8 May 2009
The Best Time to Eat?
Two different readers sent questions this week about the “best” time to eat.
Guess what? There is no best time to eat! As long as you follow the guidelines below, you can really eat whenever you want:
- Always eat breakfast. There are countless studies showing that eating breakfast is not only good for your weight, but also good for your health. Even if you’re not hungry in the morning, eat SOMETHING. I recommend at least 300 calories for breakfast, but anything is better than nothing.
- Stick to your calorie budget. Whether you’re trying to maintain, lose, or gain weight, you need to make sure that regardless of when you’re eating, your net calorie intake is what it should be. I usually recommend people have a target calorie range with a 200-300 calorie difference. My range is 1,500-1,700. If I’m super hungry or work out longer one day, I eat more. If I’m less hungry or don’t work out, I eat less. Either way, I’m still in my target range.
- There’s no “magic” time of day to eat. Some people mistakenly believe they can eat whatever they want in the morning and somehow, it won’t count toward their calorie total. WRONG. Others mistakenly believe that eating at night causes weight gain. WRONG, though some people end up eating more at night due to binging behaviors or because they haven’t gotten enough during the day.
- Eat when you’re hungry! This is a lot harder than it seems, obviously, but if you follow the principles of intuitive eating (practice makes perfect), you’ll learn not to eat just because it’s a certain time of day, but because you’re actually hungry.
- Fuel yourself properly. I think the only time it’s okay to eat when you’re not extremely hungry is before an intense work out. Your body needs fuel! If I don’t have a snack 2-3 hours before a long run, I can guarantee that my run will not be as successful. So even if I’m not extremely hungry, I make sure to eat at least a little something.
- LISTEN to your body. Again, easier said than done. But don’t be fooled by the sight or smell of food — all hunger triggers. If you get a craving from seeing someone else eat, or an ad for some kind of food, wait 5 or 10 minutes. If you’re actually hungry after that time, eat.
- Know thyself. Schedule your meals and snacks based on when you know you get hungry. I’m not as hungry during the day as I am at night, so I make sure to leave plenty of calories for the evening. I have a friend who’s ravenous during the day and not as hungry in the evening. Everyone’s different! Your plan of attack (on hunger, of course) should make sense for YOU. Eating five to six small meals a day works for some, but others prefer to eat three larger meals. There’s no proof that one way is better for weight loss/metabolism.
