Dinner-canceling (losing weight without eating dinner) is the optimal fasting method for people who have no problem skipping a meal. With evening fasting, you only eat two meals a day.
The time between lunch and the next breakfast should be at least 14 hours. Since we spend most of that time sleeping, it's only hard to do at the beginning.
And certain foods only have to be omitted in the evening, which helps to prevent the dreaded yo-yo effect.
In this article, you will learn how to properly integrate evening fasting into your daily routine and what advantages this fasting method, also compared to interval fasting, has for you.
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Lose weight without skipping dinner – what is dinner canceling?
Dinner-cancelling or evening fasting is a form of nutrition or fasting that involves going without food or eating in the evening. There should be a 14-hour “fasting period” between the last meal and the healthy breakfast the next morning.
For example: if you have breakfast at 6:00, then you can eat until 4:00 p.m., but after that it's a break. If you feel hungry after your last meal of the day until you go to bed, you can compensate for this with liquid.
It is important to only use calorie-free drinks, such as water, black coffee or unsweetened fruit or herbal tea.
What are the benefits of dinner canceling? – An overview of the advantages
Skipping dinner has a number of benefits for your body. The hormone somatotropin influences weight loss.
The body produces a particularly large amount of somatropin when the amount of food consumed at night is reduced. Somatropin is a growth hormone that empties fat stores.
Dinner-cancelling vs. interval fasting: which is better? The two forms of nutrition are based on similar principles.
With intermittent fasting, you should skip breakfast. The first real meal should be at lunchtime.
If you can't get through your day without breakfast, then interval fasting is not for you. Skipping dinner is probably easier for you.
The “dinner-cancelling effect” has many positive effects:
- More energy for digestion
- Convert fat into muscle – i.e. promote muscle building – because fat burning is in full swing at night, especially if you had your last meal early.
- No yo-yo effect
- Body cells can regenerate better – so you prevent the aging process (anti-aging effect).
- Reduces the risk of chronic diseases
- Increased awareness of the feeling of hunger
- Better sleep
More about intermittent fasting
Can you lose weight by not eating in the evening?
Yes. Skipping dinner helps prevent food cravings and benefits your metabolism.
A study presented in the USA in 2016 1 was able to demonstrate an influence on body fat reduction.
Life-prolonging effects have been clearly demonstrated in animals. Humanoid studies on the anti-aging effect of the dinner-canceling fasting method are currently still few and far between. In general, there are many studies on intermittent fasting.
What should you not eat in the evening?
In the evening, you should avoid carbohydrates. Protein-rich foods are allowed.
Foods you should avoid in the evening:
- Bread
- Pasta
- Rice
- Ready-made dressings
- soft drinks
- ready-made salads
- sweetened fruit yoghurt
Risks and disadvantages of evening fasting
There are no health risks associated with dinner cancelling. The body can handle longer periods of hunger. However, visible success with this diet is only possible with discipline. In general, to lose weight, you should make sure to eat less than you consume.
At the beginning, it can be difficult to resist the hunger pangs, as your biorhythm is initially disrupted. You may experience food cravings and sleepless nights.
Heavy laborers or pregnant women should refrain from evening fasting due to their increased calorie needs. However, the advantages of evening fasting usually outweigh the disadvantages.
Alternative to evening fasting – 16:8 interval fasting
Who is evening fasting suitable for?
If you have certain metabolic disorders such as diabetes, you should be careful about evening fasting. As long as you don't have any chronic metabolic disorders, evening fasting can contribute to a healthy diet.
Not sure whether you should or can lose weight? Use our BMI calculator to immediately calculate your weight range. If in doubt, it is safer to talk to a doctor before starting dinner canceling.
Click here for the BMI calculator
How long should you fast at night?
Since evening fasting does not have any health disadvantages, it can be done permanently. It can be easily integrated into your daily routine because you are flexible about meal times, as long as you maintain the 14-hour interval and also avoid any drinks containing calories during this time.
Exceptions are allowed, for example if you have a large family dinner. Then you simply skip breakfast the next day.
Dinner-cancelling – a typical day
Your 16:8 fasting day is best started with a hearty breakfast. Oats are always an important part of this. At Verival, we recommend our porridge smoothie bowl with strawberries and raspberries. An energy-rich breakfast is prepared in just a few minutes:
Our nutty porridge brownies and Bircher muesli bar are ideal as healthy snacks between meals.
Our brownie recipe is for all figure-conscious chocolate lovers. They contain no animal fats or sugar, but are still deliciously moist.
The Bircher muesli bar contains only natural sweeteners in the form of apple and honey. Ancient grain oats and quinoa pops give it its bite. Perfect for on the go or as a snack in the office.
Our muesli and porridge support you in your healthy diet and in keeping your insulin levels in a good range – and on top of that, they taste great.
They keep you full for a long time and have positive effects on your blood sugar level. This makes it easier for you to follow the Dinner Cancelling Fasting Method with discipline and achieve weight loss. Do you want to read about other intermittent fasting methods, or are you wondering what interval fasting exactly is?
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- Longo VD, Mattson MP. Fasting: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications. Cell Metabolism . Published online February 2014:181-192. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2013.12.008
