Can You Lose Weight By Changing Meal Times?
We have known for some time that altering the time you eat can affect weight and metabolism.
At least if you're a mouse.
According to some studies with these animals, it seems that the secret to better health is to restrict the time period in which we eat and, thus, extend the amount of time you are without food.
Some years ago, Professor Satchidananda Panda, the world famous Salk Institute in California (USA), showed that mice fed a high fat diet for eight hours were healthier and were thinner than those who they followed the same diet but were allowed to eat when they wanted.
In a more recent study, the same researchers put hundreds of mice of different sizes to daily fasts, 12 to 15 hours.
Again, they found that mice that were at least 12 hours without food remained healthier and leaner than those who ate the same number of calories, but spread throughout the day.
But to what extent will this technique work in humans?
To find out, the BBC Trust Me I'm a Doctor ("Trust me, I'm a doctor") recruited 16 volunteers for an investigation of 10 weeks, led by Dr. Jonathan Johnston of the University of Surrey in Inglatrerra.
His team measured the body fat of volunteers sugar levels (triglycerides) and cholesterol levels at baseline, and then divided into two groups randomly, the blue team and the red team.
A blue-the control- group asked them to continue with their normal habits.
But the red team were told to continue their normal diet but to take breakfast 90 minutes later and 90 minutes before dinner.
That meant that for three hours every day, they would be without food (fasting).
They kept a diary of food and sleep, for sure they were eating the same amount of food than usual.
You really can lower cholesterol without drugs just by changing our food?
Well, there are two possible reasons.
Firstly, today there are many studies that show that going longer without eating, fasting is beneficial.
It also appears that our body handles calories better at certain times of day.
According to Johnston, one of the worst times to eat sugar and fat it is late night, when blood levels of these substances are already high.
To prove it, I decided to conduct a rather unpleasant autoexperimento.
After an overnight fast I took some blood samples, and 10 am ingested a typical British breakfast: lots of bacon, eggs and sausage.
I did some blood tests right after breakfast and every half hour during the next few hours. And yes, it was painful.
12 hours later, at 10 pm, I ingested my second meal of the day, exactly what he had eaten for breakfast.
Again, I took regular blood samples during the next few hours until eventually I got into bed.
A midnight snack will have a negative impact on your body if you eat that same during the day.
Blood tests showed that after breakfast, my sugar levels returned to normal quite quickly, and fat levels began to fall after nearly three hours.
At night, however, after eating exactly the same food, my blood sugar levels remained high for much longer and fat levels remained several hours after I had finished eating.
So Johnston was right; our bodies really do NOT like having to deal with large amounts of food late at night.
A midnight snack will have a worse impact on your body if you eat that same thing and amount earlier in the day.
There is an old saying: "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper", which seems to be true.
If you are eating fried, best eat it for breakfast.
At least if you're a mouse.
According to some studies with these animals, it seems that the secret to better health is to restrict the time period in which we eat and, thus, extend the amount of time you are without food.
Some years ago, Professor Satchidananda Panda, the world famous Salk Institute in California (USA), showed that mice fed a high fat diet for eight hours were healthier and were thinner than those who they followed the same diet but were allowed to eat when they wanted.
In a more recent study, the same researchers put hundreds of mice of different sizes to daily fasts, 12 to 15 hours.
Again, they found that mice that were at least 12 hours without food remained healthier and leaner than those who ate the same number of calories, but spread throughout the day.
But to what extent will this technique work in humans?
To find out, the BBC Trust Me I'm a Doctor ("Trust me, I'm a doctor") recruited 16 volunteers for an investigation of 10 weeks, led by Dr. Jonathan Johnston of the University of Surrey in Inglatrerra.
His team measured the body fat of volunteers sugar levels (triglycerides) and cholesterol levels at baseline, and then divided into two groups randomly, the blue team and the red team.
A blue-the control- group asked them to continue with their normal habits.
But the red team were told to continue their normal diet but to take breakfast 90 minutes later and 90 minutes before dinner.
That meant that for three hours every day, they would be without food (fasting).
They kept a diary of food and sleep, for sure they were eating the same amount of food than usual.
You really can lower cholesterol without drugs just by changing our food?
Well, there are two possible reasons.
Firstly, today there are many studies that show that going longer without eating, fasting is beneficial.
It also appears that our body handles calories better at certain times of day.
According to Johnston, one of the worst times to eat sugar and fat it is late night, when blood levels of these substances are already high.
To prove it, I decided to conduct a rather unpleasant autoexperimento.
After an overnight fast I took some blood samples, and 10 am ingested a typical British breakfast: lots of bacon, eggs and sausage.
I did some blood tests right after breakfast and every half hour during the next few hours. And yes, it was painful.
12 hours later, at 10 pm, I ingested my second meal of the day, exactly what he had eaten for breakfast.
Again, I took regular blood samples during the next few hours until eventually I got into bed.
A midnight snack will have a negative impact on your body if you eat that same during the day.
Blood tests showed that after breakfast, my sugar levels returned to normal quite quickly, and fat levels began to fall after nearly three hours.
At night, however, after eating exactly the same food, my blood sugar levels remained high for much longer and fat levels remained several hours after I had finished eating.
So Johnston was right; our bodies really do NOT like having to deal with large amounts of food late at night.
A midnight snack will have a worse impact on your body if you eat that same thing and amount earlier in the day.
There is an old saying: "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper", which seems to be true.
If you are eating fried, best eat it for breakfast.
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