Maybe that late snack isn’t doing you any favors.
If you consistently eat while working and discover that later you eat something else, it is possible that your schedule may be secretly affecting your efforts to lose weight.
A recent study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, examined the effectiveness of a diet plan in more than 1,200 overweight and obese people in Spain.
The study found that those with a specific genetic variation of the protein perilipin (which is essential for burning fat throughout the body), lost less weight when they ate after three in the afternoon than those who ate before.
Although this study focused on people with a specific genetic profile, a similar study, published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2013, also found that eating late was associated with less success in losing weight, regardless of genetic variations.
But why is your time food affects your effort to lose weight?
Just as the circadian rhythm controls our sleep, the same thing happens with hunger, says Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a professor at Columbia University and a researcher on the impact of behavior on weight control at the Research Center on Obesity and Nutrition in New York.
? The metabolism is different in each individual and the time you consume your food in relation to your circadian rhythm can influence weight loss? he explains.
The circadian rhythm also controls insulin secretion from the body, he adds.
If you eat at a time when your body is less sensitive to insulin, it may be more difficult for you to lose weight.
Although mealtime can influence your waist size, the researchers found no difference in weight loss when they looked at breakfast and dinner times.
This may be because the study was conducted in Spain, where almost half of the calories are consumed at mealtime.
In fact, people who eat bigger meals may have an advantage: Previous studies suggest that people who have food as the main food of the day lose more weight and have a lower body mass index.
You may occasionally skip breakfast, which also contributes to weight gain, says St-Onge.
? If you see how we eat in America, you will notice that few calories are eaten at breakfast and lunch. If you add the caloric intake of breakfast and lunch, you will have more or less 40 percent of the calories you consume in the day and at dinner and your snacks represent the other 60 percent? he adds.
More research is needed on the impact of your food schedule, he explains. However, if you notice that you are eating healthy, but still have trouble shedding those last few pounds, making food your main food of the day (and eating it before three) can be a good start.