If you want to lose weight, the time of day you eat can be decisive for losing weight

Experts have shown that circadian rhythms affect metabolism and, therefore, the speed with which our bodies digest and absorb nutrients.

The first thing we propose when we make the decision to lose weight is to cut the number of calories we eat. Or, in other words, losing weight is synonymous with forgetting sugars, fast or ultra-processed foods, fatty foods, etc. But do we consider what kind of calories each food contributes?

We have already heard of empty calories, that is, the calories that accompany some products such as alcohol that are lacking in nutrients, so they do not contribute anything good to our body. But, in addition, it must be taken into account that the same food can be beneficial at one hour of the day and not so much at another.

Nutritionist Lisa Dryer explains on CNN that the evolution in the study of nutrition has allowed us to verify that eating early helps us lose weight while eating at the last minute is not beneficial at all. The best example is snacks, sweets or ice creams that, on many occasions, accompany us watching television at night or that we turn to in case of boredom.

Eat in the morning

Although Dryer acknowledges that going over calories will make us fat, whatever the time, it does point to an important fact: most people do better-consuming calories throughout the day because, that way, at night they will be satiated and dine much healthier, leaving out sweets and snacks.

Most people do better to consume calories throughout the day because at night they will be satiated and eat healthier

But it is not just a personal sensation: science has shown that the body responds much better to the calories we ingest during the day than at night. The reason has to do with circadian rhythms, the cycles that the body follows every 24 hours, and that are influenced by daylight.

A past  study showed that because carbohydrates and fats are metabolized for a large number of hours, if we consume them at night, we are less likely to lose weight than if we do it during the day. 420 people participated, they took a diet of 1400 calories a day for 20 weeks and while people who made their strong food before 3 in the afternoon lost almost 11 kilos, those who ate it in the afternoon only lost 8.

Scientists concluded that the calories we burn by digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing the nutrients in the food we eat are influenced by our circadian rhythms and these are lower at 8 p.m. than 8 a.m. Therefore, eating early is very important if we want to lose weight.

Advance calories

The advice of the nutritionists is that, if it is to lose weight, we try that the majority of the calories are distributed between the meals that we take first thing in the day. Therefore, it is important not to skip breakfast, something that some people mistakenly associate with losing weight, but that will lead us to the opposite: to consume those calories later, which will make us feel much worse.

A good tip is to advance the calories that we would dedicate to dinner at lunchtime, especially if it is carbohydrates. And, at dinner time, eat half the ration we had planned: if we have eaten the calories we need throughout the day, it will not be difficult for us to dine in a lighter way.

Even workers who have night shifts can benefit from this situation. If they eat their strongest food after waking up, around 3 in the afternoon, then they have many hours for the metabolism to work. They only have to have a light breakfast at the end of their working day, around 7 in the morning, so as not to skip meals.

Knowing what time of day is the best to eat can help us lose weight. And if we are one of those who get up to the fridge in the middle of the movie when we are on the sofa, an idea: a lock from 10 at night until 7 in the morning that prevents us from eating anything improper. 

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