I just wanted to quote this, because it seems to be a widely common misconception when it comes to losing weight. Meal timing actually doesn't really have any affect on the body. I know plenty of people who fast all day and then eat two massive meals at night and they are super fit and in shape. They have also lost weight this way. The most important thing is staying within your calorie range and not going over your calories for the day. It doesn't matter when you eat your calories, just that you eat them. If you eat right before bed, you aren't going to gain the weight, what time of the day you eat doesn't matter either. Not eating after a certain time doesn't really make a difference in losing weight (as far as the numbers go).
Everyone is different though. You have to listen to your body. If you skip meals and it makes you too hungry and you end up eating way too much, then smaller meals throughout the day will be better. If eating before bed gives you stomach problems, then not eating a couple hours before bed is better.
The starvation mode thing is too misunderstood. Your body doesn't actually do any kind of famine storage mode until weeks of starvation. So one day of skipping a meal or a week of skipping lunch and still hitting your calorie goals isn't going to send your body into starvation mode.
I lost weight and I ate chocolate right before bed. It was my treat for the night. As long as it fits into your calories, you can eat whatever you want. That is for losing weight really, being healthy is probably a different story. But it isn't unhealthy to eat chocolate sometimes or pizza or whatever you want! I feel like denying yourself your favorite foods can only lead to disaster.
To everyone trying to lose weight, good luck and stay strong. Hopefully you guys can help each other stay motivated. I have gained some weight back that I lost and it is still creeping up. I need to get back on track and lose the weight again, but it is too hard. I think I am choosing eating lots of chocolate and cookies over being thin. (crazy me)
Meal timing is important,it may not be so important for some types of bodies but in general some people can't lose weight because of bad timing and some people,like you, are not so affected but will surely see some improvements if they try to time their meals.Also it depends on what type of food you eat.
Why is that?Well it's simple when you eat carbs your blood will be filled with glucose.After a certain level of glucose in your blood you pancreas must release insulin otherwise you die ,the excess glucose will be transformed into glycogen and if there is still to much, it will be transformed into fat.In fact it doesn't matter if it's your only meal in a week if the glucose level it's to high your body will transform it into fat after it fills glycogen reserves.
So if you eat all your carbs in one or two big meals most of it will be transformed into fat because it has no other place to go and your body needs it out of your blood.So spreading your carbs into many meals it will give time for the body to use the glucose from the blood,avoiding those high levels when insulin is released.
The time of the day when you eat is not really that important indeed but you need to synchronize it with your physical activity.
Also the body go into starvation mode quite fast actually less than a week (5-6 days) in fact it's not a time function but more like a calorie input function(the less you eat the faster you go into starvation mode).Also in starvation mode the body doesn't actually starts to deposit fat but it slows the metabolism which is a bad thing if you wana lose weight.The metabolism can get halved in some situations (so the body will need half the calorie input).
Quality of food is also important for the same reasons as why timing is important.Foods rich in simple carbs or sugars are very easily absorbed into the body rising the glucose level faster,so pizza is not very good because the dough is rich in simple carbs.With chocolate it's a different story it has some carbs but most of it's calories comes from fats which doesn't make the body produce insulin but still to much fat has other problems.
So it's not only about calories,it's not that easy to trick your body.For your body every day is a battle for survival (a live and death situation) and has lots of mechanisms to avoid losing that precious fat.
What I said works for everyone,but for some it's the only way while for some people ,like you (I assume you are a ectomorph),is not a must and have it easier with only some simple calorie management.
Uhh that was long a long reply.
