Eat More Calories in the Morning than the Evening

Why are calories eaten in the morning less fattening than calories eaten in the evening?

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You thought dual benefits sounded good. Stay tuned—triple benefits are next! I’m going into more on circadian rhythms next with:

• How Circadian Rhythms Affect Blood Sugar Levels
( )
• How to Sync Your Central Circadian Clock to Your Peripheral Clocks
( )
• The Metabolic Harms of Night Shifts and Irregular Meals
( )
• Shedding Light on Shedding Weight
( )
• Why People Gain Weight in the Fall
( )

In the last few videos, I’ve been focusing on why the science points to loading your calories towards the beginning of the day:
• Is Breakfast the Most Important Meal for Weight Loss?
( )
• Is Skipping Breakfast Better for Weight Loss?
( )
• Chronobiology – How Circadian Rhythms Can Control Your Health and Weight
( )
• Eat More Calories in the Morning to Lose Weight
( )
• Breakfast Like a King, Lunch Like a Prince, Dinner Like a Pauper
( )

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Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

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  • Eat and Be Hoopy says:

    I’m training myself to eat more in the morning/afternoon. It’s hard to have time ! I have more time in the evening to sit down and actually enjoy it. But I’m not as hungry in the eve.

  • G. Henckens says:

    I’ve been trying to take this advice for the last 3 days. I’ve been skipping breakfast for the past 10 years and I am really, really struggling eating breakfast. Is this going to get better over time?

  • Joe O'Brien says:

    All very logical, well done Dr Greger. 😀

  • ooo789456123 says:

    Great video, simply exercise early in the morning, eat afterwards breakfast have another plant based lunch and drink only water or teas after 1pm. Weight comes off, no hunger after getting used to it (~1-2 weeks) 😀

    • Vagelis4VP says:

      The problem is i like to eat snacks in the evening while watching movies..or series.

    • ooo789456123 says:

      @Vagelis4VP I understand, but the distraction of the TV even reduces the enjoyment of the food. In the past it was like, “who finished all these snacks?”, I didn’t even realize that I ate them all.

    • Vagelis4VP says:

      @ooo789456123 lol.. the only bad i think is just to not eat too much… or too late at night.

    • Stop Big-Tech Monopolies says:

      I think that eating while watching tv or streaming causes me to eat more. I’m trying to eat at the dinner table without tv/computer/phone. Maybe if I focus on eating I’ll notice that I’m full and stop before I eat to much.

      I want to eliminate the association between watching and eating/snacking.

    • GodzillaGoesGaga says:

      @Vagelis 4VP, try eating whole carrots in the evening if you feel peckish. 50 kcals per carrot and you’ll feel satiated quite quickly due to the fibre.

  • Eelke Aptroot says:

    I had to watch this twice, probably cause the information density is so high. Or perhaps cause I just ate something and my body is too busy loading my glycogen stores leaving my brain deprived of energy. So part of my morning calories actually dissipate due to thermogenisis, I guess that does mean I should eat even more calories in the morning.

  • Adam Woods MD says:

    So simple and so powerful! I am starting to tell patients this RIGHT NOW – all because of Dr. Greger’s work!

    • John Otvos says:

      Good thing, Adam since Dr G said in an interview on Brian Rose’s London Real, that, ‘doctors are clueless about nutrition’. hahaha

    • Adam Woods MD says:

      @John Otvos – Absolutely true! We got one optional lunch class in medical school about diet and ZERO in residency. I am a plant-based psychiatrist, but I do lots of primary care. My education about nutrition came from self-study, mostly Dr. Greger!

    • A H says:

      Adam Woods MD 👏that’s great! It’s wonderful to hear of physicians going the plant-based lifestyle medicine route! We need lots more like you! 🙏🏼

    • John Otvos says:

      @Adam Woods MD Thanks for replying. What I’ve learned, is that MD’s both stateside and here in Canada [for the most part] are taught about vitamins and supplements and when to prescribe. We now know that solitary compounds are not well absorbed, if at all and in some cases, can complicate the patient’s immune system by causing disease. Bye-bye to the health food stores, purveyors of ka-zillions of tablets. hahaha

    • Adam Woods MD says:

      @John Otvos – For sure! The more videos like Dr. Greger’s we can get in front of doctors, the better for the points your making. Short, to-the-point, and evidenced-based presented in an entertaining way. That’s a winning combo! Dr. Greger is coming to Omaha in the summer and I am hoping to go see him…and hopefully meet him! 🙂

  • Sunghee Lee says:

    Simply fascinating. Thank you, Dr. Greger!👏👍

  • Ima says:

    Wow this thing really boggles my mind. My late grandma ate her breakfast every morning of barley rice+veggie soup at 5 am and had a second breakfast of white rice+ potatoes+ a small pc of meat+ veggie stir fry w/ her kids at 8 am. She always ate her last meal of the day at noon but will sit w/ her kids at their dinner time enjoying fruits such as papaya & apple (we always share 2 apples among 6 or 10 of us). Yet she lived w/ her cvd for 40yrs up to her passing at age 90 w/o gaining more weight. Now i too started to crave rice + veggie soup the moment i open my eyes at 6 am since i turned 30 (now 47) strangely enough the 10kg i couldn’t lose on various low carb diets that made me miserable & hungry all the time, started to melt away. I’m now at 43kg the same weight i had back in middle school. I suppose there is science behind the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all.

    • Marijke Oude Meijers says:

      That is certainly an interesting story, thank you for sharing.

      I did stare in shock at your weight for a few seconds before realising you are probably not my height XD it’s a weird number when most people think you are nearing underweight at 68 kg (at 180 cm).

    • Ima says:

      Marijke Oude Meijers i was practically obese at 68kg 153cm

  • Mike Nickles says:

    After watching your last video, I had a giant bowl of oatmeal with nut butter and fruit for breakfast, a potato and soup for lunch and a salad for dinner. Normally i have a small breakfast and lunch and eat a HUGE dinner. Had a much better sleep after eating the salad and when I woke up, I broke through my weight loss plateau! Going to keep this up!

  • ColoradoCamper says:

    So would it be extra beneficial to exercise first thing in the morning? The idea being you deplete your glycogen stores, then eat breakfast and the body is even more eager to replace the glycogen that was just lost during exercise. Would this further enhance the lower net calories of breakfast?

  • Nicholas Allen says:

    This is probably the most interesting video you have ever done! Love it!

  • Gina Lombardi says:

    Thank you so much for the info and explaining how this works in the body!!!

  • Ro Ku says:

    Meals early in the day and herb teas or veg broth in the evening sounds like a good way to go and might make for better sleep too.

  • Hayley Baldwin says:

    It’s difficult to not only find but to understand the studies you mention in your videos. Thank you for all your efforts, we all appreciate you very much!

  • Jared Mallard says:

    So the weight loss and blood sugar control seem like short term benefits. What about the long term effect on longevity. Your previous videos have stated that the number of calories burned was negatively associated with longevity. Could there be any negative effects from eating large breakfasts?

  • M. says:

    I remember eating blended boiled potatos in the morning with some berries. After an hour I got really hot. I guess my body was making glycogen. 😊

  • KayLynn Gerhart says:

    As a night shifter, I’m so glad you addressed this concern for me!

  • psychedelia says:

    excellent video! i wonder how the circadian rhythm could also have an impact the productivity of exercising between evenings and mornings…

  • Fjuron says:

    Useful science for everyday decisions. Love this kinda stuff!

  • Just Me says:

    So I can conclude that if I would like to lose body fat, eating all my food in the morning would be practically significantly better than in the evening? How much difference will it make? Are there any disadvantages or other things I should know?

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