12 hours between dinner and breakfast?

[Chuckanut]

Does anybody practice the 'wait 12 hours between dinner and breakfast before eating again' rule?

I have read about this but so far haven't seen any science behind it. It's supposed to improve blood lipid levels and burn some additional fat. I guess if it keeps one from snacking on junk food after dinner that is a small help.

 

[jebmke]

The best way to keep from snacking on junk food is to not allow it into the house.

I normally eat dinner around 7 and breakfast around 8am. I can't say that I notice any difference from when I worked and ate dinner closer to 8-8:30 and breakfast around 5:30-6.

 

[Fermion]

But what about 2nd breakfast?

 

[Tadpole]

And I have heard that the key was eating small meals more often.

 

[razztazz]

And I have heard that the key was eating small meals more often.

I've heard it all. And they' re all right. Just ask 'em. That's what they all say.

Eat within a small window then fast or mini-fast. Eat often all day long. They can't both be right. Or can they? Or they're both "wrong" in the sense that there is no difference or no difference that matters.

 

[MRG]

I'd never heard of it. Interesting but I don't have any medical reason driving me to change when I eat. I see my PCP this week for blood work, maybe he'll give me a reason. I don't think so other than maybe the 300 calories of Ben and Jerry’s every night.

 

[AllDone]

You have to have a hook to sell a diet book and a best-selling diet book can bring its author a lot of cash.

Whatever diet works for you to get rid of extra weight will improve your blood tests, but if that diet makes you feel consistently hungry or deprived, it won't work for long.

Anybody who tells you that they know the one, true diet that unfailingly works for everyone is telling you a giant whopper.

 

[harley]

I usually eat dinner at about 8, then second dinner around midnight. I seldom eat breakfast before noon. So I guess I'm doing the 12 hour window. But I don't think it works. Either that or it's scary to think how much worse I'd be without the 12 hour wait.

 

[WoodM]

That seems like a long time to go without eating and doesn't sound like a very healthy or sustainable way to live. I know that I personally go that long without food!

 

[Letj]

I generally don't eat anything later than 8 p.m. and eat breakfast 9:30 or 10 so more than 12 hours. I don't eat anything else after dinner until I eat breakfast. I don't do any snacking just generally 3 meals a day during the week and two on weekends.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Marita40]

I do it, but didn't know I do it. Typically eat dinner around 5 and breakfast around 7. So 14 hours. No problem with hunger.

 

[RetireAge50]

I eat about every 3 hours except while sleeping. Usually eat 6 meals/snacks per day averaging about 400 calories.

 

[Music Lover]

I don't like going long without eating and have always eaten 4 times a day...breakfast, lunch, supper, and a late snack, spaced 4-5 hours apart.

 

[eytonxav]

Being diabetic, I try to eat more frequent smaller meals to even out blood sugar spikes. Not sure the 12 hr plan would work for me.

 

[walkinwood]

I guess I've been doing that most days for years. We eat by about 7p most days and rarely wake early enough for coffee before 7a.

I like Michael Pollan's "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" By food, he means real food (as opposed to over-processed or manufactured). That's all the advice I need. He elaborates on that in a number of articles and tv pieces.

 

[O2Bfree]

I guess I've been doing that most days for years. We eat by about 7p most days and rarely wake early enough for coffee before 7a.

Same here. We're usually done eating by 7:30 pm, and most mornings I don't feel like eating until around 8:00 am. Sometimes I skip breakfast entirely.

I've been trying to work in a 24-hour fast a few times per month, skipping breakfast and lunch or dinner and breakfast. Helps me with weight control.

 

[redduck]

You have to have a hook to sell a diet book and a best-selling diet book can bring its author a lot of cash..

OK, so I have the hook. I'm not sure how this is going to help me sell a diet book.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I eat dinner at 5pm and rarely snack. Then get up at 8 and eat breakfast at 9. In Europe they frequently eat 2 breakfasts. My son gains weight when he goes to Poland with his wife to see her parents.

 

[Highbeam]

For the last 6 months I've been on the "warrior" diet. Also known as intermittent fasting. I skip food for 19 hours starting at 10 pm and then start eating at 5 pm. 5 hour window to get my calories in. I am not trying to loose weight but I do enjoy a full tummy.


Hunger is all in your head. You don't have to eat all the time. Your body will quickly get used to stretches of time without constantly feeding your face.


Of course I can eat anytime I want to but have found that I don't get hungry at all until the afternoon.


Leangains.com

 

[scrinch]

For most of my life I've eaten dinner at 6-8pm, and then not eaten until lunch at noon the next day. I've just never felt much like eating in the morning, except maybe when backpacking. That's what, about 16 hrs between meals? My body got used to it many decades ago, and as far as I can tell it hasn't made me any healthier or sicker than anyone else.

 

[Amethyst]

I eat when I'm hungry, and quit when I'm full. No special schedules are involved.

I would not enjoy having rules for when I eat. To me, it makes eating sound like taking medicine. What if I got hungry, but it wasn't time to eat? I realize some rules may become necessary when something gets out of whack with the body.

Amethyst

Does anybody practice the 'wait 12 hours between dinner and breakfast before eating again' rule?

I have read about this but so far haven't seen any science behind it. It's supposed to improve blood lipid levels and burn some additional fat. I guess if it keeps one from snacking on junk food after dinner that is a small help.

 

[DrRoy]

But what about 2nd breakfast?

LOL

 

[DrRoy]

I do it, but didn't know I do it.

+1 I usually have dinner 6PM and breakfast 6AM. Not for the 12 hours, it's just when I want to eat.

 

[garyt]

Does anybody practice the 'wait 12 hours between dinner and breakfast before eating again' rule?

I have read about this but so far haven't seen any science behind it. It's supposed to improve blood lipid levels and burn some additional fat. I guess if it keeps one from snacking on junk food after dinner that is a small help.

It's called "intermittent fasting". Google it, there's a guy that has a great website about it with lots of scientific studies to back it up. You decide. Basically, you eat all your meals in an 8 hour duration, so in this case it's actually a 16 hour fast. You could probably do a 12 hour fast as well. Will you lose weight? Sure, you're basically limiting all snacking . You can choose you're hours to eat, but a typical person would go 10-6pm. So you don't eat your first meal till 10am. So much for breakfast is the most important meal. He has science to back that up,too.

I've done it, and I like it. You'd think not eating breakfast would be bad, but it's not at all. I find I don't get hungry till noon most days,and don't feel any energy drop. Is it a panacea? Probably not, but might be worth a try.

 

[ziggy29]

Most of the studies I've seen suggest that frequent small meals are better, at least in terms of managing blood sugar, than three larger meals. I think the "three squares a day" largely arose out of convenience for the common work schedule, not necessarily because it was the best way to eat. Having something like 6 "mini meals" a day, perhaps 300-400 calories each, may help prevent some of the sluggishness that can come with blood sugar spikes and crashes induced by larger meals.

That said, I know very few people who really do eat that way. But the nutrition science behind it does make some sense to me, especially for diabetics and pre-diabetics.