Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately most people don’t take advantage of it because they are so pressed for time. They either skip the meal completely or grab something quick as they run out the door. In fact, most people seem to eat 20% of the day’s calories at breakfast, 30% at lunch, and 50% at dinner. Eating in a crescendo with most of your calories being consumed at the end of the day is a sure fire way to avoid quick weight loss!
Fuel by day; eat less by night
Many people believe the myth that dieting starts at breakfast. Because they are so hungry from not eating enough during the day, these same people often over-eat in the evening. You want to do the opposite. Eat the bulk of your calories early in the day before training, working, or studying. Then at night you won’t be so famished and you’ll be content with a sensible dinner.
So, If you want to achieve quick weight loss, don’t “delay eating” during the day. In fact, when eating patterns of elite runners and gymnasts were studied, athletes who under-ate on a regular basis during the day had higher body fat levels than those who consumed food evenly throughout the day.
Successful front-loading in action
One of my training partners, Bo was preparing for a major Jiu-jitsu competition. To achieve an extra advantage he decided to try and lose approximately 12 pounds to compete at a lighter weight class. He didn’t want to use any dehydration techniques which would impede his performance. Bo had exactly 4 weeks to drop the pounds.
At the start of his training for the tournament Bo asked me what I thought of the idea of eating his dinner for breakfast and his breakfast for dinner. In other words, he might eat a grilled chicken sandwich at breakfast and an egg white omelet at dinner. This way he would be getting the bulk of his calories earlier in the day when he needed the energy most. I told him that I thought it was a fantastic idea and that I sometimes use the same strategy. In addition, a colleague of mine who is a registered dietician was recently telling me about a client of hers that experienced quick weight loss using this method.
Bo saw similar results. He steadily dropped pounds throughout the 4 weeks. At one point he was even worried that he would lose too much and not be one of the bigger guys in the division. The end result was that he made it into his desired weight class and had an outstanding performance taking second place. This is partly due to the fact that he “cut weight” the right way keeping his strength levels up.
Quick weight loss tips for eating on a timeline; making it work for you
Although it’s counter-intuitive, sometimes you do need to eat more in the daytime to lose weight. Hopefully by now you are convinced of the benefits to eating more during the day and less at night. Here are some practical tips to help keep you on track.
- Keep your diet enjoyable – If you don’t enjoy the foods you’re eating, eventually you’ll stop eating them. Instead, eat the foods you normally eat but modify them. For example, if you like pasta, switch to whole wheat pasta.
- Keep breakfast balanced – While eating something is better than nothing, try to get some lean protein and complex carbs both from starchy and fibrous sources.
- Keep a journal – People who write things down get better results in most areas and weight loss is no exception. This way you will be able to track when you are getting most of your calories.
References:
Deutz, Benardot Med Sci Sports Exerc 32:695, 2000
Author’s note: I’d like to thank Bo Suh for his support in writing this featured article.
