Can the time at which we eat meals affect out diet? Can you burn fat faster and more effectively by adjusting meal times to the natural rhythms of the day? As research shows, this can be of great importance, which many of us do not know, and may prove to be a bull’s-eye to fight for the desired effect in terms of our figure.
***
One study involved 11 overweight men and 11 overweight women aged 20-45 years. During one plan, food was eaten from 8am to 2pm, so as to fast at least 14 hours, and to adapt to the circadian rhythm or also importantly to the internal clock of the body. During the second plan, the participants ate as usual, as is the case in the American diet, at 8am, 1pm and 8pm. On both plans, the same amount of food was eaten, and there was a monthly break between both plans.
To obtain the most accurate and reliable results, a blood, urine and breath test was performed to measure energy consumption as well as to see what the food schedule looks like for human metabolism. What did the results show?
Conclusions
Looking at both the results of the research and the opinions of the respondents themselves, it turned out that those who ate meals up to 2pm had a much smaller appetite after a month of doing so. What’s more, the reduction in meal time meant that more fat was burned in 24 hours. When we lose weight, fat is burned, but muscle mass is preserved. Thinking deeper, one could suppose that intermittent fasting simply reduces appetite, and does not cause faster burning of calories, which is a completely different theory than before, where hunger was thought to accelerate metabolism, and this causes faster burning of these calories.
Intermittent fasting, where the interval between one meal and the other is a minimum of 14 hours, is according to researchers the best way to be able to lose unnecessary fat. And certainly in this area it is necessary to perform further tests, because these, due to the short period of use, are not yet authoritative, and maybe they will prove to be the key to how to fight obesity.
Of course, such a diet is not for everyone, because it’s certainly not easy to apply such radical changes. This will not work for people with eating disorders, suffering from diabetes, and training very intensively. Although such a solution can be very effective, it can be afforded by healthy people with a strong psyche. Unfortunately, it would be harder in life than in research. There, participants got relatively large portions of food in an amount that met their energy needs. We, wanting to be on a diet, would certainly eat less, and this means that 14 – 18 hours between meals could be a total end for our body.
It’s certainly worth introducing research that will allow us to take a closer look at this phenomenon and see if such a tactic of taking meals can be a good way to lose weight without losing health. This is definitely one of the options that you can consider if you want to fight excess fat and maintain our muscle mass.
Leave a Reply