When is the best time of day to eat to lose weight?

If you’re trying to control your weight, it can be difficult to work out which factors are most important. Should you eat more protein and fewer carbs? Should you give up entire food groups? Should you go paleo or vegan, or count your macros? Should you try intermittent fasting? What is the best time of day to eat to lose weight?

So, what advice should be trusted, and what really works?

Breakfast like a king

One factor that has long been relied on when it comes to weight loss is how much you eat at different times of the day. “Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch, and a pauper at dinner” has been a popular catch cry for a long time.

And it makes sense, to a certain degree. We are awake during the day and able to burn off the energy we eat in the mornings, and we don’t need too much to keep us going at night, while we’re sleeping.

There have even been some studies that suggested this approach had merit, with a 2013 study supporting the theory that eating more calories in the morning and fewer at night was helpful for weight loss.

Does chrononutrition have the answers?

The study of the right time to eat is called chrononutrition, and it’s still a relatively new field. The idea is that every cell in our body follows a circadian rhythm, so it makes sense that nutrition at different times of the day can affect the way we metabolise and absorb nutrients.

But a major new study published in Cell Metabolism has found that, while a larger meal in the morning can help manage appetite during the day, it has no effect on weight loss, nor does it stimulate your metabolism.

The latest research

Researchers at the Universities of Aberdeen and Surrey studied healthy but overweight people and had them follow two diets for four weeks: one group had a big breakfast and small dinner, while the other group had a small breakfast and a big dinner. Lunches were kept the same for both groups.

The two groups were consuming the same amount of calories, distributed differently across the day. Then the groups swapped, so the results could be examined in the same people, reducing the variables in the study.

What the study found was there was no difference in metabolic activity, blood glucose or lipids, meaning it didn’t matter when the calories were consumed during the day because the body dealt with it in exactly the same way.

When is the best time of day to eat?

While this study has dismissed the idea of the king’s breakfast being the key to weight loss, there is still much to learn in the field of chrononutrition, so watch this space.

If you’re attempting to control your weight right now, InstantScripts Medical Director Dr Andrew Thompson says that the most important factor when losing weight is being in a calorie deficit; that is, consuming fewer calories than your body is using each day.

“This way your body will begin to use your fat stores as an energy source, resulting in weight loss,” he says.

“The most important factor in this equation is reducing the amount of calories we consume because, whilst increasing the calories we burn via exercise is important, it is a less significant factor overall.

“If you are struggling with your weight, I would recommend speaking with your doctor so they can rule out any underlying factors causing weight gain, as well as advise you on the best approach for your particular circumstances.”

This article was written by Carolyn Tate, a Brisbane-based writer with a particular interest in women’s health, mental health and living well. Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Professional Writing and a Bachelor of Political Science.