Does It Matter What Time You Eat?

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Most people assume meal timing is essential. But new research shows that nutrient timing might now be not as important as we once thought. There are so many myths and strangely specific rules about when to eat to lose weight, but alone they do nothing to help. Some experts suggest that timing is not everything, and most of popular diet myths are totally debunked.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

At least this rule works not for everyone. The benefits of breakfast have been widely promoted because it supposedly keeps you away from overeating and boosts metabolism. But the trick is that majority of breakfast studies are biased. For example, a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that most of the researches on skipping breakfast and weight gain were conducted with the explicit intent to force that correlation. Some of the breakfast studies were funded by the food industry, meaning that they were methodologically doomed from the get-go.

You need to eat small meals every few hours

Eating many small meals doesn’t boost metabolism but can even make some people feel hungrier. So by the end of the day they consume more calories than they would with fewer, larger meals. But there is an other side as well: those people who have a hard time keeping the diet are feeling psychologically more comfortable when expecting more meals during the day. According to the British Journal of Nutrition , human’s body will process all the calories just the same way no matter if they come in three big packages or seven small. Frequent meals are more of a help in managing appetite, so if frequent meals work for you – go ahead.

You have to eat right after a workout

There is a popular myth wandering between the lifting crowd, that if they don’t have a protein shake or carbohydrates right after workout, all their muscles and hard work will go poof. The research in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition clears some things up. Your muscles are not going to melt like snowflakes in the sun if you don’t eat a substantial meal right after workout. It can affect you only in case you have another intense workout to do on the same day. Otherwise you will be totally fine.

You need to stop eating few hours before going to bed

Another popular diet belief is not to eat after 6, 7, 8, otherwise the calories will be stored in fat department and lead to gaining weight. But in reality this myth was developed just to regulate your eating habits. For many people night time snack involves pizza, cookies or ice cream, which are high caloric foods and really can lead to weight gain. Telling you that you can’t eat after certain time will just help to control total calories and avoid self destructive habits.

All of these diet rules might work as a part of a weight loss plan, but they are not by any means magical and guarantee weight loss for everyone.