Weight loss is typically all about finding the right diet plan and sticking to it properly for a long period of time.
However, the timing of your meals could be just as important, according to a new weight loss study.
Scientists found that eating a later breakfast and an earlier dinner could be a way to lose weight without reducing daily calorie intake.
In the study, participants ate breakfast 90 minutes later than usual, while they went on to eat their dinner 90 minute earlier.
This group lost twice as much body fat after 10 weeks compared to a control group who ate their breakfast at the time the would normally have it.
The University of Surrey researchers were investigating a diet trick known as “time-restricted feeding”.
Participants were allowed to eat as much or as little as they liked, as long as they did it within a certain window of time.
They reported a decreased appetite and reduced snacking while eating in this time restricted way, as revealed by results of a questionnaire given to them.
There is a catch, however. Some 57 per cent of participants said they would find it impossible to keep up this restricted eating plan due to family and social schedules.
“Although this study is small, it has provided us with invaluable insight into how slight alterations to our meal times can have benefits to our bodies,” said Dr Jonathan Johnston, the lead author of the study.
“Reduction in body fat lessens our chances of developing obesity and related diseases, so is vital in improving our overall health.
“However, as we have seen with these participants, fasting diets are difficult to follow and may not always be compatible with family and social life.
We therefore need to make sure they are flexible and conducive to real life, as the potential benefits of such diets are clear to see.”
Adding apple cider vinegar to your diet is another tried and tested method for weight loss.
Benefits of this healthy drink include its ability to help you beat sugar cravings, meaning you are less likely to binge on foods like sweets and chocolate.
Scientists have discovered consuming small amounts of this vinegar will help to stabilise blood sugar, which is linked to reducing cravings.
In one Swedish study, test subjects who ate white bread – a kind of fast-release carbohydrate – with vinegar were compared to those who ate white bread without the vinegar.
Those who consumed the vinegar with the bread had significantly reduced blood sugar responses compared to those who did not.
In another study on type 2 diabetes patients by the American Diabetes Association, subjects who had two tablespoons of the vinegar before they went to sleep had more stable concentrations of glucose.
“The acetic acid component may [also] help prevent high glucose and insulin resistance,” Savorfull founder Stacy Goldberg told Well and Good. “This is not a quick fix, but it may be a tool to ward off sugar cravings and keep them at bay.”
