We all have an inbuilt body clock, which consists of cells that regulate various processes in the body. They ‘tell’ other parts of the body what functions need to be carried out and at what time they need to be done. The internal body clock affects everything we do. By aligning our meal timings accordingly, we respect our body clock. This yields immense health benefits.
• Have an early breakfast. Many aspects of metabolism are at their optimal functioning in the morning. Therefore, eating in alignment with the body's circadian clock by eating earlier in the day can positively influence health and metabolism. It is important you do not delay breakfast post 10 am.
• Try and keep a gap of 4 hours between breakfast and lunch. You can have a light healthy snack in between to keep your metabolism up and running. Try to eat at the same time every day. In an office setting due to meetings’, work pressure and deadlines, lunch may be skipped. Do not delay lunch beyond 3 pm. Try and have lunch between 12:30 to 2 or latest by 2:30 pm.
• After a gap of 3-4 hours you can have a healthy evening snack. This is the time people usually tend to feel very hungry. Prepare and carry healthy snacks before-hand, so that when hunger strikes you do not rely on junk food. You can have your evening snack between 4 to 6 pm.
• Lead Researcher in an obesity study, Courtney Peterso, found that eating an early dinner helped daily hunger swings and increased fat burning during several hours at night. It also improved metabolic flexibility, which is the body's ability to switch between burning carbs and fats. Dinner being the last meal of the day, is closely aligned with the body clock. The body clock helps to control sleep and metabolism cycles. Having an early dinner helps with efficient fat metabolism. The body clock is upset by jet lag and shift work (especially rotational shifts). This can lead to problems like obesity, which leads to diabetes along with unhealthy weight gain.
• Tweaking meal timings and eating dinner early is a simple way of respecting your body clock to avoid metabolic risk factors. You also may need to take a second look at your food choices. A healthy, balanced, early meal can positively impact our hormonal balance and metabolism. Eat main meals every three to five hours when ghrelin, the ‘hunger’ or appetite-increasing hormone, is naturally produced.
• After dinner, it is advisable to keep a 2-hour gap before heading to bed. This helps food to digest well. This time gap helps to regulate the time between dinner and the next day's breakfast. Breakfast literally means breaking the fast and eating to replenish the body's energy stores. Having an early dinner means that you will wake up feeling hungry which is a good thing and could encourage more people not to skip out on the first meal of the day. Have your pre-workout snack or breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up. This helps to activate metabolism so you burn calories effectively.
Working Shifts
What about those working in shifts?
Make an effort to carry a healthy, compact dinner with you to office. This helps in 3 ways, firstly- you do not need to depend on food from outside. Secondly, you can control for portion sizes and caloric intake and thirdly, you do not need to wait to go home and eat a heavy dinner. However, this does not mean that you get to have a second dinner on reaching home. If needed, a light bedtime snack like unsweetened lime water, a small glass of skimmed milk (with a pinch of turmeric), a small low calorie fruit (a small orange) or a glass of water will suffice.
References:
1. www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition.../3_reasons_to_eat_dinner_early
2. http://www.livescience.com/45990-morning-meals-cut-evening-food-binges.
3. http://indianhealthjournal.com/2014/07/health-benefits-of-eating-dinner-early/3161.htm
Garaulet M, Gómez-Abellán P, Alburquerque-Béjar JJ, Lee Y-C, Ordovás JM, Scheer FA. Timing of food intake predicts weight loss effectiveness. International journal of obesity (2005). 2013;37(4):604-611. doi:10.1038/ijo.2012.229.
4. Matching Meals to Body Clocks—Impact on Weight and Glucose Metabolism. Hutchison AT, Wittert GA, Heilbronn LK. Nutrients. 2017 Mar 2; 9(3): 222
5. Kessler K, Hornemann S, Petzke KJ, et al. The effect of diurnal distribution of carbohydrates and fat on glycaemic control in humans: a randomized controlled trial. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:44170. doi:10.1038/srep44170.
6. Potter GDM, Skene DJ, Arendt J, Cade JE, Grant PJ, Hardie LJ. Circadian Rhythm and Sleep Disruption: Causes, Metabolic Consequences, and Countermeasures. Endocrine Reviews. 2016;37(6):584-608. doi:10.1210/er.2016-1083.
7. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/diet-working-night-shifts-2169.html