Altering the times that you should allow yourself to eat is among many of the latest diet trends that assail us every day. Advice on the issue is everywhere, from the magazine covers at the checkout lane to our social media pages, and it is often conflicted. So what is the healthiest answer?
Like most things food and nutrition, it is important to keep in mind that diet should be unique to each person and their lifestyle. The human body if treated well is designed to self regulate and signal to us what it needs. Food intake is no exception, so very often a good rule of thumb is if you are feeling hungry it is probably because your body wants fuel. A more important consideration is what kinds of food are you using to feed your body. For the average person, the reality is that consumption of more calories than your body can use or less than it needs can have negative health outcomes. The solution does not need to be complicated though -if you make a point to consume a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and healthy fat options while using mindful portion control, you will likely find yourself eating often throughout the day while feeling great!
The key to a long term and healthy relationship with food is to find what is realistic and maintainable for you, and to not overcomplicate things. The more like a chore eating becomes, the less success you are likely to have. Does a traditional day of three meals a day with one or two snacks work the best for you? Perhaps you don’t enjoy such large portions so would prefer more frequent but smaller meals. Maybe you do better snacking throughout the entire day. Any regimen can be perfectly healthy, your job is to identify the strategy that works the best for you!
With the recent increase in people working from or being otherwise confined to their home, the idea of hunger cues is even more important. Being so near to our kitchens for large portions of the day means having access to any and all foods that are stocked whenever we want them. While it is generally a good idea to feed your body when it is hungry, pay close attention to whether you are wanting to eat because of hunger, or if you are simply looking for a distraction. We have likely all experienced boredom eating, which can sneak many extra and unnecessary calories into a day since potato chips are often more appealing than carrot sticks during those instances. Snacks are ok, but it is important to be mindful of our reason for eating and the choices that we regularly make.
One important word of caution is to do your best to avoid overly long forced periods without eating, and instead eat balanced meals and snacks often throughout the day. While the entire process of digestion and absorbing nutrients will take a bit longer, most foods will be completely broken down and have exited the stomach within a few hours, leaving us feeling hungry once again. According to research by Lozano, Krites, and Aikman, longer periods without food and increased hunger is related to a preference for higher fat and less healthy foods. This means that if we allow our bodies to become extremely hungry, it can increase the odds of us selecting less nutritious choices, or even binge eating, leaving us feeling overly full and sluggish. One suggestion to make the most of your meals and extend the period of satiety is to consume meals with as many food groups as you can, and to try and incorporate at least two food groups into snacks as different compositions of foods have different rates of breakdown in the stomach. For instance, having peanut butter with an apple or pairing cheese with crackers will leave you feeling more satisfied for longer than any of those items on their own. While it is important not to over consume, an unfortunate and often unforeseen consequence of frequent underconsumption is a slow in metabolism, increased fatigue and sluggishness, and easier weight gained with less quantities of food as the body has adjusted to lower than adequate calories it has been receiving. So pay attention to what your body is asking for and try not to force yourself to be hungry for overly long periods of time.
What About Intermittent Fasting?
When it comes to the topic of when one should eat, intermittent fasting and other methods of restricting the allowable time to eat have become increasingly popular trends.The idea is to have a long and likely uncomfortable period of fasting, generally between 14-16 hours, followed by a shorter period of allowable food consumption. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, there is very little convincing evidence that intermittent fasting diets are more effective at affecting weight loss or health than modified low calorie diets and in many the side effects include some serious hunger pangs, fatigue, poorer mood and a loss of productivity. Consider that if you are the type of person who doesn’t enjoy eating breakfast and typically doesn’t crave food until lunch time, you may be practicing a form of this without even trying as between bed time and lunch the next day is easily over 12 hours. This is perfectly fine since this is the routine your body prefers. However, if you are typically hungry and ready for breakfast as soon as you wake up, forcing yourself to wait until lunch and becoming ravenous is likely not a very sustainable practice for you. It could lead to longer and uncomfortable mornings, decreased productivity your early day, and poorer nutritional choices at lunch time. Attempting to start this type of diet pattern is typically not encouraged unless recommended for you personally by your physician or a registered dietitian.
Can I Eat Before Bed?
While a conventional thought is that eating close to bedtime is a bad choice because your metabolism slows down while you sleep and food consumption will result in weight gain, the evidence of this is not very convincing and most nutrition experts are not on board with this theory. Let’s use some critical thinking for a moment. Say every evening you like to enjoy a large bowl of ice cream before bed, and after you choose to cut out or limit this evening snack you notice some weight loss! In this instance you could assume that eating before bed was the problem, when in reality the more likely culprit was the large quantities of calories, fat and added sugar found in the ice cream. In fact, a study by Kinsey and Ormsbee found that weight gain was associated with nighttime eating only when food choices were high in calories and lower in nutrition, while lower calorie and nutrient dense foods such as fruits and veggies in the evening were not associate with weight gain and could even have positive effects on health. This is certainly not to say you cannot or should not enjoy ice cream, only that the types and quantities of foods we choose to eat play a much more important role in our health than when we eat them.
The bottom line to choosing when to eat – don’t overcomplicate things. Listen to your body’s cues and very importantly be mindful of the foods you choose. Do your best to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, and fuel your body accordingly. There is no need to force yourself into being hungry for long periods of time or altering your daily schedule to accommodate a meal schedule in order to be healthy. Consuming plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains while limiting your intake of high fat and added sugar foods will have a much more certain and positive impact on your health than when you choose to eat. Choosing a routine that makes sense for you and will be easily maintained is the surest means to success!
