Should I Eat More in the Day and Lesser in the Evening to Lose Weight?

AG Fitness Health
December 27, 2023

Going by the common phrase, “time is of essence”, correct timing is important for all activities. Similarly, alignment of meals with the circadian rhythm is part of the elaborate system that balances an individual’s sleep-wake cycle and the body metabolism.

Various studies have concluded that our bodies do well with eating the larger portion sizes during the day than at night. Timing the meals in this manner helps in maintaining an optimum body weight, regulates hormones better, keeps blood sugar levels under control, regulates sleep patterns better, and improves the general metabolic activity of the body.

A Big Breakfast and a Light Dinner

The meal timings is just one of the factors that leads to weight gain or loss. There are many individuals who are bound to take meals late in the night, due to their work schedules. But, for those who have regular shifts at work or a general timely schedule, research points that they having the biggest meal of the day in the morning or afternoon rather at night is actually beneficial.

Data from studies have indicated that people who consumed most of their calorie intake earlier in the day lost more weight than those consuming later. The improvements in the blood sugar levels were found to be more, cholesterol levels and insulin sensitivity were also better.

Late-Eating Leads to Hungrier Individuals

Researchers found that despite eating same foods and undergoing same levels of physical activity, the participants of the study were hungrier on following a late-night eating schedule.

Late eating caused a sharp spike in a hormone that increases appetite, while reducing the other hormone that leads to satiety. Lesser fats and fewer calories were burnt for late-eaters, pushing their fat cells to store higher quantities of fat.

An Early Eating Schedule

The following strategies work in optimizing an individual’s health:

Not skipping breakfast
Having carbs in the morning is better than later in the day
Eating dinner early on in the evening
Having a smaller dinner

An enzyme, lipase, releasing fats from the fat cells, is typically most active at night. It fuels the body with energy for the organs to function in our sleep. However, late-night eating suppresses this body, preventing it from burning off fat. So, yes, eating more in the day and less at night does help in a person’s weight loss journey.