Once your Food Quality and Food Quantity is consistently under control (see Part I & Part II first), it's a good idea to look at Food Timing.
Friendly reminder I don't recommend jumping ahead to Food Timing before you've really nailed the first two stages - consistently! You will make fantastic improvements in how you feel, look, and perform from that alone.
It's tempting to skip steps in optimising your metabolic health and look for a magic bullet. But as with almost everything in life, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Quick fixes are a myth. The 'magic bullet' is patience and consistency with smart, sustainable food and lifestyle changes.
Back to Food Timing. There are two things to consider here - nutrient timing and fasting.
Nutrient timing is when you eat certain macronutrients relative to the time of day or relative to your activity.
Fasting is simply the time between feedings (particularly the period between your dinner and your 'break-fast').
First up - Nutrient Timing.
Of the 3 macros, carbohydrates are the most hormonally active and our sensitivity to carbs actually changes based both on the time of day (in line with our circadian rhythm) and our activity level.
Certain genes are up-regulated in order to support our metabolism when the sun rises and our bodies are exposed to it and 'aware' it's day time . Our glucose tolerance increases a little in the morning meaning we can technically take in more carbs without our blood sugar remaining high for as long when compared to the evening.
However it's important to note there is context to consider. There's honestly never a time when carbs should dominate in their entirety. It creates far too much blood glucose fluctuation (think energy peaks and crashes, sugar cravings, always hungry). We want logs on the fire not kindling :)
The other part of nutrient timing relates to our activity.
Again looking at carbs, glucose tolerance is also increased during & after exercise meaning more glucose can be taken up by the muscles from the bloodstream without the need for anywhere near as much insulin. Win.
So while it’s not essential to refuel with carbs (depending on your level of fat and ketone adaptation) it's certainly one of the best times to do so with the least impact on insulin, energy crashes or potential fat storage for example. This is an example of Carb Cycling or ‘targeted’ nutrition.
Adaptations from exercise have been shown to be improved by consuming protein with that carbohydrate, particularly after resistance training to maximise muscle repair and growth.
Muscles actually remain sensitised to protein for 24hrs after a weight training session - another reason it's important to consume protein at all meal times throughout the day.
In relation to fasting (the time between feedings) and your 'eating window' - first thing to remember is it's a great idea to go gently with this.
Jumping in too far or too fast can come with some rather unpleasant side-effects! Even for those who find it totally doable initially when motivation is high, they'll often grind to a halt pretty quickly and can be put off altogether if their metabolic flexibility hasn't had time to adjust sustainably.
The benefits of fasting are many and varied however and its a fascinating topic on it's own (more to come on that in future blogs).
It's important to note however that not everyone is interested in, or will enjoy, longer periods of fasting, or even ‘intermittent fasting’ for example.
No problem! The first step is actually just aiming for 12 hours between meals overnight. That can be considered the minimum period we're better off not ingesting external calories for.
Many people think they do this, but the reality is more than 50% of people only allow digestive rest for about 9hrs...habitual late night snacking, popping something in your mouth as soon as you open the fridge in the morning or eating in the car on your way to an early shift at work often means the fasting period is nowhere near 12 hrs!
During the fasting period, processes that have to do with growth are minimised and instead the processes that involve maintenance and repair are favoured.
This enhances our resistance to stress, allows us to recycle damaged cells, improves our glucose regulation and suppresses inflammation.
Without adequate periods of fasting we don’t have enough time for adequate maintenance and repair to allow for optimal metabolic health!
Fasting can be used as a therapy for many different health conditions - and contrary to what is commonly assumed, doesn't have to mean eating fewer calories. Most benefits of fasting occur because of the time-restricted feeding window itself, as opposed to being in a calorie deficit.
This wraps up my 3 part series of where to start when changing your nutrition. Feel free to share with anyone you think may find it helpful!
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