Your morning routine could be the key to shifting those stubborn pounds, according to a dietitian who argues the first few hours after waking are when your body's metabolism works most efficiently for weight loss.
Dietitian Jennifer Pallian told GB News that simple changes to morning habits can make a real difference to how many calories you burn throughout the day.
From when you eat your first meal to what you put on your plate, these early choices affect everything from blood sugar levels to afternoon cravings.
Even something as basic as having a glass of water could help you eat less without feeling deprived.
The timing of your first meal matters more than you might think.
Miss Pallian explains that having breakfast before 9am helps improve blood sugar control and reduces belly fat storage.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
The dietitian advises against saving calories for evening meals
|GETTY
Research backs this up, with a long-term study showing that people who consumed most of their calories at lunch or earlier shed more weight than those eating the same amount later on.
Interestingly, the findings suggest it wasn't about what the respondents ate, but rather when they ate it.
"Mornings are your body's metabolic sweet spot," Miss Pallian told GB News. She pointed out that front-loading your calories early in the day, rather than saving them for evening meals, makes a genuine difference to weight loss success.
But what you choose for breakfast can be just as important as when you eat it, with Miss Pallian noting that protein-packed morning meals work particularly well for weight management.
Studies with young women who typically missed breakfast showed that adding a morning meal - especially one rich in protein - reduced food cravings and increased dopamine activity linked to the brain's reward system.
"Basically, the higher the protein at breakfast, the more likely it is to help curb cravings throughout the day," Miss Pallian explained.
Here's a wonderfully simple tip: drinking water before eating can help too. Having about 500ml of water half an hour before breakfast leads to consuming roughly 13 per cent fewer calories at that meal. While it might not sound dramatic for one sitting, doing this daily really adds up.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Protein-packed morning meals work particularly well for weight management
|GETTY
But all these morning strategies may work much better when you've had proper rest the night before, as Miss Pallian warned that poor sleep can sabotage your weight loss efforts before the day even begins.
Just one night of inadequate sleep, dropping from eight hours to only four, can increase hunger and cause you to consume more than 500 extra calories the following day.
That's enough to undo a week's worth of careful eating in just a few sleep-deprived days.
"While early eating and hydration help in the morning, the groundwork is really laid the night before," Miss Pallian shared.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter