Is it just as fattening to eat a cheeseburger at lunchtime or at 11pm? You might be surprised to learn that the timing of your meals and snacks can have a significant impact on your body weight. New research suggests that every organ in your body has a clock, and eating at irregular times can throw off your internal body clock and lead to high blood sugar, weight gain, and other metabolic issues.
Eating within an eight-hour window
A study conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California found that eating throughout the day and night is more likely to result in weight gain. You’re actually better off restricting your meals to an eight-hour window during the day. One interesting finding from the study was that limiting your food consumption to eight hours per day is less fattening than eating from morning until bedtime, even if you consume the same amount of food.
Our genes are programmed to a daily cycle that enables them to perform specific tasks, like producing blood sugar or breaking down cholesterol, when we eat. When we’re not eating, they need to rest. According to researcher Satchidananda Panda, “When we eat randomly, those genes aren’t on completely or off completely.” Our weight isn’t the only thing that suffers from all-day snacking and late-night screen time. Your skeletal muscles, heart, liver, kidneys, and brain all have specific times when they work most efficiently and periods when they need to rest.
Unplugging with the paleo way
In Panda’s view, society is pushing our bodies to extremes more than ever. Food company marketing campaigns encourage us to eat round the clock, and constant access to technology keeps us up later, deprived of vital regenerative sleep. This is why many health-conscious individuals have switched to the paleo diet, which attempts to recreate essential aspects of the foods and lifestyle people followed before modern agriculture and technological civilization took hold.
Our modern lifestyle, complete with around-the-clock access to information, games, and entertainment, has a significant impact on our bodies. Adapting to an eating schedule more in line with our body’s natural clock can help reverse these negative effects.
Late-night snacking done right
There will be times when you need a late-night snack, but it’s essential to choose one that’s beneficial for your body. Research has shown that consuming a protein shake, or a small piece of meat right before bed, might help you build muscle and prevent hunger the next morning. A study conducted at the Institute of Sports Sciences & Medicine at Florida State University found that consuming a protein shake at night improved recovery from daily workouts for people who exercised during the day.
The key is to avoid chips or sugar-heavy snacks at night and stick to high-protein options, preferably while also getting exercise during the day. Some people find that a small serving of organic beef or chicken before bed can help them sleep, while munching on chips or candy can make them restless.
To sum it up
It’s becoming more evident that the timing of our meals can have a profound impact on our body weight and overall health. By tapping into our body’s natural rhythms and scheduling our meals within an eight-hour window, we can help improve our weight, metabolism, and overall well-being. Pay attention to your body’s natural clock and start taking steps to improve your eating habits and lifestyle today.
