Do you want to lose weight but unable to change your eating habits? Don't worry! Now you don't need to do dieting for loosing weight. A new theory, known as 'chrononutrition' has found that controlling eating habits and patterns can have profound effects on weight loss without changing what you eat.

The founder of W1Nutritionist, nutritionist and clinical dietitian Mr Filip Koidis, explained that, “Successful weight management is not all about discipline and saying 'no' to all the foods that tempt you, as this kind of behavior very often results in negative outcomes and episodes of binge eating.”

“Achieving satiety internally, is all about getting your appetite hormones to function optimally, these are affected by sleep, routine and also exercise.”

“Chrononutrition examines how the regularity, frequency, and clock time of meals affects the body's internal clock and cardiometabolic outcomes,” Mr Koidis explained.

“It's a relatively new subject, combining chronobiology and nutrition, but it's proving vital in our understanding of weight loss.”

The Importance of Sleep:

When you are on your plans to lose weight, you should aim at least seven hours sleep for per night. Sleeping well is vital to dieting well. “Early sleepers have a 25 per cent better response in diets, both psychological and physiological reasons,” Mr Koidis said.

“If you sleep well, you are likely to make better dietary choices (lower in calories) the day after, which will result in a more balanced diet,” Mr Koidis added.

“On the other hand, if your sleep is disrupted, due to stress or shift work for example, the production of cortisol is affected, which in turn affects many bodily functions such as metabolism and the regulation of the immune system.”

He advised that, “Try to manipulate the carbohydrate fat and protein content to help create optimum sleep.”

“A large carbohydrate load will create some insulin resistance which in turn may affect melatonin and cortisol and therefore sleep.”

“If you digest your food well, you are likely to sleep better and in turn eat better the next day.”

Eat Light at Night:

 
According to Mr Koidis “Diet induced thermogenesis, known as DIT, which is energy your body uses to process the food you consume, is 50 per cent lower during the evening meal.”

“The theory is that people who eat most of their calories at night end up burning significantly less energy than early eaters and consequently over time experience a difference in weight status.”

“Timing of our meals is a major issue with today's society, and eating late at night should definitely not be encouraged.”

The study includes two groups, both consuming 1400 calories a day. It found on comparison that, eating most calories for breakfast rather than at dinner produced greater weight loss and waist circumference reduction.

Stick to a Routine:

“Maintaining a schedule rather than eating at erratic times helps shed pounds - even if what you are eating is exactly the same,” Mr Koidis explained.

According to a theory, when your body is used to a schedule, your hormones and metabolism work better and digest your food more efficiently at meal times.

“We don’t fully understand this the mechanism yet,' Mr Koidis added. 'It could be simply that people that get organized and plan their meals tend to be the people with a healthier weight status.”

Drink Smart:

 
May your physicians have been warned not to drink on an empty stomach, but when it comes to the rules of weight management, the opposite is true, Mr Koidis suggests.

“Alcohol interferes with your metabolism as your body stops processing any existing food and starts working towards excreting alcohol,” he explained.

“So combining alcohol with food or eating after having drunk substantially is not preferable when trying to manage your weight.”

“For a healthy individual, planning your meals and eating two and a half hours before going out for a drink, and then avoiding food until the morning after would be ideal.”

Be Mindful when you eat:

“If you don't give yourself enough time to eat, you cannot feel enough satisfaction,” Mr Koidis suggested.

The studies suggest, 21 minutes is the optimal time required for satiety signals to reach your brain.

“Mindful eating is essential for weight management, and several studies have shown that eating mindfully results in greater satiety, improved food experience and better hormonal response,” Mr Koidis said.

So how does one eat lunch mindfully? “Focus on your meal and put away any distractions like magazines, TV or the phone,” advises Mr Koidis.

“The ultimate goal is for satiety to come naturally so you never have to force yourself to stop,” he added.

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- Nandini