Losing weight can be a challenging task especially for those susceptible to stubborn weight gain. Whereas adding weight is relatively easy, losing it is much more daunting.
With advances in the nutrition industry, several diets have sprung up promising to help you shed those pounds. But there is one important protocol that almost every weight loss diet has in common—restricted calorie intake. Several studies in the past have linked eating low-calorie foods with longevity and a slim waistline. However, a recent study now suggests that the time of day food is consumed may be even more critical to losing weight than calorie counting.
Dealing with Late Night Snacking
Almost everyone eats late at night on occasion. This may be due to an excessive workload that keeps you up late, partying, or even emotional eating. Also, unsurprisingly, most people eat late at night despite not actually being hungry.
However, consuming large quantities of high-calorie foods late in the evening can cause numerous health issues as well as unwanted weight gain. Instead, consuming most of your calories as part of a well-balanced diet throughout the day and during the hours you’re active can enhance your energy levels, promote weight loss, and improve your overall wellbeing. If you do find yourself reaching for a late night snack, consider something nutritious like soaked nuts, whole grains, steamed vegetables, or fresh fruit.
Studies Link Late Night Eating with Hindering Weight Loss
According to new research, the time of day you consume food can play a more critical role in shedding pounds than the number of calories you eat. Researchers at the University of Texas (UT) Department of Neuroscience and Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found evidence directly linking weight loss with meal timings. The study was sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Institute on Aging and their findings were published in Cell Metabolism. The results revealed that eating at irregular times may disrupt your natural sleep cycle which can in turn affect your ability to lose excess weight.
Previous studies confirmed that calorie-restricted diets promote longevity. However, to explore this further, the researchers at UT sought to understand the link between certain body rhythms such as your circadian rhythm and the time of day you consume food.
For accuracy, previous feeding studies have had to hand feed animals and keep them under constant observation, making this type of research difficult to achieve. The development of an automated feeding system allowed this team of researchers to control the feeding quantities of various test groups. Further, the reactions and movements of the animals were tracked using sensors. This has allowed researchers to take note of critical information such as time of the day food is consumed, which had considerable effects on the final results of the study.
The study involved five groups of animals each assigned a unique eating plan with varying calories and feeding times. Data analysis revealed that only one group of mice receiving restricted-calorie night feedings showed any evidence of weight loss.
The other two groups received food during the day—since rodents are nocturnal creatures, eating during the day disrupts their natural cycle. These two groups were active and alert both at night and during the day suggesting chronic sleep deprivation. Researchers believe lack of sleep to be a symptom of a disrupted circadian rhythm.
Circadian rhythm, also known as your internal clock, is actually set of biological activities regulating the natural cycle of waking and sleep. Past studies suggest that this internal timing system also influences bodily functions like metabolism. The present study further adds weight regulation to this set of theories.
Based on these studies, scientists suggest that for effective dieting in humans, eating during the daytime when you’re active and awake is essential. Eating during the night or late at night will not help you lose weight despite your best dieting efforts.
While the current study has demonstrated a connection between losing weight and meal timing, the greatest contribution of this study may in fact be the automated feeding system, which will allow researchers to conduct long-term, more biologically accurate clinical experiments in the future. Existing studies on calorie-restricted diets are mostly based on daytime feeding schedules leading to false conclusions, therefore, the automated feeding system will prove extremely useful —particularly as a tool for extended studies on longevity. Further experiments may be able to address questions on the increased lifespan of animals and explain whether it is restricted calories or the timings of food consumption that extends lifespan.
How Late Evening Eating Affects the Stress Response System
Stress, unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise and irregular meal timings are the major culprits of excess weight gain and obesity. The NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress responsesystem is your body’s natural stress-fighting mechanism, made up of various organs and six circuits working together to fight stress. When any stressful situation arises, the NEM system signals to your adrenal glands to start secreting the anti-stress hormone cortisol. The adrenals are a pair of walnut-shaped glands located above your kidneys and play a vital role in your stress response. When stress is unrelenting, your adrenal glands can become overburdened and no longer produce adequate amounts of cortisol. This reduces your body’s natural stress-fighting ability and can lead to Adrenal Fatigue.
If you’re frequently experiencing extreme fatigue accompanied by other symptoms, such as brain fog, anxiety, insomnia, constipation, low energy levels, cravings for fatty and salty foods, stubborn weight gain, and low concentration levels, then you may be dealing with Adrenal Fatigue.
FIBER AND WEIGHT LOSS: HOW FIBER CAN HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT
The metabolic circuit—including the pancreas, thyroid, and liver—is a part of the NEM stress response system and responsible for delivering fuel to your body. Any imbalance in your metabolic circuit can lead to reduced energy, loss of muscle mass, sugar cravings, weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and hypoglycemia. Irregular meal timings, such as eating late night, can disturb your circadian rhythm, which can further disrupt your metabolic circuit thereby hindering your weight loss efforts. Your circadian rhythm regulates the delivery of fuel to your body. At night when your body is preparing for sleep and fasting, it requires less fuel. Late night eating increases blood sugar levels, which will eventually be accumulated as fat.
Eating late at night is known to increase your risk of weight gain, insomnia, and type 2 diabetes. These symptoms place additional stress on your body and increase your chances of developing AFS. Inadequate sleep also increases appetite-triggering hormone levels, which is why you end up eating more and packing on the pounds. Best practice for ensuring a sound sleep and great health is to eat your dinner by 7 pm and go to bed before 10 pm. This is especially beneficial if you are suffering from Adrenal Fatigue and are finding it difficult to fall asleep.
Tricks to Avoid Late Evening Eating
Several studies show that eating your dinner late at night can negatively affect your health. Eating late at night has been linked to weight gain, high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and poor cognitive function. Going to sleep shortly after eating can significantly contribute to gastrointestinal discomfort, disturbed sleep, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and acid reflux. Eating late in the evening disturbs your body’s circadian rhythm and can negatively affect various functions of your body. In particular, an imbalance of your metabolic circuit, which can give rise to a set of unpleasant symptoms.
However, for advanced Adrenal Fatigue sufferers experiencing insomnia —including both sleep onset insomnia (SOI) and sleep maintenance insomnia (SMI)—a small healthy bedtime snack may ensure better sleep. Eating a handful of raw almonds soaked in water can help curb midnight hunger and promote restorative sleep, which is the cornerstone of Adrenal Fatigue recovery.
With such vast negative consequences associated with late night eating, simply changing this one routine could transform your health and promote effective weight loss. To break the cycle of eating late in the evening, it’s important to identify and avoid triggers that compel this bad habit, follow a healthy eating pattern, pre-plan your meals, and seek emotional support. In addition, including plenty of proteins in your daytime meals could prove helpful. Soaked nuts, seeds and whole grain baked crackers make healthy snacks to curb your late-night food cravings.
Conclusion
There are endless diet options for losing weight. However, one of the most critical factors for effective weight loss is timing. Studies have consistently shown that the time of the day you eat is more critical than your intake of calories. By far, the time of the day you eat is the most critical factor that will determine your ability to lose weight. Eating late in the evening can alter your circadian rhythm, disrupt your metabolic circuit, cause weight gain, increase cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and may also lead to poor cognitive function, gastrointestinal discomfort, disturbed sleep, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and acid reflux. Consuming most of your recommended calorie intake in the form of nutritious meals throughout the day when you’re most active can enhance your energy levels, promote effective weight loss, and improve your overall health.
