Generally, skipping one or more meals is discouraged because it can sometimes disrupt our hunger cues or cause a lack of energy.
However, it seems that not eating in the evening may be beneficial for better weight management and other aspects of health.
For your body’s full adaptation, I recommend organizing all your other meals of the day optimally.
How to practice nighttime fasting and what are its benefits? I review the topic and help you maintain a good nutritional balance.
Note: depending on your health status or if in doubt, it’s best to consult your doctor.
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What would the benefits be?
An impact on weight loss and body composition
In the short and medium term, practicing intermittent fasting by taking the last meal of the day fairly early and having a morning meal around 8-9 AM produces equally good results for weight loss, and may be better in the long term, compared with a conventional low-calorie diet.
Analyzing various studies, I find that it helps reduce waist size and body fat. Two reasons can likely explain these slimming results:
- a slight reduction in daily calorie intake
- a hormonal improvement related to the circadian cycle and regulated insulin levels
This study showed that, with equal calories, not eating in the evening would be more effective for better using fats as an energy source (mobilizing fat stores) and for storing fewer carbohydrates than skipping breakfast.
Not eating in the evening could even reduce risk factors associated with overweight and obesity.
Positive effects on metabolic health
Other positive effects are associated with it, such as improved insulin sensitivity and fasting blood glucose, according to this study conducted on prediabetic men.
For the body, this daytime eating pattern also offers better cellular health by better resisting oxidative stress and providing valuable anti-inflammatory effects.
Overall, it also optimizes the protection of the cardiovascular system: skipping dinner allows a better lipid profile, regulation of blood pressure and heart rate.
An improvement in sleep quality
Your circadian cycle or 24-hour biological clock orchestrates many bodily functions such as:
- the sleep
- the thermoregulation (body temperature)
- the release of hormones
- the metabolism
By avoiding eating in the evening, your melatonin production would be more effective, thereby promoting sleep onset. We observe
a reduction in nighttime awakenings and an improvement in deep sleep, so crucial for physical and mental recovery.
Eating late forces your body to focus on digestion and can therefore disrupt the natural lowering of body temperature that occurs at night.
The liver function typically eliminates toxins between 1 AM and 3 AM, and can be disrupted by evening meals.
Some benefits to cognitive and physical performance are also possible by following this nutritional approach. Sleeping well gives you more energy and helps you be more productive.
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My advice for fasting in the evening
Find your eating rhythm
Skipping breakfast may seem simpler in terms of your appetite, social life, family life, or work life.
Overall, it has been observed that irregular and late-night meals tend to lead to overindulgence and lower quality of the foods consumed.
The time you eat therefore matters. Here’s what I suggest to help make this eating pattern easier:
- if you don’t eat breakfast or eat very little: try introducing a morning meal that is fairly substantial, high in protein, fiber, and composed of healthy fats
- then, for one week, paying attention to how you feel, note the number of \”pleasant\” dinners that are not essential
- the following week, try a day without dinner or several, depending on your needs
Eat enough during the day
By not eating in the evening, one manages to fast on average 12 to 16 hours. The eating window from 8 AM to 12 PM is therefore essential to provide the body with everything it needs to function well.
To avoid nutritional deficiencies, it’s best to distribute foods well in the morning and at midday, and add a snack before 6 PM.
The essential elements you should pay attention to:
- the vegetables
- the omega-3s
- the essential amino acids
Favor whole, unprocessed foods for maximum vitamins and minerals rather than ultra-processed, ready-made foods, which are often too high in sugars and nutritionally less beneficial.
Feeding periods should not “compensate” for fasting periods either, meaning it is not beneficial to overload the body with calories during the day. This could negate the benefits of skipping an evening meal.
A typical day without dinner
To familiarize you with the principle, I’m sharing balanced menu ideas for not eating in the evening.
Breakfast
Savory version
- Vegetable omelet
- 1 slice of rye bread with half an avocado
- 1 cup of unsweetened tea
Sweet version
- Bowl of oatmeal with chia seeds, fruit, and nuts
- 1 glass of lemon water with fresh mint leaves
Lunch
- Red lentil curry with cauliflower and bell peppers
- Chicken tenders and grilled vegetables
- Fresh mango slices
Snack at 5:30 PM
- 1 hard-boiled egg
- Raw vegetable sticks and chickpea hummus
- 4-5 almonds
- 1 cup of unsweetened herbal tea
Keep in mind that quantities and calories are not the focus of this 16:8 schedule as long as the quality of the foods is there and you pay attention to your satiety.
Certain precautions still need to be taken into account. If you have a compulsive relationship with food, specific exercise habits, or issues managing stress and mood, I advise you to stay attentive to your needs and not force this approach on yourself.
Sources and scientific studies
Daniela Jakubowicz, Maayan Barnea, Julio Wainstein, Oren Froy – High caloric intake at breakfast vs. dinner differentially influences weight loss of overweight and obese women – Obesity, 2013
Elizabeth F Sutton, Robbie Beyl , Kate S Early William T Cefalu, Eric Ravussin, Courtney M Peterson – Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes, 2018
Effects of intermittent fasting on body composition and clinical health markers in humans, Nutr. Review, 2015
Carlien van der Merwe, Mirjam Münch , Rozanne Kruger – Chronotype Differences in Body Composition, Dietary Intake and Eating Behavior Outcomes: A Scoping Systematic Review – Adv. Nutr, 2022
