Entrepreneurship is a famously busy, high-stress way to make a living. So it probably won’t come as a shock to most business owners that studies suggest entrepreneurs are more likely to be overweight than the general population. The lack of time for self-care and stress eating can easily catch up with you.
Which means that this is one group who could particularly use science-backed advice on ways to lose weight that don’t involve long hours at the gym or in the kitchen. There is, of course, no replacement for healthy choices. No study can offer a way to never move and subsist on takeout and stay healthy.
But new research in the emerging field of ‘chrononutrition’ has uncovered at least two simple shifts that can make losing weight or maintaining a healthy one at least a little bit easier. They have to do not with what you eat but with when you eat. How ‘chrononutrition’ can help you lose weight
We’ve all experienced how our energy levels and moods fluctuate throughout the day based on our basic biological wiring. Early birds are at their sharpest in the morning and nodding off after lunch, for example. These circadian rhythms don’t just affect our productivity. They affect our digestion too.
That’s according to the emerging new field known as chrononutrition, which explores the impact of meal timing on health outcomes. Early studies, first with mice and then later with small numbers of human subjects, found that eating earlier in the day—even if you eat the exact same food—seems to help people maintain a healthy weight.
Now a new, bigger study out of Spain seems to have confirmed that idea. The researchers analyzed data on the eating habits of 7,074 middle-aged adults, as well as examining information on 3,000 of the participants’ weight and diet from a follow-up visit five years later. A clear pattern emerged.
People who started eating earlier in the day and fasted for longer overnight were less likely to be overweight. While the study design didn’t allow the researchers to say for sure while this might be, they think it’s likely due to our bodies’ daily rhythms. We seem to process nutrients differently at different times of the day.
“We think this may be because eating earlier in the day is more in line with circadian rhythms and allows for better calorie burning and appetite regulation, which can help maintain a healthy weight,” commented epidemiologist Luciana Pons-Muzzo. Caveats and considerations
It’s still early days for this research. No one should be making radical changes or going against medical advice to follow these results. But the findings do suggest that, if it works for your particular lifestyle and health situation, making two small changes to your diet can make it a little bit easier to lose weight or keep it off.
One, remember your mom’s advice and don’t skip breakfast. In fact, do the opposite. Try to get your system revved up and working by eating nutritious food earlier in the day.
Two, avoid late dinners and nighttime snacking as much as possible so you’re going slightly longer overnight without eating.
“Our results, in line with other recent studies, suggest that extending the overnight fast could help maintain a healthy weight if accompanied by an early dinner and an early breakfast,” Pons-Muzzo noted.
The usual caveat, of course, applies. If you have any particular issues like diabetes or another metabolic condition, definitely check with your doctor. There is an additional asterix on this advice too.
It’s well established that people have different chronotypes. Some of us are larks and others night owls, and this affects our physiological function at multiple levels. If your personal body clock means you have to drag your miserable self out of bed to follow this advice, you may not reap the same benefits.
All in all though, for most of us, the latest science suggests making these small sensible changes can make maintaining a healthy weight despite your busy entrepreneur lifestyle just a bit easier.