When should you be eating your biggest meal? (2024)

FAQs

When should you be eating your biggest meal? ›

Even if you can't eat an early dinner, you should try to make breakfast and lunch your biggest meals of the day and dinner your smallest. If you're used to eating a small lunch and a big dinner, then switch the order. You can make your dinner a meal that's heavy on vegetables to lighten it up.

Most people are brought up thinking that dinner should be the biggest meal of the day, meaning they opt for a light breakfast and lunch. However, research has found that a smaller dinner and larger lunch could be the key to helping you shift those weight.

While estimates vary, most experts recommend eating a meal two to four hours before bedtime. People who eat meals well ahead of bedtime have enough time to properly digest their food. Taking time between eating and lying down also reduces the risk of GER symptoms and poor sleep.

Many people eat three nutritious meals a day and have no trouble maintaining their weight. But studies have suggested that grazing (eating smaller amounts of food more frequently) can make it easier to maintain or lose weight. Eating four to six small meals each day can take the edge off your appetite.

The bottom line

Eating a majority of your calories earlier in the day and limiting how much you eat later in the evening or through the overnight hours may help your body digest your food more efficiently. It may also reduce your risk of certain risk factors for metabolic conditions like diabetes and obesity.

Researchers say a diet plan that restricts eating to between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. can help you lose weight. They add that such a time-restricted diet plan can also help improve blood pressure and overall mood.

Although some research suggests that your body may metabolize food differently during the day versus the night, there's no scientific consensus on the best time to stop eating. Some evidence suggests that eating late may negatively influence weight and metabolic risk factors.

Recommended Sleep After Meal Period

You are advised to wait at least 3 hours after eating to sleep or lie down. During this duration, food has gone through the digestive process in the stomach organs and leads to the small intestine.

Feeling a little bit hungry before bed can be a good thing, as you don't want to feel overly full before bed. However, you don't want so hungry that you can't relax and fall asleep. So if you're struggling to sleep and find your stomach feels empty, a light snack may help you fall asleep.

Going to bed hungry can be safe as long as you're eating a well-balanced diet throughout the day. Avoiding late-night snacks or meals can actually help avoid weight gain and an increased BMI. If you're so hungry that you can't go to bed, you can eat foods that are easy to digest and promote sleep.

What should be the biggest meal of the day for weight loss? ›

Even if you can't eat an early dinner, you should try to make breakfast and lunch your biggest meals of the day and dinner your smallest. If you're used to eating a small lunch and a big dinner, then switch the order. You can make your dinner a meal that's heavy on vegetables to lighten it up.

What's more, restricting calories to one meal a day may increase the chances of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, especially in those with type 2 diabetes. In addition to these potential adverse effects, eating one meal a day can lead to symptoms, including: nausea. dizziness.

Prioritize Eating During the First Half of the Day

Aim to consume the majority of your calories and nutrients by mid-afternoon. Also, remember there is no right or wrong way to do this. For one person, this may mean eating breakfast, lunch and two snacks.

breakfast within 2 hours of rising with focus on lean protein and low-sugar fruit; lunch: midday paying attention to lean protein + complex carbs; dinner before 8 pm with focus on fiber + low saturated fat; and snacks focusing on high fiber + lean protein.

Many experts generally recommend waiting around three hours after eating before going to bed to allow for proper digestion and to avoid sleep disturbances. It's important to prioritize maintaining a sufficient gap between your last meal and bedtime to promote better sleep and overall health.

The best time to have your breakfast is within two hours of waking up. Having breakfast after waking up is good for your metabolism, say experts. If you are a gym-goer and prefer exercising in the morning, have something light like a banana or an avocado toast, at least half an hour before working out.

“Eating between 5 to 7 p.m. would be ideal,” says Dana Cohen, M.D., integrative medical doctor and co-author of Quench. “However, the later it gets the less food you should consume.” One study published in Cell Metabolism found that people who ate meals at 5 p.m. burned 60 more calories than those who ate dinner later.

Leading up to your fast, be sure not to skip meals (there's no need to "practice") and eat well so you can be in tip-top shape while you fast. My family observes a Yom Kippur fast; just before that 25-hour period begins, I eat a dinner that's high in fiber, has lots of nutrients and tons of fluids.

Generally, food stays in the stomach between 40 minutes to two hours, before spending another 40 minutes to two hours in the small bowel. It then spends around five hours in the small intestine, before passing through the colon, which can take anywhere between 10 to 59 hours.

Eating one meal a day can increase your blood pressure and cholesterol. This occurred in a group of healthy adults who switched to one meal a day to participate in a study. If you already have concerns in either area, eating just once a day might not be safe. Eating one meal late can cause your blood sugar to spike.