It was one of those days early in my self-guided study of what makes us fat that I ran into a senior colleague after several weeks of being at different offices. I couldn’t help but notice that the large-built middle-aged lady had trimmed some inches off her generous posterior. Knowing she would be pleased with an acknowledging compliment, I proceeded to congratulate her on the loss. Preening, she let me in on the secret. “I’ve stopped eating anything after 5 pm,” she said.

Wait, you mean to say that eating an early dinner (5 pm was like mid-day for my 18-hour consulting work schedules those days) can put away so much fat? And I, on the other hand, had been snacking and even binging late into the evening in the name of much-required sustenance on intense projects! It was a Eureka moment for me.

“I’ve stopped eating anything after 5 pm.”

Have you ever fallen into the temptation of resolving to have an early dinner all in the name of weight loss/ fat loss? Or rued the fact that a late night supper might have ruined your entire day’s hard work in following healthy practices?

I’d like to address this concern, a rather thoughtful one I daresay, in three parts.

First, what leads to weight gain, or more technically, fat storage, is a calorie surplus that is not being set off by additional physical activity or a special condition (for example, pregnancy, lactation, recovery from a surgery, etc.). As long as you stay within your calorie requirement based on your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), there should be no cause for fat storage no matter what time you have your dinner. Again, it is important, that the quality of calories is controlled. More specifically, that the macros are honoured. Mindless stuffing of junk food just because it is within your calories quota will lead to other health issues if not weight gain.

What leads to fat storage is a calorie surplus.

Second, although is no specific curfew time for dinner that applies equally to everybody, it is advisable to finish dinner at least an hour, ideally two, before bedtime. The reason is that the digestive process could get adversely affected with meals timed too close to bedtime. At the same time, sleep can be disrupted due to heartburn, bloating and indigestion, leaving you under-rested the next day.

Finally, there is in fact a scientifically proven method to trigger fat loss that involves eating only within a certain time period. It is popularly known as intermittent fasting (IF) but also goes by the name of alternative day eating/ fasting (ADE or ADF), one-meal-a-day (OMAD) and time restricted feeding (TRF) depending on the format of fasting one follows.

Intermittent fasting is a great tool for fat loss.

The basic idea behind IF is that you time your meals/ feeds such that there is a large enough gap before the next meal to allow your body to tap into its fat stores. The technique is actually a clever trick relying on millions of years of evolutionary processes that allow humans to store fat for lean times and use it when food is scarce. When the body is in a fasting state for at least 14-16 hours, the metabolic pathways shift from burning glucose for energy, the most commonly used mechanism on a standard/ high-carbohydrate diet, to burning fat for energy. This is, perhaps, what caused the inch-loss in my colleague.

Done carefully and systematically, IF is a great tool for fat loss. A big advantage is also that during the feeding intervals, one can eat almost anything – no licence for junk, still. Of course, it has several other advantages too in terms of convenience and saving of time (less planning, less cooking, less packing, less, cleaning up…). Do bear in mind, that this kind of fasting bears no resemblance to the kind of religious fasts that most people in India undertake, what with an elaborate menu of ‘fasting foods’ at the ready.

So, what time will you have dinner?

 

 

PC: lifealth.com