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TEXTPAM O’BRIENPHOTOGREG DUPREEFOOD STYLINGCHELSEA ZIMMERPROP STYLINGCHRISTINE KEELY72 | EAT RIGHT | SHAPE AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019
5
pm, when the day begins to wind down,
your body does the opposite – cranking
up to be at its calorie-burning peak,
according to a recent study. “We discovered
that you naturally burn about 10 per cent more
calories in the late afternoon than you do later
at night,” says Kirsi-Marja Zitting, an associate
neuroscientist at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital in Boston, an instructor at Harvard
Eat for your body clock
Medical School, and the lead author of the
study, which was published in Current Biology.
That’s about 130 calories that your body is
torching without any extra e ort on your part.
Although researchers don’t know why
our calorie expenditure revs up in the late
afternoon, they suspect that metabolism
ebbs and fl ows according to our circadian
rhythms. That means that at night, whenwe’re asleep, our systems are expending less
energy, so our metabolic rate slows. Eat in
those wee hours, as night shift workers do, and
your body isn’t able to burn o the calories,
which could eventually lead to weight gain,
Kirsi-Marja says. During the day, when we’re
naturally active and busy, our metabolism
rises, until it crests around 5pm.
“Previous research has shown that
hunger spikes in the afternoon as well,”
Kirsi-Marja says. “Since that’s also when we’re
burning the most calories, it makes sense that
we’re hungriest then too. Our bodies may be
tuned to a late-in-the-day rhythm.”
Syncing our diets to our internal clocks can
have signifi cant health benefi ts. Here are the
most e ective methods to help you do that.Find your ow
For general well-being, the most important
thing is to maintain a regular schedule,
Kirsi-Marja says. “Wake up and go to bed
around the same time every day,” she advises.
“And have breakfast, lunch, and dinner at
about the same hours as well.” Your body is
primed to do things at certain times. Throw its
agenda out of whack, and your sleep, health,
and weight can su er.Navigate the extremes
Of course, there will be times when you
can’t maintain your routine. Let’s say you
get home at 10pm after a crazy day. Avoid
eating a big meal then because your body is in
slowdown mode and is less likely to burn it o ,
Kirsi-Marja says. Instead, have a healthy dinner
earlier, before you leave work.
Similarly, on days when you need to get up
at the crack of dawn, skip a big breakfast fi rst
thing. “Your body burns the fewest calories
at 4am,” she adds. If you eat before six, your
system will store more of what you consume.Choose your foods wisely
It may be benefi cial to eat your carbs early
in the day and foods that are higher in fat
at night. “Our research found that you are
more prone to burn carbohydrates in the
morning and lipids or fats in the evening,”
Kirsi-Marja says. “The di erence was small,
but it was signifi cant.” While she cautions that
the fi nding is preliminary and that she and her
team plan to do more research to see if it holds
up, having a healthy carb-oriented breakfast
(like a bowl of oatmeal) and foods that contain
good-for-you fats (like avocado, cheese,
and salmon) for dinner may be a smart idea.When you have your
meals may be just
as vital as what’s in
them, new science
shows. Here’s how to
work the timing for
maximum benefi ts.CLOCKWORK
Eat breakfast, lunch,
and dinner at the same
time every day to maintain
a healthy weight.