Timing Your Meals and Snacks

People say timing is everything. And when it comes to diets, weight loss, and just feeling good, timing your meals and snacks can make a major difference.

How long you can comfortably go without eating depends on many factors. The amount of protein, fat, and carbs you ate in your last meal has a huge effect on how quickly or slowly your blood sugar will rise and then drop. Your individual metabolism also plays a part in this equation. And it is possible to train your body/mind to go longer without eating, as long as you are healthy and have no underlying issues. (Check with your doctor before making any big changes or undergoing any lengthy fasts.)

According to The Zone Diet, created by Dr. Barry Sears, the longest you should go between meals or snacks is 5 hours. (This does not include our nighttime fast while we sleep.) The Zone also suggests eating as close as possible to when you wake up, and definitely within a half hour of rising. This is to jump start your metabolism. This is a common theme in many diet books, and you have probably heard "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" more times than you can count. I used to agree, until I began intermittent fasting. Now I never eat my first meal of the day before 11am, and often not until 12noon.

My normal eating schedule is lunch between 11-12noon, dinner around 4-5pm, then a snack between 7-8pm. I try not to eat after 8pm, but if I have an evening class, this rule might bend a bit. My daily fast is usually about 15-16 hours. I never eat breakfast anymore, and I never snack between lunch and dinner. One reason this works for me is that I always eat enough protein and fat at each meal, plus I tend to keep my carbs fairly low. This keeps my blood sugar steady and eliminates cravings.

If you switch to a ketogenic diet--high in fat, moderate in protein, and very low in carbs--you can fast much more easily. Most people find they are rarely hungry on keto. The higher percentage of fat keeps you feeling sated for much longer. If you are thinking about trying longer bouts of fasting--say 24, 36, or even 48 hours--starting out by switching over to keto will make fasting a breeze.

If you are cutting calories but still eating a relatively high percentage of carbs, you will find yourself getting hungry much more quickly. Those eating lower fat diets with more carbs--even complex carbs--will often need to eat more frequent and possibly choose smaller meals in order to lose weight. When I ate this way, I found fasting absolutely impossible.

Bottom line: the foods you choose to eat will determine the timing of your meals. You can lose weight on any of these programs--Zone, keto, or low calorie diets. If your lifestyle dictates spreading your meals and snacks out, with longer stretches in between, I recommend trying a diet plan that is higher in fats and lower in carbs. See if that works for you!