Time Your Meals to Lose Weight

Meal timing is a significant element in any
successful weight loss program. Eating
small, healthy meals frequently throughout
the day is not only important for controlling
appetite and cravings; it is also essential for
maintaining healthy blood glucose, insulin and cholesterol
levels.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
January 2005 compared healthy lean women and healthy
obese women eating either a regular 6-meals a day pattern or
an irregular 3-9 meals a day pattern over a 2-week period. A
“meal” was defined as a food or snack (liquid or solid)
containing energy, with an interval of more than one hour
between eating occasions.
Regardless of whether they were lean or obese, the women
who ate on an irregular basis had higher LDL cholesterol
levels, decreased insulin sensitivity, decreased energy
expenditure and an impaired thermic effect of food (i.e., how
much energy the body uses to digest food) compared to the
regular eaters.
This shows that the body appreciates routine. When meals
are timed and consistent throughout the day, you stand a
better shot at losing weight and keeping it off.
Here is an exercise you can use to design a successful meal
plan for your personal schedule and lifestyle:

• Write down your wake-up time and schedule your first
meal for about 1 hour later. Remember: breakfast is the
most important meal of the day and it sets the tone for
the rest of your day around eating.

• Time out 3-4 hour intervals for the rest of your meals
throughout the day. For example, if you wake up at 6:00
AM, your meals would be 7:00 AM, 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM,
4:00 PM and 7:00 PM.

• If you do not go to bed until midnight and you eat dinner
at 7:00 PM, then it is reasonable to grab a light, healthy
snack at 9:00 pm. But stick to nighttime snacks that
balance carbohydrates with protein (e.g. yogurt and fruit,
or a slice of whole-grain bread with a smear of peanut
butter).

• Assess how your new meal plan will fit with your typical
daily/weekly schedule. Take some time to consider if
the revised schedule will really work for you. Adjust
your meal times to fit into your schedule, but try to keep
just 3-4 hours between meals.