Some are used to having breakfast quite early, just before leaving for work. But in the context of weight loss, this is not necessarily the best option.
It’s not just the choice of food that counts if you want to lose a few pounds. The time is also important, especially for breakfast. This is in any case what affirms Pr Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London (United Kingdom).
According to the latter, ideally, one should have breakfast in the middle of the morning, at 11 o’clock. The specialist explained to the British newspaper Daily Mail that this simple eating habit would help to lose between 2 and 5 kilos in a few months. But concretely, what does it change?
a fourteen hour fast
Well, if we assume that most people eat dinner no later than 9 p.m., this would make it possible to achieve an intermittent fast of about fourteen hours. Also called “fasting”, this dietary practice, which consists of not eating anything for a period of time, is known to promote weight loss and detoxify the body.
As naturopath Emilie Kapps pointed out to CNEWS, intermittent fasting “promotes the drainage and elimination of toxins, and allows the digestive system to rest, to regenerate”. The body will on the other hand “draw on its reserves and burn the stored fat”, on the condition, however, of opting for balanced dishes during the period of food intake.
But some rhythms are easier to hold than others. And according to Professor Tim Spector, taking nothing between 9 p.m. and 11 a.m. would be the least restrictive mode. “It’s easier to hold on for the long term when you fast 14 hours a day, eating breakfast late in the morning but eating the same amounts as usual.”
“The microbes in our gut,” he added, “have a circadian rhythm like us and need a period of rest.”