[h=3]OK, forget the schedule[/h] So who’s right? The breakfast advocates or the dinner advocates. Well, it depends.
Some research has found breakfast to be the best time for big meals (3 studies), some has found no differences in weight loss between big breakfasts and big dinners (2 studies), and other research has found significant benefits from eating more at night (2 studies).
What can we discern from this contradictory mish-mash of findings?
Really, it’s simple:
We’re all unique. There’s no one-size-fits all rule.
If early sunshine and scrambled eggs gets you through the day feeling awesome, great. If a robust dinner is more your thing, enjoy drifting off to sleep with the warm fuzzy feeling of a full belly.
Just like when you exercise,
what’s most important is you make high-quality choices, consistently, whenever it works for you.
[h=3]Your nutritional hierarchy of importance[/h]
- How much are you eating?
(Recommendation: Eat until satisfied, instead of stuffed, follow PN’s Calorie Control Guide .)
- How you are eating?
(Recommendation: Eat slowly and mindfully, without distraction.)
- Why are you eating?
(Hungry, bored, stressed, following peer pressure, social cues, triggered by hyper-rewarding foods?)
- What are you eating?
(Recommendation: Minimally processed proteins, veggies, fruits, healthy starches, and healthy fats.)
- Are you doing #1 to #4 properly, consistently?
(Recommendation: Shoot for 80% consistency with these items before moving on.)
And only then consider…
- When are you eating?
(Now you can consider breakfast, late-night, during your workout, etc.)
As you can see, nutrient timing makes the list, but it’s at the bottom. Timing your nutrients
can help, but only if you have the other —
and much more important — aspects of your eating in order first.