A balanced diet and regular exercise are the most important elements of a weight loss plan. However, losing weight is not just about what you eat but also about timing of food intake. This was corroborated by a study conducted by Spanish researchers which was published in the Journal of Obesity last year.
According to the researchers, eating a heavy meal later in the day could slow down progress with weight reduction. They studied 420 overweight people of average age 42 – half men and half women – in Mediterranean town of Murcia, Spain to draw their conclusions.
The subjects were observed over a 20-week period. During the first few weeks, all of them lost weight at about the same rate. However, from about the fifth week, dieters who had their main meal after 3 p.m. began to lose weight more slowly for the rest of the period. At the end of the 20 week period, these individuals lost 22 percent less weight than the subjects who ate heavier meals earlier in the day. According to the researchers, postponing meal until late in the day probably messes with the body’s internal clock and affects metabolism.
The study warns that “When the timing of meals do not match with the sleep-wake cycle well, there’s a disconnect between the different clocks that we have in basically all the cells of our body”.
The objective of the study was to make people understand the importance of when to eat and not just what to eat. However, sometimes even adhering to dieting and exercise regimens may not be enough to get rid of stubborn pockets of fat deposits in various areas of the body. Fortunately, there is a solution – liposuction. Using advanced laser-enabled technology to aspirate localized deposits of fat, plastic surgeons help men and women achieve their body contouring goals safely and effectively. However, a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise needs to be followed to maintain the results.
