Which meal is best to skip for weight loss? Skip dinner. Research shows that skipping dinner saves the most calories and does the least damage to your diet quality compared to skipping breakfast or lunch.
A USDA study found that skipping dinner cuts about 350 calories from your day. Skipping breakfast only cuts about 252 calories. Skipping dinner also hurts your overall diet quality less than skipping breakfast or lunch does.
But here’s where it gets interesting. The research shows that when you eat matters almost as much as what you eat for weight loss.
Does skipping breakfast help you lose weight?
No. Skipping breakfast does not help most people lose weight, and it can actually make weight loss harder.
A 2019 review of 13 studies published in the BMJ found that people who ate breakfast actually gained about 0.5kg less than breakfast skippers. The researchers found no weight loss benefit to skipping breakfast.
Here’s why breakfast skipping backfires for many people. When you skip breakfast, your body increases hunger hormones later in the day. This makes you more likely to overeat at lunch and dinner. A classic study from the 1950s on Bengali workers found that sedentary people actually ate more food than lightly active or moderately active people because their appetite signals were off.
The USDA research found that skipping breakfast lowered diet quality by 4.3%. People who skip breakfast tend to eat less fruit, fewer whole grains, less dairy and more empty calories throughout the day.
Does skipping dinner help you lose weight?
Yes. Skipping dinner is the most effective meal to skip for weight loss if you’re going to skip any meal at all.
The USDA study found that skipping dinner reduced daily calories by 350. That’s almost 100 more calories saved compared to skipping breakfast. And the diet quality only dropped by 2.6% when skipping dinner, compared to 4.3% for breakfast.
A 2013 Israeli study tested this directly. Researchers gave women the same 1400 calories per day but split the meals differently. One group ate a big 700 calorie breakfast, medium 500 calorie lunch and small 200 calorie dinner. The other group did the opposite with a small breakfast and big dinner.
After 12 weeks, the big breakfast group lost more weight, had better fasting glucose levels, better insulin levels and reported feeling less hungry throughout the day.
A study published in Obesity found that early time restricted eating between 8am and 2pm decreased levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin and increased the fullness hormone PYY in the evening. People felt less hungry and had a lower desire to eat when they stopped eating earlier in the day.
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Why does the timing of meals matter for weight loss?
Your body burns calories differently at different times of day because of your circadian rhythm.
Research from Johns Hopkins and other institutions shows that your body processes food better in the morning than at night. Your insulin works more efficiently in the morning. You burn more calories digesting food in the morning. And you’re more likely to store calories as fat when you eat late at night.
A study found that eating a late dinner just 1 hour before bed instead of 4 hours before bed impaired glucose tolerance the next morning. The negative effects of eating late carried over to the following day.
People who eat most of their calories closer to their natural melatonin onset time have higher body fat percentages. Research shows that eating a greater proportion of daily energy intake closer to your body’s evening signal leads to higher BMI and more body fat.
The advice to “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper” actually has science behind it. Those who consume most of their daily calories at dinner have increased risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome.
What happens to your metabolism when you skip meals?
Skipping meals does not boost your metabolism. But it can reduce your total calorie intake, which is what actually drives weight loss.
Your resting metabolic rate accounts for 50% to 70% of your total daily energy expenditure. This is how many calories your body burns just keeping you alive. The thermic effect of food adds another 5% to 10%. This is the energy your body uses to digest and process food.
Protein has the highest thermic effect at 20% to 30%. This means if you eat 100 calories from protein, your body only nets about 70 to 80 calories. Fat has the lowest thermic effect at 0% to 3%. Carbs fall in the middle at 5% to 10%.
A recent study from the German Institute of Human Nutrition found that time restricted eating without cutting total calories did not improve metabolic markers or heart health. The health benefits seen in earlier intermittent fasting studies were likely due to unintended calorie reduction rather than the timing itself.
This is good news. It means calories still matter most. If skipping dinner helps you eat fewer total calories, you will lose weight. You don’t need to follow complex meal timing rules if your goal is simply weight loss.
How does intermittent fasting compare to skipping meals?
Intermittent fasting and meal skipping can produce similar weight loss results, but intermittent fasting provides more structure.
A study comparing time restricted eating to daily calorie counting found that both groups lost similar amounts of weight over a year. The time restricted eating group lost about 10 pounds more than the control group. The calorie counting group lost about 12 pounds more. The difference between the two approaches was not significant.
The people doing time restricted eating ended up naturally cutting about 400 calories per day without trying to count calories. This happened because they had less time to eat, especially cutting out after dinner snacks.
The most popular intermittent fasting method is 16/8, where you eat within an 8 hour window and fast for 16 hours. Under this method you might eat between 10am and 6pm, effectively skipping late dinner and after dinner snacking.
Research suggests eating earlier in the day produces better results than eating later. One study found that eating between 8am and 2pm improved insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and oxidative stress, even without weight loss.
How many calories do you save by skipping each meal?
- Skipping dinner saves about 350 calories
- Skipping lunch saves about 300 calories
- Skipping breakfast saves about 252 calories
These numbers come from USDA research analysing dietary data from US adults. The exact number you save depends on how big your meals normally are.
If you skip a meal but then overeat at your next meal, you won’t save as many calories. Research shows people do eat more at subsequent meals after skipping one, but they rarely eat enough extra to make up for the skipped meal completely.
What should you do if you want to lose weight by changing your eating schedule?
Focus on eating more of your calories earlier in the day and less at night.
Here are specific steps you can take.
- Make breakfast your biggest meal with plenty of protein
- Eat a moderate lunch
- Eat a smaller dinner at least 3 to 4 hours before bed
- Avoid eating after dinner
- Set a consistent eating window if you want to try time restricted eating
The diet that works best is the one you can stick with. Research on popular diets found they all produced similar weight loss results. When researchers looked at adherence levels, they found a direct relationship between how well people stuck to their diet and how much weight they lost.
Pick the form of restriction that feels least restrictive to you. If skipping breakfast feels easy, you can try that. If eating a big breakfast and small dinner works better for your lifestyle, do that instead.
FAQ
Will I lose muscle if I skip dinner?
You can maintain muscle while skipping dinner if you eat enough protein throughout the day. Aim for 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. Research shows eating protein at breakfast helps preserve muscle and keeps you feeling full.
Is it bad to go to bed hungry?
Going to bed slightly hungry is fine and may actually help your sleep quality. Eating close to bedtime impairs glucose metabolism and can disrupt sleep. Studies show late night eating increases hunger the next morning, creating a cycle of poor eating habits.
How long does it take to see results from changing meal timing?
You can start seeing changes in your hunger hormones within days. One study found changes in ghrelin and fullness hormones after just 4 days of early time restricted eating. Weight loss takes longer and depends on your total calorie deficit. A 500 calorie daily deficit produces about 0.5kg of fat loss per week.
Should I skip the same meal every day?
Consistency helps. Your body adjusts to regular eating patterns. Research shows irregular meal timing disrupts your circadian rhythm and can lead to worse metabolic outcomes. Pick a schedule you can maintain most days of the week.
What about eating one meal a day?
Eating one meal a day can work for weight loss because it creates a large calorie deficit. But the USDA research found that skipping multiple meals has a bigger negative impact on diet quality. Most nutrition experts recommend eating at least two meals spaced throughout the day.
Does coffee count as breaking a fast?
Black coffee does not significantly break a fast. Coffee contains almost no calories and does not trigger an insulin response. Adding milk or sugar adds calories and may reduce some fasting benefits.
Can I exercise if I skip dinner?
Yes. Many athletes train in a fasted state. If your workout is in the morning, you can train before eating without problems. If you exercise in the evening after skipping dinner, make sure you fuelled properly earlier in the day with enough protein and carbohydrates.
What if I work night shifts?
Shift workers face unique challenges with meal timing. The standard advice to eat early and fast at night may not work for you. Focus on keeping a consistent eating schedule relative to your work hours, even if that schedule differs from traditional mealtimes. Eating during your waking hours and fasting during your sleep hours still applies.
Meal timing can influence your weight loss results, but protein intake remains crucial regardless of your eating window. Discover the fastest way to get in shape alongside dietary changes, and learn whether 100g of protein is too much for your body. A personal trainer in Elwood can help you optimise both nutrition timing and training.
