Tip The Meal That Damages Metabolism Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Diet & Fat LossEating Tip The Meal That Damages Metabolism A new study shows why we may want to have more meals earlier in the day and cut them off long before bed Here' s the new science by Chris Shugart June 16, 2017August 23, 2022 Tags Diet Strategy, Losing Fat, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Don t Eat After 7PM We've heard advice like this for years: "Cut off meals at a certain time every day to lose fat." But questionable diet tips like this usually come from the magazines you only see in the grocery store checkout line, and most of us assume it only works because it forces you to reduce daily calories. Well, for the first time, we now have some experimental evidence to prove that it's a pretty good idea (with a few caveats) to avoid that late night meal or snack and instead "frontload" your meals in the daytime. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine took a look at what they called "prolonged delayed eating." In non-nerd language, that just means eating right before bed. They had a group of adults first eat their meals in the daytime hours. That was basically three meals and two snacks between 8 AM and 7 PM. They went to bed at 11 PM. This lasted 8 weeks. After a two-week break, they switched things up and began consuming late-night meals. They still had three meals and two snacks, but they shifted over their "eating window" from noon to 11 PM, just like the average person who skips breakfast and eats more at night. Then the subjects went to bed right after their last late meal. This part of the study also lasted 8 weeks. Before, during and after the study, participants underwent several metabolic measures and had blood drawn. The study controlled for macronutrient intake, sleep-wake cycles, and exercise. In a nutshell, late-night eating resulted in fat gain. Fat metabolism was impaired; pre-bed eating lead to metabolizing fewer lipids and more carbs. Delayed eating also raised insulin, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Not good, since all that added together equals a negative metabolic profile. Hunger and satiety hormones were also affected. During the daytime eating part of the experiment, ghrelin, the appetite stimulating hormone, peaked earlier in the day. Leptin, the "fullness" hormone, peaked later. Researchers think that earlier meals help you stay full for longer, and that earlier meals prevent the common problem of nighttime overeating. In the fitness and bodybuilding world, we've heard a lot lately from ebook sellers and internet gurus about how you should fast during the day and eat a lot at night. This study, for one, says that's a bad idea. (Common sense should also tell you that's pretty silly.) But there are a few caveats here. This does NOT mean you should go to bed hungry. It just means that you should have your caloric allotment – whether that's enough food for fat loss or "mad gains, bro" – earlier in the day. Allow your hormones to self-regulate and you shouldn't want to eat right before bed. In plain speak, it means your metabolism and hormones will work better. Of course, you'll have to adjust the times cited in this study around your own sleep-wake cycle. But in general, try to get all your meals in your belly a few hours before bed. If you're really eating for gains, or you're worried about catabolizing muscle during sleep, take a tactical approach and have around 130 calories of specialized protein and carbs before bed. We're talking about di-/tripeptides and high-branched cyclic dextrin. One serving of Mag-10 will do the trick. This will hit the anabolic spot and won't cause any of the issues associated with eating a big meal before bed. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Timing meals later at night can cause weight gain and impair fat metabolism: Findings provide first experimental evidence of prolonged delayed eating versus daytime eating, showing that delayed eating can also raise insulin, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. ScienceDaily. 2 June 2017. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Diet & Fat Loss Bodybuilding in a Low-Carb World Low-carb hype rules the day. 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