The secret to losing weight: An earlier lunch?

Eating your big meal earlier in the day could help you shed pounds faster

The early bird looses the weight.
(Image credit: ThinkStock/iStockphoto)

Want to lose weight? You might want to keep your eye on the clock. Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Tufts University, and the University of Murcia in Spain may have stumbled on a neat little life-hack for helping people drop pounds: Eat lunch early.

In this study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, scientists enlisted 420 overweight participants in a 20-week weight-loss program in Spain. Unlike the United States, lunch in Spain is typically the largest meal of the day, accounting for 40 percent of a person's daily caloric intake. In this case, researchers divided participants into two groups: One early-lunch group (before 3 p.m.) and one late-lunch group (after 3 p.m.), and monitored their progress closely.

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While dining culture in Spain and the United States is indelibly different, the takeaway from this study is clear enough: Don't eat a lot later on in the day. In any case, it's a little pearl of wisdom to add to the holy weight-loss trinity of portion control, regular exercise, and plenty of vegetables and lean protein — especially since the bitter winter cold tends to do unkind things to one's waistline.

Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.