    The only impact a higher intake in the morning might have is providing more energy to fuel more vigorous activity like walking faster, lifting heavier loads, etc. Any extra weight loss will depend entirely on how you exert that energy.

    That is possible.

    However many of us have daily routines (like going to work for 8 hours) that are not going to change regardless of what we eat when - so moot point for many of us.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    edited September 2019
    On a normal day I eat almost all of my calories from mid-morning to early evening. This works for me because that is when I'm most active and I feel just better overall. Plus at night I mostly just relax, hangout with my family and read.

    However, I keep a close eye on my calorie intake everyday. I feel that is more important and also staying consistent with it.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    I normally eat half my calories at breakfast, tend to have a larger lunch than dinner, and many days have no dinner at all. My breakfasts look more like other people's lunches, including two or more servings of vegetables. It's a great fit for me because it reduces the likelihood of acid reflux being a problem at bedtime. The downside is that it takes some effort to fit in social dinners.

    Despite the fact that I eat the way they are advocating, I doubt that there is much of anything beyond CICO at play.
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
    1) from the full article, it's not clear that eating less than the assigned calories was recorded as noncompliance
    2) as I read it, a participant could report eating more than 10% above the assigned calories two days a week on average (with no upper limit to how much above the assigned calories were consumed) and be included in the results
    3) calorie intake was self-reported (participants were given a list of food choices, but complying with those food choices and measuring amounts was up to the participants)
    4) as I read it (although it's possible details on food choices were omitted), the big breakfast group was asked to eat tuna sandwiches and a salad for breakfast, along with some milk chocolate -- I'm thinking some people might not have been wolfing that down at 6 a.m.


    I realize isolating 90+ people in a lab for 12 weeks is costly and a barrier to getting volunteers, but I would think in this day and age of meal delivery services, actually giving them the food and collecting the leftovers wouldn't be such a high hurdle, and would address at least some of the self-reporting issues.

    I couldn't find the full text but figured something like this almost had to be the case, as the abstract was claiming equal calories, different results.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    My biggest meal, by far, is in the evening.

    A typical day consists of only about 250 calories for breakfast, 250 calories for lunch, and 1200 calories for dinner, wine, dessert.

    I had no issues losing weight this way and it works for me and my life.
  • unstableunicorn
    unstableunicorn Posts: 216 Member
    The only impact a higher intake in the morning might have is providing more energy to fuel more vigorous activity like walking faster, lifting heavier loads, etc. Any extra weight loss will depend entirely on how you exert that energy.

    That is possible.

    However many of us have daily routines (like going to work for 8 hours) that are not going to change regardless of what we eat when - so moot point for many of us.

    Respectfully, daily routine is irrelevant. My post was referring specifically to the inevitable physical activity we perform the second we get out of bed. Someone who walks briskly between tasks is going to burn more calories throughout the day than someone who shuffles along an identical routine.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    The only impact a higher intake in the morning might have is providing more energy to fuel more vigorous activity like walking faster, lifting heavier loads, etc. Any extra weight loss will depend entirely on how you exert that energy.

    That is possible.

    However many of us have daily routines (like going to work for 8 hours) that are not going to change regardless of what we eat when - so moot point for many of us.

    Respectfully, daily routine is irrelevant. My post was referring specifically to the inevitable physical activity we perform the second we get out of bed. Someone who walks briskly between tasks is going to burn more calories throughout the day than someone who shuffles along an identical routine.

    Not convinced that big breakfasts will make any difference really to how much energy we expend doing the same things as we would be doing without the big breakfast .

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    merekins wrote: »
    I don’t like eating in morning and am close to my goal so not something I will be trying. But if that was an easy jumpstart for people to start with, that would be amazing. Heard about it on an NPR podcast.
    https://www.npr.org/2016/05/31/479754700/food-for-thought-the-subtle-forces-that-affect-your-appetite
    I eat most of my calories at dinner. I typically wake up feeling satisfied and don't eat breakfast. I've lost about 70 pounds.
    I eat the most calories at lunch most days. I wonder what they say about that?
    denjan333 wrote: »
    You lose weight with a caloric deficit. When you eat the calories makes no difference, as long as you can stick to the deficit.
    The only impact a higher intake in the morning might have is providing more energy to fuel more vigorous activity like walking faster, lifting heavier loads, etc. Any extra weight loss will depend entirely on how you exert that energy.

    Please explain to me how anyone can disagree with each one of the above. For instance, NorthCascades, do they disagree that you eat most of calories at dinner? Did they check your diary? Or does someone who lives and works with you have an account here and know better? Or do they disagree with how much you’ve lost? Did they check your scales?
  • LIFOtheparty
    LIFOtheparty Posts: 24 Member
    merekins wrote: »
    I don’t like eating in morning and am close to my goal so not something I will be trying. But if that was an easy jumpstart for people to start with, that would be amazing. Heard about it on an NPR podcast.
    https://www.npr.org/2016/05/31/479754700/food-for-thought-the-subtle-forces-that-affect-your-appetite
    I eat most of my calories at dinner. I typically wake up feeling satisfied and don't eat breakfast. I've lost about 70 pounds.
    I eat the most calories at lunch most days. I wonder what they say about that?
    denjan333 wrote: »
    You lose weight with a caloric deficit. When you eat the calories makes no difference, as long as you can stick to the deficit.
    The only impact a higher intake in the morning might have is providing more energy to fuel more vigorous activity like walking faster, lifting heavier loads, etc. Any extra weight loss will depend entirely on how you exert that energy.

    Please explain to me how anyone can disagree with each one of the above. For instance, NorthCascades, do they disagree that you eat most of calories at dinner? Did they check your diary? Or does someone who lives and works with you have an account here and know better? Or do they disagree with how much you’ve lost? Did they check your scales?

    I was wondering this too lol. Apparently someone doesn't know what "disagree" means.
  • ChackoSupreme
    ChackoSupreme Posts: 4 Member
    Don't get lost in one off studies. If you're going to utilize studies to determine your diet you should utilize ones that have had repeated results.

    A lot of "diet" science is finally being called out for the bunk it is.

    -WHEN- you eat calories should entirely depend on what feels good to you. The important part for weight loss is that you are burning more calories than you consume.

    I would suggest using black coffee and your fasting state in the morning to push you further into the day without eating. The further you can push out not eating, the less insulin your body will produce (which inevitably means fat storage if you're consuming a large number of calories earlier).

    You should also always break your fast by starting with leafy greens or water vegetables as they cause the lowest insulin response. Then move on to proteins, then to carbs, then to sugar/fruit.

    Black coffee and drinking a lot of water will help when you're feeling hungry but it isn't quite time to eat yet.

    If this doesn't feel good (and it takes a while to adjust) or if you have blood-sugar issues, you should just try to stick to eating veggies for breakfast first for a month or two, including calorie restricting, and see where you get in like 60 days.

    Remember that the chief factors that affect weight loss are insulin sensitivity, and that you are consuming fewer calories than you are burning.