What if you knew that the time you eat influences weight loss? Find out if eating early makes you lose weight and the benefits of adopting this habit.
That’s right; mealtimes also matter for those looking to lose weight. This is due to the circadian rhythm, a biological clock that regulates all metabolism – including digestion.
Therefore, those who eat dinner earlier may lose more weight than those who eat dinner close to bedtime.
Eating breakfast later or going on intermittent fasting seems to have the same effect.
According to a 2020 study from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, simply changing the timing of a meal can impact fat burning and weight loss.
According to research, eating a late dinner is directly related to weight gain. It raises blood sugar levels and reduces fat burning – even without changing anything on the menu or calories ingested.
For those who already suffer from diseases such as diabetes or obesity, for example, the impact of having dinner close to bedtime can be even more damaging.
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Eat Early For Weight Loss
Of course, in addition to having an early dinner, you also need to have a calorie deficit food plan that promotes weight loss.
Eating early dinner loses weight, and what explains this is our hormones – especially insulin and cortisol.
Namely, insulin is responsible for sending sugar (energy) to cells. This step takes about 3 hours, depending on the food ingested. Thus, eating too close to bedtime is terrible, as this step will not be completed before sleep.
On the other hand, cortisol is highest during sleep in the middle of the night. The combination of low insulin levels with high cortisol levels favors fat burning.
However, when you have dinner very late and go to sleep, the insulin hasn’t had time to do its job. And high levels of insulin inhibit cortisol and impair calorie burning. As a result, having a late dinner favors fat accumulation rather than burning.
More Early Dinner Benefits
In addition to helping you lose weight, having dinner earlier can bring other benefits, such as:
Improves Sleep
Indeed, having dinner close to bedtime can increase the risk of problems like indigestion and heartburn. With this, episodes of reflux that usually get worse at rest can be avoided entirely.
Also, eating too late can affect your circadian rhythm and make it difficult to sleep.
Protect The Heart
Eating and going to bed right away can interfere with normal blood pressure, causing fluid retention and swelling. This mostly happens after eating high-sodium foods at dinner.
Thus, the idea is to avoid eating close to bedtime and, if possible, also avoid meals high in sodium and simple carbohydrates at dinner time.
Tips
If you manage to eat your last meal of the day at least three hours before bed, your metabolism will have enough time to promote an ideal environment for burning fat overnight.
But if you can’t eat dinner early because of your routine, don’t blame yourself. But make adjustments to portions and avoid refined carbs and sodium.
Another handy tip in these cases is to have a snack in the late afternoon, so you don’t get too hungry at night. That way, it is possible to have a lighter meal before bed without significant difficulties.
Finally, you can also count on the help of a nutritionist to adjust your meal times throughout the day so that you can lose weight without starving yourself and without disturbing your sleep.
To make your dinner even more beneficial for your health, be sure to check out a nutritionist to explain which foods interfere with sleep and those that interfere with weight loss when eaten at night.
Also Read: Avoid These Three Mistakes If You Want To Lose Weight
