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> Nutritionally speaking are most breakfast foods better to eat when I’m starting the day and dinner foods better at the end of the day or does it all mount to be a bout a wash.
No. If you ever find yourself in Japan get a traditional breakfast somewhere, you will think you are having dinner. Many countries the cultural tradition is many (6-10) small meals a day with not much distinguishing them.
American breakfast tradition is based on old English tradition where there were only two meals a day; breakfast served late morning (early lunch/brunch for us) and dinner. Over time breakfast moved earlier and a third meal was added (and in some parts of the world a fourth lighter meal), the types of foods served at different meals are purely cultural. Eggs got collected in the morning before breakfast so it made sense to use them, smoked & cured meats don’t take much time to heat up so quick meat solution, breakfast potatoes could be made with leftover boiled potatoes from the day before etc etc.
It doesn’t matter what foods you include but focus on protein & fiber as that’s what will keep you feeling full & energized all day. I generally shoot for 500-600 calories for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch and 500-600 for dinner.
Eggs are a fantastic breakfast food as they are healthy & packed full of protein. Add a side of overnight oats + some fruit and you have a fantastic breakfast. I know its not a huge thing in the US either but I also really like fish at breakfast (cheaper end sardines, expensive end smoked salmon). If you want to bring back an old English tradition kippers (smoked herring) and scrambled/poached eggs is a delicious breakfast.
If you are an elite athlete or have a medical condition then it can matter.
Otherwise, meal timing is largely irrelevant for weight loss or performance in the gym.
Source: Alan Aragon wrote quite a bit about this topic. But I read it last many years ago and the scientific understanding may have evolved.
I don’t think what class it’s in matters so much as what that meal contains. I’ve read that starting your day off with slow digesting carbs is good for first meal because it gives a steady flow of energy throughout the day. You could just as easily do that with lunch and dinner meals. I’d say the better focus is on what foods provide the most energy when your day is starting and not focus on whether it’s categorized as breakfast or dinner.
I thought a good way to think about it is, “Breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; dinner like a pauper.” Make the first meal of your day your biggest, and only eat three meals a day. Food helps early in the day to break the fast and act as brain food but generally speaking as long as the food is nutritional, your body knows when it is hungry and knows when to replenish
Slightly. Eating alot before bedtime disrupts sleep and your body will tend to store moret calories as fat.
In the fasted state in the morning, your body will partition more calories to muscle and liver glycogen.
I stop eating 5 to 6 hours before bed and it has helped my sleep and fat loss