Weight loss advice tends to focus on what to eat to lose weight so much that many of us are forgetting to look at other factors - like the best time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Choosing when you eat meals could have a huge impact on how hungry you get throughout the day.As personal trainer Maddy Bidulph told us, "The truth is, there is no big secret - if you want to see the numbers go down on the scales, then you need to be in a calorie deficit, basically burning more calories (kcals) than you’re eating." She adds, "Weight loss is also dependent on how much food you eat - so think about portion size - and the time you have your meals can have a big impact."
So what is the best time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner if you want to lose weight? Luckily the University of Murcia in Spain has the answer. Their research found that the best time to have breakfast is just after 7am - 7.11am exactly in fact. It’s also better to eat lunch sooner rather than later with a window of 12.30pm and 1pm, 12.38pm precisely is the optimal time. When it comes to dinner, the later you eat the worse it can be for your weight loss goals. Aim for between 6pm and 6:30pm - or 6:14pm if you want to hit the exact best time to eat dinner, according to the study.
If you’re a night owl and don’t fancy getting up to make a healthy breakfast, just aim to eat within one hour of waking, food scientist Dr Claire Shortt told Goodto. “This keeps our hunger hormones in check and keeps us fuller and satisfied for longer,” she says.
The time you choose to eat is “all about balance”, Dr Shortt says. “For the remaining meals of the day it makes sense to spread out your food intake to maintain energy. Our bodies respond well to routine, so sticking to a 1pm lunchtime and 6pm dinnertime, if life allows, is ideal. Delaying meals too late in the afternoon and evening may result in overeating or making poor food choices.”
Personal trainer Maddy adds: “Eating late or too close to bedtime isn’t a good idea because it confuses the circadian rhythm - the body’s internal clock - which would have already ‘shut down’ your digestive system for the night. This means that if you start eating late when your body thinks you should be asleep, it can lead to digestive problems and a restless night.”
When is the best time for snacking?
The University of Murcia research found that the best times for snacking are 11.01am, 3.14pm and 9:31pm. This is when your willpower is most likely to fail you, but Dr Shortt, lead scientist at Food Marble, says you should consider having a snack anytime you go for more than four hours in between meals, or after an intense workout.
And your snack choice is also important, as not all snacks are created equal. “Choose ones that are full of fibre, coupled with a high protein ingredient as this will keep you feeling satisfied for longer,” Dr Shortt told Goodto. “It’s always important to practise mindful eating, even when snacking: be present and aware. Plan healthy snacks and what you will eat for each meal in advance to help you make better food choices - and stick to them.”
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And while a high-protein diet is often touted as the key to weight loss success, it’s important to avoid eating too much in one sitting. There’s a limit to how fast the body can absorb protein, so any excess will just live in your gut or might end up being stored as fat. This can lead to weight gain over time, says Dr Shortt.
In addition, if you eat too much protein you might experience uncomfortable side effects in your digestive system, she warns. “Avoid eating too much protein in one meal - especially with little or no fibre. There’s always a limit to how much our body will absorb, so anything over is made available to our gut microbes. They have a preference for high-fibre foods and when none are available they start to break down undigested protein instead. This process can be detrimental to gut health.”
What's the most important rule when it comes to losing weight?
The secret to losing weight it’s actually pretty simple (although putting it into practice isn’t always so straightforward). You need to eat fewer calories than you burn each day - this is called an ‘energy deficit’, more commonly known as a calorie deficit.
According to research by the University of Vienna, this is the only way to lose weight. Diets like Dukan, the 16:8 fasting plan and low carb/high fat plans including the Banting diet might promise rapid weight loss, but the fact is, unless you’re in a calorie deficit you won’t see any changes in body composition.
Personal trainer Maddy Biddulph, from Maddy Biddulph Personal Training, says: “There are two ways to create a calorie deficit and lose weight or body fat. The first is to reduce your calorie intake by changing what and how much you eat. The second is to increase your calorie expenditure, which just means burning more calories a day through physical activity such as exercise.”
How do calories impact weight loss?
When you eat the same amount of calories as your burn, your weight will stay the same. This is because the body uses the calories we get from food and drink as energy to fuel metabolism, digestion and physical activity.
But once your body’s energy needs are met, extra calories will get stored in the body - some in the muscles in the form of glycogen (the main source of fuel for cells), but most as fat. So if you are overeating, and not burning the calories you’ve consumed - known as a calorie surplus - this can lead to weight gain.
The opposite happens in a calorie deficit, where, as we’ve heard, consuming less food and drink than you need for energy should result in weight loss.
How much of a calorie deficit do I need for weight loss?
“If you reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories a day, or 3500 weekly, you can expect to lose about one pound a week,” says Maddy. “This is a safe and healthy amount to lose and means you are more likely to keep the weight off. If you try to reduce your calorie intake by more than 500 kcals a day, you risk losing lean muscle mass.”
She says that another way to boost weight loss while staying in a calorie deficit is to incorporate some strength training into your workout routine. Weight-bearing exercises help to increase muscle size and, put simply, the bigger muscles you have the more calories you will burn.
“Strength work can also help with keeping weight off because of the way that muscle mass affects your metabolism. When you build muscle, you boost your metabolic rate and that makes the body burn more calories,” Maddy adds.
How to work out your calorie deficit
You can use a calorie calculator to find out your deficit threshold, along with how many kcals you should be eating to maintain or gain weight.
Maddy says: “Everyone’s caloric needs and deficits are different and will depend on a range of things, including weight, height, gender, genes, metabolism and fat loss goals.
“Eating 500 fewer calories a day is a good place to start and should allow you to drop about 1 pound a week. While it’s human nature to want fast results, and it might be tempting to try and have a bigger calorie deficit, it’s important not to lose weight too quickly.
“Slow and steady weight loss is better for your health and research in the International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism has shown that this style of dieting preserves your metabolic rate compared with rapid weight loss.
“While extreme diets can sometimes achieve fast results, they aren’t sustainable long-term, and you are more likely to put the weight back on when you go back to your old habits,” says Maddy. “The best way to get in shape for life is to do regular exercise and find a healthy way of eating that you can stick to forever - that way it’s not a diet, it’s just a way of life.”
Is skipping meals bad?
Yes, skipping meals is bad for you, says Dr Shortt. “Whatever you do, don’t skip meals! Skipping breakfast tends to be associated with various markers of poor health like weight gain and impaired glucose metabolism,” she says. This can put you at greater risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
“Often people find eating breakfast reduces impulsive snacking and sets the stage for good nutrition for the day. In particular, eating a well balanced breakfast with a good source of protein, such as Greek yoghurt, with some high fibre foods like berries, can set up your metabolism for the day.”
It’s not just skipping breakfast that could impact your weight. A study by Osaka University in 2021 found that people who skipped lunch or dinner were more likely to be overweight. Both men and women who skipped their final meal of the day were more likely to sleep for fewer hours at night, leading to feelings of being tired all the time. They were also more likely to be smokers or heavy drinkers.
And here’s some more food for thought: if you’re trying to lose weight, sleep is really important.
Maddy explains: “A study in the journal Obesity found that the more sleep deprived we are, the fatter we tend to get. The research found that when people are tired they eat significantly more calories.
“Plus, when we are sleep deprived, in the same way as when we’re stressed, the body thinks we’re in danger. This signals to the brain to make more of the hormone cortisol and to cling onto any fat reserves to use as energy in case we need it to escape the perceived threat.
“So if you’re not sleeping well, or are constantly stressed, you might find it harder to lose weight.”
Recommended daily diet plan (1500 kcals):
Here’s a 1500-calorie diet plan to try if you want to lose weight. Having a regular exercise routine, especially incorporating some strength work like weight lifting or HIIT bodyweight moves, will help you burn more calories while preserving lean muscle mass.
Breakfast (400 kcals)
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- Blackcurrant bircher muesli (395cals)
- Quick farmhouse fry-up (221cals), 250ml glass of orange juice (118cals, 339cals in total)
- Slimming World's muffins with smoked salmon (295cals), Tall Starbucks cappuccino (90cals, 385cals in total)
Stick to 400 calories for breakfast, 500 for lunch and 500 for dinner. If you do this, you'll be able to treat yourself to two 100-calorie snacks throughout the day. You also have an extra 77 calories for any milk in tea or coffee that you have.
Lunch (500 kcals)
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- Ainsley Harriott's chicken pasta with peas (426cals)
- Spring vegetable tortilla (390cals)
- Quick Quorn lunch bowl (161cals), 1 wholemeal roll (155cals, 316cals in total)
At lunchtime (between 12.30pm and 1pm), stick to no more than 500 calories here, too. You'll need a boost halfway through the day and it's important to give your body the nutrients and protein it needs. For this, opt for complex carbohydrates instead of refined ones (white pasta, rice and bread). This will help you to stay fuller for longer and you won't experience an energy crash a couple of hours after lunch. Try some of these low-calorie lunch ideas for inspiration.
Dinner (500 kcals)
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- Mellow-spiced chicken and chickpeas (309cals)
- Peppers with spicy turkey stuffing (302cals)
- Split pea and vegetable curry (300cals)
Dinner (between 6pm and 6.30pm) should be the last meal of the day, so aim for around 500 calories. You don't want to feel too full before bed so it's best to base your dinner around protein and vegetables, rather than going for a carb-heavy pasta dish. For more inspiration, take a look at some of these healthy low-calorie dinner recipes.
Want to know more about weight loss? Read our articles on the healthiest diets in the world, how to lose a stone and keep it off for good and how to lose weight without diet or exercise.
