It turns out that Americans eat all day long–no surprise to most fitness professionals and dietitians! Seems our three-meals-per-day ritual is now a relic of the past. But there’s good news from the recent study that confirmed these findings. Investigators also discovered that by condensing the timeframe in which one eats, obese individuals can lose weight without “dieting.”
Caloric Intake Tilted Towards Nighttime
The study reported in a September 2015 issue of Cell Metabolism tracked eating habits of 150 healthy, non-dieting men and women, ages 21 – 55, for three weeks. Here are highlights of what they discovered:
• Eating habits were “highly variable” from day to day, especially when comparing weekdays to weekends.
• Most participants spread out their food intake over a 15-hour period.
• Fasting (times with no food intake) mirrored sleeping time (i.e., if we’re awake, we’re eating!).
• Less than 25% of caloric intake occurred before noon.
• More than 33% was consumed after 6:00 p.m.
• 12.2% of daily calories were eaten after 9:00 p.m., and 3.9% after 11:00 p.m.
Change Eating Time to Lose Weight?
Researchers know that mice whose eating times are restricted to a 12-hour timeframe improve their health. To see if this benefit might carry over to humans, they asked eight obese volunteers to eat only within a 10 – 11 hour block of time, while keeping the same pattern during both weekends and weekdays. The study lasted for 16 weeks. No mention was made about restricting calories or changing the nutritional content of food intake.
The results? These individuals:
1. Decreased food intake by about 20%.
2. Lost an average of 7 lb.
3. Experienced more energy and better sleep.
Researchers discovered these individuals simply avoided the foods they would have eaten later in the day, thereby cutting back on caloric intake. And one year after the beginning of the study, the volunteers maintained these health benefits and weight loss.
Give It a Try
So keep track of what you eat and when. Then block out a 10 – 11 hour period, and don’t eat outside that timeframe. For example, if you have breakfast at 7:00 a.m., stop eating by 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Maintain this pattern for several months, and see if your weight starts to decrease.
Let me know the results you see!
For more information about weight loss for Baby Boomers and older adults, send me an email.