We’ve all heard the old saying about healthy eating: ” Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and have dinner like a poor man .” That is, load up your calories at the beginning of the day. But does that mean you should skip dinner if you want to lose weight? Not really.
In fact, recent research suggests the exact opposite: Skipping dinner could promote weight gain. The researchers found that college-age students who skipped dinner regularly gained more weight than they ate dinner every day.
Those who skipped dinner gained about 10 percent of their body weight over the six-year study period and were also more likely to be in the overweight / obese body mass index (BMI) category.
Why skipping dinner could cause weight gain
People who skip dinner continue to eat through the night, they just tend to eat more snacks and snacking, which is what would lead to weight gain. In addition, these types of snacks tend to lack nutrients, are low in fiber and protein, and high in sugar and carbohydrates . These types of foods rarely fill you up and can lead you to eat more.
Those who sit down to dinner tend to eat healthier foods and a more balanced meal. They tend to eat more vegetables and protein at meal times, and they tend to fill up on healthy foods, reducing the need for late-night snacks.
Still, there is other research indicating that skipping dinner may promote weight loss . For example, a study of nearly 50,000 people in the September 2017 issue of The Journal of Nutrition found that people who ate fewer than three meals a day and took the longest break between meals at night lowered their rate. of body mass significantly over the course of a year.
Even skimping at dinner made a difference: In the same study, people who made lunch or breakfast their most important meal of the day lowered their BMI more than people who ate their most important meal at dinner.
How to skip dinner to lose weight?
Skipping dinner appears to work in the previous study because participants were essentially intermittent fasting or giving up dinner and then snacking later in the evening.
When people implement intermittent fasting, skipping dinner can be a powerful weight loss tool. This type of fast is called a circadian rhythm fast, and it mimics our traditional eating patterns.
The goal is to eat when the sun rises and to finish eating when the sun goes down. Eating according to your circadian rhythms can contribute to better weight control, as well as better sleep, healthier blood sugar levels, and more.
Researchers believe that eating at the wrong times of the day, and specifically too late at night, is detrimental to our health due to higher glucose and insulin levels late at night.
When we eat a large meal late, this triggers digestion and a large amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Our bodies actually prefer to burn stored fat at night rather than break down glucose.
This imbalance affects sleep quality and energy levels and ultimately disrupts the circadian rhythm. That is why it is recommended t finish last or food at the least three hours before bedtime.
Tips for a healthy intermittent fasting
When you reduce your eating window during the day, you need to make sure that the foods you eat meet your nutritional needs.
Do not leave us t s overall calories baj e n too. That is, less than 1,200 calories a day for women and 1,500 for men. If it’s less than that, you could end up with nutritional deficiencies.
Eli ge healthy foods. Options like whole grains, lean proteins, and fruits and vegetables to make sure you meet your nutritional needs and help keep your blood sugar levels stable during your fasting period. Talk to your doctor to make sure fasting is okay for you, especially if you have any underlying medical conditions.
Consider hiring a nutritionist , who can make sure your body’s needs are met as you work toward weight loss.
