Will you lose weight faster by skipping dinner? Can you lose weight by eating dinner earlier? Nutritionists say...

"Xiao P, let's have dinner together after get off work today!"

"Wow~ I want to lose weight, and I decided not to eat dinner for the next month, so you can find someone else for dinner tonight!"

In weight loss clinics, there are often people who swear, "I would rather die than not lose weight," and talk excitedly about the weight loss methods they have used. One of them is "not eating dinner after 6 pm" or "eating less dinner." What if you are too hungry to bear it? So try a workaround - have dinner earlier and eat it all in the afternoon. However, does this dinner weight loss method really help in losing weight?

Eat less dinner or eat earlier to lose weight faster? Research slaps: None

Nutritionist Su Yanchen said that according to a 2017 meta-analysis on dinner and weight change, the researchers divided the experimental group into two groups based on the meal settings. One group adopted the 8-hour eating weight loss method that is now popular on the Internet, that is, the intake of three meals a day as well as midnight snacks and desserts is all concentrated in the 8 hours during the day; the other group adopted the weight loss method of not eating dinner at all or eating less. Next, these two groups will be compared with those who follow normal mealtime eating patterns to see if the weight loss effects are as miraculous as rumored.

The results showed that whether it was the "8-hour eating method" of moving dinner forward or not eating (or eating less) dinner under total calorie control, there was "no significant difference" in the effects on body weight. Simply put, whether you eat dinner or not, or whether you eat it early or late, does not actually help much in losing weight.

If you don't eat dinner, you will feel hungry easily. Be careful not to eat too much breakfast, which may cause you to gain weight.

On the contrary, “eating less dinner” and “eating dinner earlier” may cause people to gain weight instead of losing weight! Nutritionist Su Yanchen said that for those who want to lose weight, "hunger" is a big demon. As soon as people feel hungry, they can't help but want to eat. When they are hungry, they will eat faster and eat more than usual.

If you eat too little dinner or eat too early, you will naturally feel hungry during the long night. It would be fine if you give up your weight loss plan because you can't stand the hunger at this time. What is even more frustrating is that after seriously implementing the plan of eating less or eating earlier for dinner for a period of time, many people will be so hungry the next morning that they cannot help but eat a lot when they see breakfast. In this way, the total calorie intake for the day is often higher than usual, so how can they not gain weight?

The key to successful diet weight loss: total calorie intake restriction + avoiding hunger

Nutritionist Su Yanchen emphasized that no matter which diet method you use to lose weight, the most important key to success is "limiting total calorie intake" and "avoiding hunger." As long as you develop a habit of not consuming too many calories, eat less refined sugars, high-fat cakes, biscuits and soups, and follow a diet of "plenty of vegetables, moderate amounts of high-quality protein and starch", you can usually keep your stomach feeling full for a relatively long time and avoid gaining weight from eating too much. So, next time don’t worry about whether you should eat dinner or eat early!