There is no question that portion control and good food are both crucial while attempting to lose weight. However, your weight loss plan might be accelerated by paying attention to the timing of your meals. It is as crucial to your health as what and how much you consume when you eat. Therefore, make an effort to eat at the same time every day if you want to lose weight quickly. Uneven meal scheduling can hurt your weight loss plan. According to a Harvard University study, no matter how nutritious your diet is, if you aren't eating at the appropriate time, it may not be beneficial for your weight loss plan. You may keep a balance between your circadian and mealtime rhythms by sticking to a daily plan. Any discrepancy between the two can cause an 18% increase in blood sugar levels compared to baseline.
You can manage your metabolism, body weight, disorders linked to obesity, and sleep cycle with the use of time. Therefore, the crucial question is when you should actually eat in order to keep things moving.
Meal Timings and Weight Loss
- Calories
First and foremost, you must have a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. This cannot be negotiated. Calories in vs. calories out is the primary factor in weight gain or decrease. Other considerations really don't count if you don't take care of this first.
- Sustainability
The second factor is sustainability; for a diet or meal schedule to be effective, it must be something you can maintain over an extended period of time.
Even if your diet is perfectly tailored to your age, gender, blood type, and food preferences, your odds of adhering to it are minimal if you don't enjoy eating at particular times of the day or detest specific foods.
A diet must be simple to follow daily in and day out to be sustained over the long run.
- Consistency
It's not enough to occasionally be in a deficit to ensure sustained, significant weight loss. You must continually have a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight. Additionally, the body needs constancy. If you adhere to your diet strictly every day of the week rather than randomly picking days to be in a deficit, it will be much easier to maintain. You may maintain your organization and focus by developing routines, habits, and patterns.
Recommended Meal Timings
Breakfast
The most crucial mealtime is breakfast. When attempting to lose weight, eating a high-protein meal between 6 and 10 in the morning is always advised. You will experience less hunger throughout the day as a result, lowering your risk of accumulating body fat.
Mid-morning Snack
You may or may not need a mid-morning snack; it all depends on whether you are hungry or not. The recommended window for mid-morning snacks is 2 to 4 hours after breakfast.
Lunch
At all costs, you should attempt to eat lunch before 3 PM. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, where 300 dieters were investigated, it was shown that those who ate lunch earlier were able to lose more weight.
Afternoon Snack
You should eat your evening snacks 2 to 4 hours after lunch, just like you would your morning snack. By eating between meals, you can avoid overeating.
Dinner
Eating a light dinner before 7 o'clock in the evening is also advisable. To reduce weight, eating something between 1-2 hours before bed is generally advisable.
Conclusion
If you’re new to diets, you can start by gradually raising your diet's general caliber gradually. After establishing a foundation of healthy eating, you might want to add the practice of timing your meals. Consuming extra carbohydrates throughout the day will probably be OK if you are thin and only want to keep your current body composition. Control your overall food consumption initially if you want to shed body fat, and then try to eat mostly carb-rich items during and after workouts (for about 3 hours after).
Consume protein and fat mainly outside the three-hour window while eating fewer meals that are high in carbohydrates (by 25% or more). The concepts of nutrient timing are the same if you want to grow muscle; just consume more calories overall. Always evaluate your progress and make required adjustments.
If nutrition interests you and is something that you want to take up and help others out, take a look at the certification courses from American Sports & Fitness Association.
