You Ask, I Answer: Watching the Clock

Is there any truth behind "Don't eat after 7 p.m." as a weight-loss tip?

Perhaps in the land of unicorns and fairies. In the real world? Not so much.

This myth has been around for ages, and many who have lost weight credit their success to consuming all their calories before a certain time of night.

Let's examine the facts. How do we gain weight? We consume (eat) more energy (calories) than we can burn in a given day. Let's break this down further:

• We all have what is called a basal metabolic rate (BMR)

• Our BMR reflects how rapidly our bodies burn calories while we are in a state of complete rest. (yes, we even burn calories while we sleep!)
  

• If you are looking to lose weight, you want to increase your BMR so your body is able to burn more calories.

• How do you do this? By eating small, frequent meals so your BMR is constantly running, and by performing weight-bearing exercises (whether it’s to bulk up or simply tone your muscles).

• The more muscle mass you have, the higher your BMR.

• When you starve your body, it has no idea when its next meal will be. So, if you go a whole day without eating, your body doesn’t know you are looking to lose weight. It just thinks you are in shortage of food. So, it goes into self-preservation mode and slows everything down in order to store energy, including your BMR.

Our BMR allows us to burn calories throughout the day. Some people only associate this with physical activity, but you are actually burning calories while reading this. Not as many as if you were swimming, hiking, or dancing salsa, but some.

It's simple, really. In the same way that we gain weight by having a great input (calories) than output (burning), we lose weight by doing the exact opposite. So, if you spend the last three hours of the day without having any food, of course you are going to lose weight.

In fact, the people who usually mention the "no eating after x time" rule are those who tend to binge-snack before going to bed. If you find yourself regularly hacing a pint of ice cream while watching Conan and suddenly stop doing so, you are now saving yourself 500 calories. Do that for a week and you'll easily lose approximately one pound of fat!

Similarly, if you are having two donuts for breakfast, a king-size Snickers bar as an AM snack, two slices of pepperoni pizza for lunch, and a can of Coke and a bite-size bag of Cheetos in the afternoon, you will most likely gain weight, even if no food passes your lips after 6 p.m.

Extra calories will become fat no matter what time you consume them.

The key to successful and permanent weight loss is not found in gimmicky solutions given by celebrities, but by you having an understanding of food and your behaviors and habits with it.