by SCIENTISTS have identified the best times for breakfast and dinner if you want to lose belly fat.
Not feeling well after weeks of indulging in festive treats? You’re certainly not the only one.
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There’s nothing wrong with enjoying rich or sugary foods on special occasions.
But your festive indulgences might have left you feeling sluggish as the new year approaches, or you’ve noticed that your jeans are a little tighter than before.
January is a good time to start healthy habits, and exercising more might have been one of your New Year’s resolutions.
But a new study by Spanish scientists suggests that your diet can also help you lose belly fat – and it all depends on the timing of your meals.
A team of scientists led by the University of Granada and the public University of Navarra examined the benefits of intermittent fasting for fat loss.
Intermittent fasting means abstaining from food for a longer period of time Periods This often happens by eating fewer calories on certain days of the week or shortening the window between dinner and your first meal the next day.
One form of intermittent fasting that has become increasingly popular in recent years involves reducing the number of hours you spend eating and increasing the number of hours you fast – abstaining from food – each day.
This is called time-restricted eating.
In the study, participants’ eating window was shortened to 6-8 hours.
The study involved 197 participants between the ages of 30 and 60 who tried three different fasting methods over 12 weeks:
- Early fasting: eating between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (49 participants)
- Late fasting: eating between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. (52 participants)
- Self-selected fasting: choosing the time window in which they would like to eat, usually between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. (47 participants)
The remaining 49 participants participated in a nutrition education program about Mediterranean diet and healthy lifestyles.
The results showed that intermittent fasting was no more effective than the diet program in reducing visceral fat – the layer of fat that sits deeper in the abdominal cavity and surrounds vital organs.
But the fasting groups lost more weight (an average of 3 to 4 kg) compared to participants who ate normally, regardless of their fasting window.
The early fasting group lost more subcutaneous abdominal fat than other groups lost more subcutaneous abdominal fat, the fat that sits just under the abdominal skin.
According to the study published in Nature Medicine, eating breakfast at 9 a.m. and dinner before 5 p.m. may be the best way forward.
Jonatan Ruiz, associate professor at the Faculty of Sports Science at the University of Granada, told Sun Health: “Time-restricted eating, especially finishing meals before 5 p.m., can be a practical and effective strategy to control weight and reduce belly fat after the meal “To reduce periods.” from overindulgence, such as at Christmas.
“This approach aligns with natural circadian rhythms and promotes better metabolic health and fat reduction.”
If you eat breakfast around 8 a.m. and eat your last meal of the day around 10 p.m., that means your eating window is about 14 hours long, while your fasting window is 10 hours.
Eating at irregular times or late at night can disrupt the body’s biological rhythms and increase the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, the study team claimed.
Try intermittent fasting
There are different forms of intermittent fasting, some more restrictive than others.
Popular examples include:
- The 16/8 method: A sixteen hour fasting window and an eight hour eating window – you can drink water, milk, tea and coffee while fasting
- The 5:2 method: You choose two days a week where you eat around 500 to 600 calories, while the remaining five days you eat a normal, balanced diet
- The 24-hour fast: Do not eat for 24 hours, either monthly or weekly
- Alternative fasting during the day: Fasting every other day can be difficult to maintain in the long term, according to Bupa
There are a number of ways to shorten your eating window – you’ve probably already done it by mistake.
It may include:
- Have breakfast later
- I skip breakfast entirely
- Have an early dinner
Giving 16 hours between meals can also help your body maintain healthy blood sugar levels because the body has more time to digest and process food.
This, in turn, reduces the risk of developing sugar problems and other metabolic disorders, explained Dr. Labayen.
Participants also wore blood glucose meters to measure their blood sugar levels for 14 days before and at the end of the study.
The early fasting group significantly improved their fasting glucose levels and their nighttime glucose levels compared to the other groups.
One of the main authors, Dr. Idoia Labayen, said these results suggest that early fasting may help prevent diabetes and improve metabolic health.
While intermittent fasting may be safe for healthy adults in the short term, Bupa cautions that you shouldn’t try it if:
- If you are pregnant
- Have type 1 diabetes
- Do you have a history of eating disorders?
- have anxiety or depression
A study by Chinese scientists also linked the practice to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Victor Zhong of Shanghai Jiao Tong University said: “We were surprised that people who adhered to a time-restricted diet were more likely to die from heart disease.”
“Although this type of diet is popular for its potential short-term benefits, our research clearly shows that shorter eating duration is not associated with longer life expectancy.
“It is critically important for patients, particularly those with heart disease, to be aware of the association between an eight-hour eating window and an increased risk of cardiovascular death.”
