at what time should i eat to lose weight

Having access to half a 1000000 days of MyFitnessPal data to validate and bosom dietary myths recently has been a lot of fun (in a nerdy data geek sort of fashion).

Another obvious question to ask is how many times to eat a mean solar day to reduce your chance of overeating to stay lean, manage diabetes or lose body fat.

Virtually MyFitnessPal users seem to log their foods as meals rather than only entering them in i big lump.  And even after we make clean up the data, we have nearly 4 hundred m days of data to analyse.

The nautical chart beneath shows the number of times people said they ate per mean solar day versus the pct of their goal calories that they consumed.

If someone logged less than 100% of their goal intake for the 24-hour interval, it means that they ate less than their goal intake.  If they recorded more than 100% of their goal, it indicates that they were non able to go along their intake beneath their target.

The data analysis suggests that:

• If you ate more than iii meals a day, you're likely to consume more calories than average.
• One meal a day (OMAD) seems to help you eat less than boilerplate. However, the optimum daily meal frequency appears to exist ii meals if you are looking to maintain a sustained calorie deficit.

The table below shows the numbers that sit down backside the graph.

meals per day	average calories	% target	n	difference (calories)
one	1283	81%	5,553	-227
2	1244	79%	26,896	-266
iii	1403	87%	93,062	-107
average	1510	90%	397,221	0
iv	1536	91%	183,346	26
5	1632	93%	59,877	123
6	1730	95%	28,487	220

•  The majority of people seem to eat four times per day (e.g. iii meals and a snack).
• Eating six times per means you'll likely to eat effectually 220 calories per day more on average.
• Limiting yourself to 3 meals a day and not snacking will help yous cut more 100 calories per day.
• Cut down to two meals a day volition, on boilerplate, help you lot cut effectually 266 calories per day from your diet.

Some people recommend keeping the metabolic burn soaked with lots of small meals.  However, the data confirms that most people aren't able to restrain themselves if given the opportunity to eat frequently.

A recent report past Satchin Panda tracked via a smartphone app and found that the 10% of people who ate the least oftentimes actually ate three.3 times per day!   The top x% of people ate more than ten times per day.  Every bit shown in the 'feedogram' beneath, the but time people didn't eat was while sleeping.  People typically met their calorie needs for weight maintenance by half dozen:36 pm but kept on eating until they got to sleep at 11 or 12 o'clock.

Perchance one repast a mean solar day doesn't work so well because you are SOOOO hungry by the time yous get to eat that you lot go on on eating and eating and eating; more than than you would if you weren't as hungry when you started eating.  And if you are at habitation with unlimited access to the fridge and closet from dinner time until you get to bed, you tin notwithstanding go a lot of food in!

It's likely that you would find it difficult to get every bit much high-satiety poly peptide in i large meal compared two smaller meals.  To go all your daily calories in one sitting you'll probably need to reach for more free energy-dense, lower food density, lower protein foods.

Perchance three meals a day doesn't work and then well because we have more than opportunities to consume than we really demand, specially at home in forepart of the TV with unlimited access to the fridge and cupboard that are frequently stacked with low poly peptide condolement foods.

Two meals per day is a squeamish balance that enables us to eat satiating nutrient-dumbo whole food meals while however providing a meaning fasting window during which time the torso is able to practice drawing on our fatty reserves.

Information technology's too easier psychologically because y'all're non always thinking near food and restricting your intake.  Yous eat well in the allotted time and so get on with your twenty-four hours, knowing that you lot have had the food yous need.

Meal frequency and insulin resistance

To exist articulate, as discussed in detail in this article, I'thou not saying that reducing meal frequency works considering it reduces insulin which leads to fat loss without regard to energy intake.   Limiting your opportunities to eat past compressing your eating window is simply a great hack to manage your free energy intake.  This, in turn, leads to a reduction in trunk fat levels, lower insulin levels and reversal of diabetes.

What meal to eat to lose weight?

Then by now, yous're probably wondering "If you lot're going to consume only two meals per solar day, which 2 meals should they be?"

The tabular array beneath shows a summary of the data for people who logged ii meals per day.

meal combination	goal (cals)	total (cals)	repast one (cals)	meal ii (cals)	% target	due north
breakfast + lunch	1541	1100	423	677	72%	9041
lunch + dinner	1608	1234	561	672	78%	4935
dinner + breakfast	1575	1328	521	807	85%	4072
boilerplate	1575	1221	502	719	78%	18048

The chart comparing the 3 scenarios is shown beneath.  The assay of the data suggests that:

• The combination of breakfast and lunch is the stand out winner if your goal is to eat less.
• Though not as good as the breakfast + lunch combo, combining our meals closer together at lunch and dinner seems to also be beneficial.
• The worst outcome is for the two meals spread apart at breakfast and dinner.

If you chose to cutting downwards to two meals per day so consuming them as breakfast and lunch may help you cutting effectually 200 calories per day (or 17%) of your intake compared to consuming breakfast and dinner.

Summary

The table below shows the scenarios sorted from smallest intake to largest.

meal frequency	average (cals)	% target	northward	delta
breakfast + lunch	1,100	72%	ix,041	-410
luncheon + dinner	ane,234	78%	4,935	-276
one meal a solar day	1,283	81%	5,553	-227
dinner + breakfast	1,328	85%	4,072	-182
three meals a mean solar day	1,403	87%	93,062	-107
four meals	i,536	91%	183,346	+26
five meals	1,632	93%	59,877	+123
six meals	one,730	95%	28,487	+220

This nautical chart shows the comparison of repast scenarios in terms of calories per day.

Whether y'all view information technology every bit restricting opportunities for overeating or ameliorate alignment with your natural circadian rhythm (or a fleck of both), information technology seems that limiting your feeding window to earlier in the day (eTRF) is a potentially useful way to manage your food intake.

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Source: https://optimisingnutrition.com/how-many-times-should-you-eat-a-day/

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