In the last 75 years, eating patterns have changed. This is especially true of our average eating window. This refers to the time between your first and last calorie intake in a given day. For example, if breakfast is at 8 AM, and dinner ends by 8 PM, your eating window is 12 hours.
It was recently discovered that many of us eat erratically such that we do not follow a set pattern. Most adults have eating windows that exceed about 15 hours a day! This suggests we start eating within the hour we wake up and continue eating within the hour we fall asleep. But is the timing of our meals and snacks really an issue?
The timing of when we eat is emerging as a hot area of research called chrononutrition. Research is revealing that there are some health issues that can resolved by adjusting the mealtimes. For example, a set pattern of meals and snacks can benefit blood lipids, even if the diet isn’t modified! This is really important because more than 53% of all American adults have lipid abnormalities.
Chrononutrition studies that limited the daily eating window have helped many individuals to lose weight. This doesn’t require extreme measures, because for many, weight can be lost even when eating windows are set to 12 hours in length. This is a reasonable amount of time. A person can eat for most of their waking hours and half of their total hours in a day.
In addition to benefiting blood lipids, eating window adjustments are also powerful, helping individuals lose an average of almost 7.5 lbs in 4 months without consciously changing portions or what they ate. This aligns with other research that suggests that a large eating window can be a risk factor for taking in more calories. Even when the eating window is not directly measured, studies show that eating more of our daily calories in the evening is associated with overeating and a higher body weight.
The body uses fuel around the clock to power all our activities. Although there are many fuel types, many are eager to burn more fat.
One reason time-restricted eating is effective for weight management is because we tend to eat fewer calories when we have set eating times. A specific eating window helps us do just that. Some studies observed a 5-pound weight loss within the first month in individuals who limited their eating window.
Weight management struggles are common. Even before the pandemic (2018), the CDC found that at least 73.6% of Americans were overweight or obese.
Adjusting the eating window is a novel approach to fat loss, but it is not ideal for everyone. This strategy must align with both preferences and daily schedule to be sustainable. It seems to work best for those who are eager to preserve access to their favorite meals and those who are unable to reign in portion control on their own. And it may not be appropriate for some specific medical conditions.
While we could all work to select healthier meals and snacks, frequent eating occasions are important for some individuals.
Children and those who are underweight should not skip eating occasions. Also, those with metabolic dysfunction, unmanaged blood sugar, or pregnant should not go long hours without meals and snacks. Metabolic flexibility is often very low in those cases. This means that delays may occur in switching fuel sources, and can cause us to feel more agitated or hangry. Delays transitioning between glucose, glycogen, and fat burning increase the potential for fatigue and mood disturbances between meals.
Although studies that shorten the eating window have been able to improve metabolic flexibility in those with obesity and metabolic disease, the side effects suggest that it is a good idea to involve your physician before making adjustments.
Other conditions also warrant a careful approach to eating adjustments. In some individuals, restrictions can promote disordered eating. This is especially true for those with a history of purging or binge eating. These disorders can involve eating at a rapid pace and restrictive diets are a precipitating factor. High levels of hunger between mealtimes could predispose some to uninhibited eating.
Hunger timing is based on our pattern of eating in the previous days. Regardless of your specific medical history, a set pattern is a good choice. Consistent times for your meals and snacks help your body to better anticipate when food is planned. It can also help you avoid snacks you didn’t plan on having, which is helpful because snacking can sabotage weight loss.
Allowing sufficient time between meals can help us burn more fat. But this is minimal compared to the fat metabolized during the last half of our sleep time. Sleep is an important influencer of weight loss. It may be that less late-night eating helps us sleep better and fend off hunger the next day. This idea is well-supported by research studies.
For most individuals, the time when fat is most reliably burned occurs in the last half of the night. This is because food has not been consumed for many hours, so the body has a chance to transition between fuels and start burning fat as a primary fuel source. But a reduction in our nighttime fat metabolism can occur if we have dinner very late at night or after-dinner snacks, desserts, or caloric beverages. Supporting this notion, the American Heart Association cautions against eating after dinner because it seems to invite weight gain. Indeed, studies indicate that those who eat more than a third of their total calories in the evening have double the risk of obesity.
Are you ready to make some adjustments?
The first step is to identify your current eating window. (Shrinking this amount of time is less psychologically favorable than extending the amount of time you are not eating.) The amount of time that you are not eating between the last meal of one day and the first of the next day is your Mealtime Spacing duration. It includes your overnight fast when you are sleeping. For instance, if you have a 10-hour eating window during the day, then your Mealtime Spacing from day-to-day is 14 hours.
Treo member, use your Treo whole-person platform to set a specific amount of time for your Mealtime Spacing duration. Most Treo members have success and find the transition most comfortable by gradually extending their Mealtime Spacing by 15-30 minutes per week. This typically looks like a “kitchen is closed” time between 6-9 PM, helping members achieve more time in the fat burning zone overnight.
12 hours is recognized as safe for Mealtime Spacing, and it is consistently associated with 1-3% weight loss in human studies. Additional health advantages can occur when extending this Mealtime Spacing up to 16 hours, resulting in an 8-hour eating window.
Interested in continuing to learn more? Check out an intro video to the research behind Mealtime Spacing. And if you’re holding onto your eating pattern because you think it’s keeping your metabolism higher, check out this video to learn more! Treo clarifies the research so we have the evidence we need to make the daily decisions that help us move forward on the path to greater health and wellbeing. 
As Treo’s Global Wellness Researcher, Karlie uses recent research findings to support healthier daily habits. Karlie earned her doctorate in Neuroscience and Behavior and bachelors in Health and Exercise Science.
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