Strategic Eating: How Meal Timing Impacts GLP-1 Response and Metabolic Health

Meal timing significantly impacts GLP-1 response, appetite regulation, and metabolic health, making strategic eating schedules as important as food choices for weight management and overall wellness.

• Strategic meal timing optimizes metabolism, weight loss, and gut health while reducing sugar spikes
• Spacing meals 4-5 hours apart naturally increases GLP-1 production and improves insulin sensitivity
• Eating earlier in the day (front-loading calories) leads to better metabolic response than late-night meals
• Avoiding food 2-3 hours before bedtime improves digestion and metabolic function
• Meal composition sequence matters: protein first, followed by fats and fiber, then complex carbs
• Quality protein at each meal reduces cravings and hunger spikes
• Smart snacking requires protein-forward choices rather than simple carbs or sugary options
• Many hunger signals are actually dehydration, boredom, or stress responses

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Meal Timing
• 3:45 GLP-1 and Digestive Regulation
• 7:04 Optimal Meal Frequency
• 9:52 Best Times to Eat
• 12:44 Late Night Eating Effects
• 15:19 Smart Snacking Strategies

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:25

Hi, how are you? So let's go into module three. We're talking about meal timing, what that is intermittent fasting, effects that it has on GLP-1, naturally or with additional medications. So the overview of this is thinking about meals, when to eat them, the frequency spacing them out, does it matter? Does it help with secretion? Does it help with digestion? Does it help with appetite regulation and insulin sensitivity? You'll understand that strategic meal planning how you eat on your plate can optimize your metabolism, weight loss, weight loss, maintenance, gut health and reducing blood sugar and spikes and cravings. So it does matter. You'll hear like is a certain order of foods? Is there certain times to be eating certain foods to be eating? The answer is yes, and it's just a matter of understanding the nutritional aspects of this. So how does it happen?

Speaker 1: 1:22

So, when you're talking about the role of digestion, appetite regulation and insulin sensitivity, again we're talking about GLP-1s, right? So it's a glucagon-like peptide hormone released in the gut to respond to food intake. What we're eating, and a major role of that in the metabolic health is to help regulate your appetite. You know you're trying to slow down the gastric emptying so you're not as full. You're working on insulin sensitivity so that you don't have as much insulin resistance and it helps make sure that glucose is used efficiently and then it's processed through the liver and through the body so that we don't have excess of insulin and that resistance and then also, in turn, will help reduce inflammatory response within the gut, within the metabolic health and within the body, which then will cause less and less chronic disease or other health issues, which can go a long hand with individuals with obesity or chronic inflammatory diseases. So how is food timing affected and what does that mean? So think of it like you're eating consistent times, most of the time steady when you have medication, or naturally boosting your medication, so it helps you from preventing hunger strikes like the hunger spikes within the body.

Speaker 1: 2:32

So skipping meals or eating irregular can lead to a GLP lower, but there is benefits by some fasting, because when you eat too much, you never give your body some time to kind of rest and digest. But when you fast too much too, in turn it could also hold things in. Um, so frequent snacking isn't necessarily a good thing, but you want to give yourself, let's say, about every three to four hours as a possibility for some individuals. Um, but let's consider it and how it impacts you and different ways to do it, so it varies from each person, but there is a you know, an overview of what you can do that will help. So is more meals better or worse for GLP response?

Speaker 1: 3:21

Now, frequent eating five to six meals a day may reduce the GLP impact and constantly trigger insulin. So you'll hear back in the day they'd say I want you to eat five to six meals a day, and is this actually causes you to have less appetite control? Um, it used to be like three meals a day and two snacks. Um, that really isn't necessarily the the thing. You know. You want to have some balanced meals. You know at least a good hearty lunch, a quality protein. Protein will always be your beginning start of your meal. But so that it helps space it out, um, the five meals might actually be too much on the insulin resistance and on that to the body. So when your meal spacing and GLP one in conjunction think ideal meal spacing about four to five hours so then you're eating.

Speaker 1: 4:09

Spacing and GLP-1 in conjunction think ideal meal spacing about four to five hours. So think you're eating about every four hours on GLP-1 in your body to rest and digest. If you don't do that you're going to have those insulin spikes and unnecessary snacking. What happens is is that individuals find themselves hungry or actually dehydrated and then they go in turn to look for the high sugary foods or carbs or caffeine to help bring up that energy spike and they never really got enough quality hydration or protein to give them the energy to sustain that three to four hour window. So meal spacing itself is ideal to get your body into a natural rhythm. It helps release more GLP-1 naturally, in addition to if you were taking medication. It will help kind of get you past that plateau.

Speaker 1: 5:00

Studies do show that you know early eating in the day, front-loading calories, leads to better GLP response and improving sun sensitivity. So you're best having larger morning and lunch meals than you are having a dinner meal, because the metabolism and the body will take a longer time to break down that food in the evening time. Eating too late it also will suppress the GLP-1 and also your body's metabolism, leading to poor digestion, cravings and metabolic dysfunction. That's why they usually say you know, really don't eat three hours before bed and if you're going to have a little something, you know mindfully when you're going to have those meals, it shouldn't be something that you do every night, the night snacking and what you're doing Is it a protein kind of meal, whether that's like a cheese or a natural shake or a eggs yogurt, something that will be more sustainable than just having, like, just a big bowl of cereal or some crackers or something like that. So what is the best time to eat to maximize your GLP response? So how would you do that for yourself?

Speaker 1: 6:13

Ideal meal schedule usually is when you first wake up. Think of it like breakfast, the first one to two hours within your wake up time. This boosts your JLP1 and boosts your metabolism, because that's the idea, right, you're trying to build up your metabolic health and it prevents cravings. So when you first wake up, that first hour, usually it's some water hydration, then you know if you want your whatever. That morning drink of choice is coffee, tea, dandelion tea, whatever that is. And then midday, about four hours after your breakfast helps maintain that steady flow. And then dinner, and then say you're going to bed around 10 o'clock. You'd ideally like to stop eating about seven. So about two to three hours prior to sleep, you like to stop eating. Um, and then during those times you could have, like teas, waters, um, things that really don't have much of a metabolic um dysfunction, so you're not going to have sugary things that you really want to kind of modify that as much as possible.

Speaker 1: 7:18

If you're really trying to restrict, now, there's time restrictions that are used that people may consider. So there's one called best window. So sometimes people will just only eat between like 10 am to 6 or 8 to 4, or think of it like your circadian cycle, so when it's light out you could eat, and when it's dark and then it starts to become more dusk, you would eat less. Now, obviously, if you're in an environment where it's always light out or it's always dark, that's not going to work for you. If you're a nighttime, night shift worker, that won't work for you. So think yet that circadian rhythm eating won't work for you, but you really would still be best thinking of the meal timing and what kind of foods that are important for you. So that is where it comes into play for you. So maybe the circadian might not work because you're a late night eater and or you're a nighttime worker. Okay, that doesn't apply. So now we have to figure out what can work for you and your schedule. Think whether you're sleeping during the day or in the night.

Speaker 1: 8:20

So how late night eating and irregular meal patterns can affect your metabolic health. So it affects it negatively by decreasing GLP-1. It leads to more hunger the next day. So when you eat late you're actually more hungry the next day. Um, it increases more insulin within the body. Um, you have higher risk of diabetes, metabolic dysfunction, other high insulins and um. So it does disrupt your circadian cycle. So you actually get poor sleep and poor digestion. Um, and then in turn, when you eat later, your body's not metabolizing as well. Your liver is not doing as much of that because it's in certainty and is that rest and digest and reset. So it's actually storing in more fat benefits of eating earlier. Um, you just get less hungry. You're able to get control that appetite. Um, improves that insulin sensitivity within the body and, again, a little bit less bloating and such, depending upon how it is for you. So that's kind of like that.

Speaker 1: 9:24

Let's see how would you do this Right? So let's talk about when first, like I said, you first wake up one to two hours, then you space your meals about every four, then you avoid eating two to three hours before bed to help with better digestion. That's what it's called with meal timing. Now, how do you track this? You can use a food journal. You can use your phone. There's a lot of apps now and you know those are ways of doing that. You know, aim to just have modified meals for yourself. That would work.

Speaker 1: 9:55

Now, this, again, like I said, this is all about balancing meals, balancing what you want. Now I will put in the action steps, ways and different things to help balance the meals. Think about your first priority. When you're eating, you're going to have like some hydration, you're going to choose protein and you're going to choose a modified quality carb and good fat. Now, what that is for you is different, and then you're going to. I know that you're going to have questions about how do we snack. Now, smart snacking is depending upon what you choose. You know, if you're choosing that candy bar instead of choosing the right things when you're having certain kinds of cravings, you need to work on that right. You need to figure out why is that cravings? We need to work on that right. We need to figure out why is that.

Speaker 1: 10:49

So, just like balanced meals are important, balanced snacks are just as important. So I will put in some nutritious meal ideas for you and snack options. But think always in each meal protein first. But, um, think always in each meal protein first. You boost your GOP one, then you're going to take in a little bit of fat, and then your fibery starch food or veggie to slow the metabolism. So you could do protein, fibrous food, a little bit of fat and the complex carbs If you need a little bit more energy, um, and the meal composition, then that would be quality. Now, if it's just a sugary donut, cinnamon roll, junky cereal, you know, don't be surprised if you have an insulin spike by midday and you're starving and then by three o'clock you're dead, you're like out of it and need so much energy reset. That is common and it just means you probably didn't have enough protein and quality nutrients in your diet. And, like I said, I will put in some more meal recipes for you and ideas for smart snacking. Yes, you're going to have maybe those three meals that might work for you, or you might have one big meal and two smaller meals.

Speaker 1: 12:04

Um, again, the smart snacking comes down to keeps everything kind of steady, doesn't make you overeat, cause extreme hunger. So when you're getting in that hunger time so like right now as I'm recording. I'm going to go be getting a snack right after this because it's my um morning um snack and I need to, you know, get my energy back. So I can't choose chips, crackers, pastries, right, cause that just causes more of a blood sugar spike and major crashes.

Speaker 1: 12:31

Sugary snacks If they don't have a good quality protein in them, they just may not be good. And and yogurts when I talk about yogurt, I'm talking about plain yogurt. You know nothing else in it. It should just be that. And if you're going to add some whole fruit into that because if it's anything junky, then you know it's not going to be good for your body. Um, high carb snacks without protein not really worth it. I mean, you really got to be mindful of what you're going to be doing with that. If you're going to be working out and you're adding that to your regimen, then you may be able to have a little bit of some M&Ms or something. But if you're doing that on a daily basis, do not be surprised if it's leading to some rebound hunger.

Speaker 1: 13:09

So best supporting snacks that you can do um like high? Um hard boiled eggs. Uh, collagen in your um smoothies, greek yogurt uh, turkey and chicken roll-ups Um, if you're a um vegan, you can do like protein shakes. Um, there's a lot of like uh Thomas, uh beans that can be added in dips, um chia pudding, avocados with sea salt, almond butter. So if you have like a salty craving, I recommend, like cucumbers, a little salt, even um popcorn can be um an element of you. If it's measured properly and it's more fibrous and you add in protein, you can actually do that without too much butter. Um, berries and cottage cheese, roasted chickpeas are all so good I usually love that as a replacement of tater chips. I do like um nuts if you don't have it too excess. Um, then avocados, if you're a fan, turkey slices, berries, and I'm a big fan of yogurt.

Speaker 1: 14:09

So you know our house is very, very basic stuff, but we try to keep it simple and we do still. You know adults, you know we did have a slice of pizza the other day. So it does happen. You can, you can have that, but it's not on the regular. And where do you put these snacks and how do you structure them?

Speaker 1: 14:27

So when you're feeling hungry, you may be bored or stressed, so you might want to put in a snack idea there, but a healthy option I'm. Usually I go for apples, sometimes nuts and some yogurt. Usually those are my go-to ones and I try to have them more available as possible, instead of having chips in the house. If I have chips, I'm going to eat them, just like you guys do. So don't think that it's just. I have just as much cravings as everyone else. But I try to create, I try to mine them with, adding more of that quality protein and nutrition, so that my body doesn't ask for the junk. If you're not eating out of habit, then you're probably not hungry. So if you, sometimes your body just needs water and it needs hydration and sometimes you're just eating because you're bored and you're stressed and you really kind of have to focus on that and your body might, might also need some sort of adaptogen or cortisol regulation, and we'll talk about that in another lesson.

Speaker 1: 15:21

So action plans um, you know you're going to plan meals out. You're going to see how you can do that for the week. Modify it, keep it as simple as possible. I mean like, cut up some, you know, keep things accessible. Cut up fruits, cut up veggies, you know. Put up some dips in the in the house, you know, just just keep it simple as much as you can. It really helps. Let me tell you it's. You know it's. It's very um uh worth it, and I'll talk a little bit about fasting and how our metabolism is with uh intimate fasting and how that affects your body and what you need to know. Talk with you soon.