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Healthy breakfast - Oat granola with fresh blueberries, almond, yogurt and mint© GrosbyGroup

How you can use your body clock to help you burn fat

Eating breakfast can help your body’s biological clock burn more fat


UPDATED MARCH 7, 2020 4:21 AM EST

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day (something that has been backed by science for ages), but now a study conducted by Vanderbilt University shows that the time you eat directly impacts the ability your body’s biological clock has to burn fat properly. The researchers concluded that although the time you eat doesn’t impact your body activity levels, it does impact (along with other factors) how efficient your body can lose weight over the long-term. Researchers also suggest that fasting is a great way to assist your body with weight loss.

Breakfast Melon Bowl with Yogurt, Blueberries, Blackberries© GrosbyGroup

Never skipping a meal

Researchers at Vanderbilt University found that skipping breakfast can impact the body’s ability to lose weight.

A breakfast omelette© GrosbyGroup

When you eat is very important

The team also found that although calories consumed can negatively impact weight loss, the time you choose to eat is also a big factor.

A healthy breakfast with smoked salmon and a soft boiled egg© GrosbyGroup

Precise timing

The study monitored eating habits of middle-aged and older subjects in two separate 56-hour controlled sessions where lunch was delivered at 12:30 pm and dinner delivered at 5:45 pm.

Tasty breakfast bowls of banana and chocolate smoothie, dessert, yogurt or milkshake topped with goji berries, kiwi fruit, seeds and oats© GrosbyGroup

Off-schedule eating’s impact on the body

The third meal given to participants was either given at 8 am as breakfast or at 10 pm as a snack. Researchers found that the timing of the third meal impacted how much fat the body was able to burn.

Fried eggs with plantain and chimichurri sauce for breakfast© GrosbyGroup

What happens when you eat breakfast

Those that were given the meal at 8 am were able to burn more fat than those who ate at 10 pm.

Vegan breakfast avocado and beet rye sandwiches, fresh radishes and sweet pepper© GrosbyGroup

The importance of the body’s clock

Study authors Kevin Kelly, Owen McGuinness and Carl Johnson said the answer in how much body fat participants burned could be found in the body’s biological clock.

They suggested a daily fast between the evening meal and morning meal to help optimize the body’s ability to burn weight.