Yes, like right from those annoying click bait spammy ads and such, but true! If you struggle with your weight, the simple change of when you eat those cals appears to have profound effects. EXACT same cals and macros, different effects when eaten at different times. No magic bullets, no magical macro manipulations (e.g. keto, carnivore, etc etc), no IF, no drama:
Highlights
• Late eating increases waketime hunger and decreases 24-h serum leptin
•Late eating decreases waketime energy expenditure and 24-h core body temperature
•Late eating alters adipose tissue gene expression favoring increased lipid storage
•Combined, these changes upon late eating may increase obesity risk in humans
The study fits my observation of one person. If I eat dinner before 6PM, and nothing else before bedtime, I experience weight loss with no changes in my activity level.
Either suck it up and make it happen if you need to lose some weight, or find another approach that works for you. I’m just forwarding the intel that’s simple, but not necessarily easy for some. :neo:
That is the way to approach it yes. I also am unable to do that, but also not in need of weight loss. My problem is I always end up eating late, and or, late eating as I’m still hungry. Even minus weight, metabolically better to follow your above schedule per paper supplied.
So I came across this eating earlier plan on my own, and it really does seem to be working for me.
I eat my biggest meal for lunch at around 11am, with a moderate breakfast around 7am and a very small (basically snack sized) dinner at 5:30-ish with no random eating after dinner. I’ve also re-arranged the macros of my meals so that the vast bulk of the carbs are positioned in the breakfast and lunch meals while my small dinner is largely protein and some fat.
I’ve been losing a little bit of weight, but more importantly, I’m sleeping better, I’m less hungry during the day, and I have more energy. I’ve also noticed that my blood glucose response is less disordered now than it was 4 months ago (my wife it T1D, so I have access to Dexcom G6 sensors). That in itself is a major win! My last A1C was on the upper end of “normal”, but the CGM data from that time period was a mess and clearly indicated some fairly concerning dysglycemia. The last round of monitoring was a lot better, though still indicated further work to be done.
I can buy that triggering a little bit of fasting (i.e. last meal before 6 PM and eat nothing until breakfast the next day) can help trigger some cellular changes. But to Will Brink’s point, it’s the overall energy balance that matters more. I would be that people who start losing weight by not eating anything after 6 PM are doing so because anything they would have eaten was empty calories like beer, chips, popcorn, and other snack food they’re mindlessly munching on while watching tv.
I say that as someone who went all-in on the “it’s not how much you eat but what you eat” bandwagon 13 years ago (and Will actually called me out for it back then) only to have to walk it back to reality eventually. There’s no shortcut for managing energy balance.
That’s still the #1 variable to control, but, it does appear via OP that same cals etc, reversed as to the way most of us eat, may have additional benefits on weight loss. That one comes under “worth a try” category for sures.
In general, I agree with you. But there are cases when people do their best to lose weight, but don’t see many results. Usually, it happens due to health issues they didn’t know about before starting their weight loss journey. I personally found out that my ketosis level was higher than it should be exactly this way. And my body didn’t burn fat for energy as I wanted (here is a good article on the topic https://betterme.world/articles/ideal-ketosis-level-for-weight-loss/ if someone is interested). Fortunately, after the medical treatment, I finally lost several pounds and can manage my weight now.
