Trend Alert: Nightly Fast

By:
Lynn Grieger

Is when you eat really as important as what you eat? It seems like every time we turn on the TV or read a magazine, another weight loss expert is extolling the virtues of fasting after a specific time at night ‑- 9pm, 8pm, even as early as 7pm. The trend suggests that not eating at night is a necessary part of any weight loss program. While the cutoff time may differ from program to program, the basic idea is the same: to stop eating at a certain time in order to promote weight loss. Water and sugar-free beverages are usually allowed, but nothing else. So is fasting in the evening a crucial element to weight loss? If you snack after the cutoff time, will it sabotage your weight loss plans? Is following this trend advisable for everyone? Yes and no. As is so often the case, it depends on your lifestyle.

If your routine includes exercising in the morning, during your lunch break or right after work and relaxing in the evening, then fasting at night will help you lose weight. Consider your way of life: Do you go to bed within five hours of eating dinner? If you make sure to eat a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner and choose healthy snacks during the day, you've eaten plenty and you really don't need any additional energy to fuel your laid-back evening plans.

On the other hand, fasting won't work if you exercise later in the evening and are a night owl who stays up more than five hours after dinner, working, dancing or otherwise expending calories. Our bodies need fuel every four to five hours to operate at peak efficiency. If we eat dinner at 6pm but go out dancing with friends, take an evening aerobics class or stay up working past 11pm, eating a healthy snack late makes complete sense. Fasting when your lifestyle is active ‑- either physically or mentally ‑- will only drain energy levels and make you feel miserable.

As always, it comes down to calories consumed versus calories expended. Some research has shown that eating the majority of our calories during the day and then fasting after dinner can help promote weight loss. But other studies point out that total calorie intake and expenditure are the two primary reasons for weight loss ‑- or gain. To put it simply, by not eating in the evening, we may consume fewer calories than our body burns over the course of each 24-hour period, and that will help us lose weight. No magic tricks here; just a little simple arithmetic.