Is an evening meal really necessary?
What actually is the point of eating dinner in the evening? I was thinking that unless you're physically active in the evenings (which i'm not), then surely everything you eat at say 6pm will mostly just be extra energy and stored as fat. During the school week I usually just laze around doing homework etc and so i would not need the calories from an evening meal.
I don't get hungry as I prefer to eat a big, but healthy, meal at lunchtime at around 1-2pm, so would it be unhealthy for me to just eat breakfast and lunch, but no dinner or snacks in the evening?thanks.
I don't get hungry as I prefer to eat a big, but healthy, meal at lunchtime at around 1-2pm, so would it be unhealthy for me to just eat breakfast and lunch, but no dinner or snacks in the evening?thanks.
no, the body doesn't work like that, meal timing has negligible effects on body composition. Overall energy balance throughout the day/week is what determines weight loss/gain, lots of people who are dieting do intermittent fasting and eat the majority of their calories in the evening and still lose weight fine.
(edited 8 years ago)
You should eat in the evenings, even if you just snack. Otherwise, you just starve yourself for ~12 hours until breakfast and you'll feel like crap when you wake up. Generally speaking though, it's said that it's healthiest to have breakfast as your biggest meal and dinner as your smallest, so cutting down on an evening meal isn't necessarily a bad idea.
Unless you're fasting, then yes.
If you fail to eat regularly throughout the day, then your body's metabolism will slow down a period of time after consuming food. Once the metabolism slows down THAT'S when your body starts storing body fat because it doesn't know when you are going to consume your next meal!
Original post by Killerpenguin15
If you fail to eat regularly throughout the day, then your body's metabolism will slow down a period of time after consuming food. Once the metabolism slows down THAT'S when your body starts storing body fat because it doesn't know when you are going to consume your next meal!
I heard that the starvation mode thing is largely a myth except in extreme circumstances. If i eat less calories in a day constantly then surely there simply won't be enough there for the body to store as fat. Like surely if your body needs energy then it would use the existing fat rather than save it and let the body go without energy?
Basically, how come starvation mode doesn't prevent people on fasts or people suffering from anorexia from losing weight?
Sorry if i've just spouted a load of rubbish and please do set me straight.
Original post by Killerpenguin15
If you fail to eat regularly throughout the day, then your body's metabolism will slow down a period of time after consuming food. Once the metabolism slows down THAT'S when your body starts storing body fat because it doesn't know when you are going to consume your next meal!
This is completely untrue.
Original post by simbasdragon
I heard that the starvation mode thing is largely a myth except in extreme circumstances. If i eat less calories in a day constantly then surely there simply won't be enough there for the body to store as fat. Like surely if your body needs energy then it would use the existing fat rather than save it and let the body go without energy?
Basically, how come starvation mode doesn't prevent people on fasts or people suffering from anorexia from losing weight?
Sorry if i've just spouted a load of rubbish and please do set me straight.
Basically, how come starvation mode doesn't prevent people on fasts or people suffering from anorexia from losing weight?
Sorry if i've just spouted a load of rubbish and please do set me straight.
You're right on this point, "starvation mode" in the way it's being used here doesn't exist. What actually happens is after months of extreme calorie restriction, your metabolism slows by at most, about 15%.
As for your original post: what Greg said is right, all that matters for weight loss is total calories in vs out over the day.
depends if you're hungry or not.
Original post by simbasdragon
I heard that the starvation mode thing is largely a myth except in extreme circumstances. If i eat less calories in a day constantly then surely there simply won't be enough there for the body to store as fat. Like surely if your body needs energy then it would use the existing fat rather than save it and let the body go without energy?
Basically, how come starvation mode doesn't prevent people on fasts or people suffering from anorexia from losing weight?
Sorry if i've just spouted a load of rubbish and please do set me straight.
Basically, how come starvation mode doesn't prevent people on fasts or people suffering from anorexia from losing weight?
Sorry if i've just spouted a load of rubbish and please do set me straight.
You're right, the body would start using up the fat stores in your body. That will, however, break down any muscle in your body too. The best thing to do is continue eating 3 meals a day, or 5 smaller meals throughout the day.
People suffering from fasts or anorexia still eat, that's how they live. Instead everyday health suffers, particularly for anorexic people, such as bad dental health, bad cosmetic health loads of deficiencies.
Trust me, I am fat, weighing 115kg and go down to the gym everyday and still considered a healthy person. i would rather be fat than skinny, or rather have a good, toned body than a bony one.
Original post by difeo
This is completely untrue.
You're right on this point, "starvation mode" in the way it's being used here doesn't exist. What actually happens is after months of extreme calorie restriction, your metabolism slows by at most, about 15%.
As for your original post: what Greg said is right, all that matters for weight loss is total calories in vs out over the day.
You're right on this point, "starvation mode" in the way it's being used here doesn't exist. What actually happens is after months of extreme calorie restriction, your metabolism slows by at most, about 15%.
As for your original post: what Greg said is right, all that matters for weight loss is total calories in vs out over the day.
Thanks for clarifying this. Also, I heard that the body burns calories when you sleep, how many on average would this be? If it was a lot then it would make more of a case for the evening meal.
Original post by simbasdragon
Thanks for clarifying this. Also, I heard that the body burns calories when you sleep, how many on average would this be? If it was a lot then it would make more of a case for the evening meal.
Depends on your BMR (basal metabolic rate), which is how many calories you burn just existing for 24 hours, so before accounting for any exercise or activity. You can find out yours in online calculators, but for example, a 5'10 160lbs 18 year old male will have a BMR of about 1800. So if you sleep for 8 hours that's a third of the day, so 600. But a lot of repair/growth etc happens when asleep meaning it would be a bit higher than the overall rate for the day, so about 800.
I think an evening meal is a good idea. Think about it, if you eat lunch at 2pm but don't eat anything in the evening, you're going through until 8am breakfast with no food, that's 18 hours.
Hope this helps!
(edited 8 years ago)
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