Can Eating An Early Dinner Help You Burn Fat?

A small study indicates consuming all of your meals early in the day could reduce appetite and improve the reduction in weight. An increasing number of people in recent years are pursuing extended fasting as a weight-loss technique. Intermittent fasting is a term used to describe multiple dietary cycles in which people alternate for 12 hours or more between-meal days and feeding periods. Early time-limited eating is one form of intermittent fasting where people eat all their meals in the morning and early afternoon before the rest of the day is fasting. 

Late time-restricted eating will help reduce hunger and encourage fat burning according to a recent study published in the journal Obesity. Before this report, we had evidence that both intermittent fasting and eating early in the day helped with weight loss, but we did not know why they appeared to help," Courtney Peterson, Ph.D., test lead researcher and assistant professor in the diet sciences department at Birmingham University of Alabama told. "The key purpose of this research was to know how these meal-timing techniques assist with weight control by making people eat more calories, reduce their appetite, or both,” she said. 

Eating Early Will Cut Down on Appetite

Peterson's research team recruited 11 participants to perform this study who had excellent overall health but were deemed overweight, with a body mass index of 25 to 35. Over four days each of the researchers attempted two meal-timing plans. Participants consumed the same types of food and the same proportions when observing each timetable.

Participants ate all their meals by 8 a.m., on the early time-limited feeding schedule. Around 2:00 p.m. Every single day. Participants eat their meals by 8 a.m., on the comparative timetable. Then 8:00 p.m. What we found was that the appetite hormone, ghrelin, was lower in the morning and appeared to be lower in the evening [when participants followed the time-limited early feeding schedule, said Peterson.

"We also observed that the urge to eat was lower when participants attempted early to eat food. The only time of the day that they were more hungry than the reference period was just before bedtime, about 10:30 in the evening," she added. Early time-limited feeding often appeared to increase the number of fat participants burned over a 24-hour period.

Although further work is needed, these findings indicate that co-ordinating mealtimes with the circadian rhythm of the body can help to curb appetite and promote weight loss. "Evidence indicates you have this internal biological clock that makes you happier at various times of the day and there are a lot of biochemical processes in the morning that are a little more effective," Peterson said. 

Adjusted Meals, a similar time to Sleep

Jun and the team researched 20 balanced volunteers (10 men and 10 women) to figure out whether they had metabolized their bodies eating dinner at 10 pm. Rather than 6 p.m. Around the same time, all test participants went to sleep at 11 p.m. Research results indicate higher levels of blood sugar, and lower levels of fat consumed while consuming a late dinner, even though participants ate the same meal. 

"We were not surprised. Other studies have done related work to look at circadian patterns and food, and some experiments have found that if you feed out of step with the regular circadian rhythm in your system, you will not metabolize glucose the same way".Jun added. The study showed that late eaters had peak blood sugar levels about 20 percent higher and a 10 percent decrease in fat burning relative to people who had dinner earlier. 

A larger feeding window may be more efficient

Peterson 's team is undertaking ongoing work to learn more about the possible consequences of early, time-restricted eating. Meanwhile, she indicates that it could be simpler for certain people to follow a meal-time routine with a wider feeding window than the actual schedule they researched.

"We wanted to find a meal schedule that we felt would optimize the gains and we compared feeding periods of six hours and 18 hours of daily fasting". she said. But the evidence we have from experiments in my laboratory and other people's laboratories show that eight to ten hours is a safer goal for other people to shoot for, she added.

Not Perfect for Everyone

Many people can consider early-time-restricted feeding beneficial in controlling their appetite or weight, but experts caution that it is not everyone's best solution. "It can be complicated for athletes or someone who is relatively busy, based on whether they feed and workout," said Liz Weinandy, MPH, RDN, LD, ambulance nutritionist at the Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. "Other possible obstacles would be if, like diabetes, a person has a disease that causes them to eat more regularly," she added.

Persons who are pregnant or who treat chronic problems such as cancer can often find it impossible to meet their food requirements by feeding only during brief periods. Intermittent fasting will make it more difficult to exchange meals with family members and friends or manage social conditions surrounding food. "This eating pattern can also result in an unhealthy relationship with food," warned Caroline. "And someone with an eating disorder or background will stop this strategy," she added.

Professional Guidance is Available

Passerrello advises people to meet with a licensed dietitian before they try intermittent fasting. As her clients show interest in intermittent fasting, they are encouraged by Passerrello to focus on their aspirations and reasons to seek it out. She also urges them to make adjustments to their everyday activities in order to satisfy an extended period of fasting.

Weinandy urges potential consumers to continue with a 12 to 14 hour feeding period before seeking out more stringent fasting plans. She also advises people to stop breakfast skipping and to pay particular attention to how they behave when fasting. If someone shows symptoms of low blood sugar when they are fasting, that may not be the right choice. Some individuals can also consume excessively during their feeding periods to attempt to later reduce appetite, possibly contributing to weight gain. Getting back to the smaller, regular meals and snacks is a healthier option for this community.