Many people decide to lose weight by controlling their diet, often aiming to achieve this by reducing the number of meals they eat. Consequently, whether to skip breakfast or dinner has become a highly debated topic among those trying to lose weight:

The “skip dinner” camp believes: Skipping dinner, going to bed hungry, and then eating a hearty breakfast the next morning is sure to help you lose weight!

The “skip breakfast” camp argues: Eat dinner, then start work or school right after waking up—or sleep straight through till noon—and have lunch as your first meal of the day. That's bound to make you lose weight!

“Skipping a meal helps you lose weight” sounds pretty logical, but is skipping dinner or breakfast actually better? This article will break it down for you.

1. Skipping breakfast vs. skipping dinner: Little difference in fat loss

In a study published in the top medical journal Cell, researchers divided 30 healthy obese individuals into two groups for a controlled experiment[1].

While keeping daily calorie intake and total energy expenditure roughly equal,

one group consumed 45% of their food at breakfast, while the other consumed nearly the same amount of calories at dinner.

After about 8 weeks of observation, it was found that both groups lost almost the same amount of weight.

In a nutshell:

Whether we choose to skip breakfast or dinner, as long as the overall calorie deficit remains unchanged, the effect on fat loss is largely the same.

This conclusion was also supported by a 16-week randomized controlled trial conducted by Dhurandhar et al. involving 309 overweight participants. When total intake and expenditure remained constant, the group that skipped breakfast did not lose more weight than those who ate breakfast [2].

While this may be somewhat disappointing, most similar studies indicate that whether you choose to “skip breakfast” or “skip dinner,” achieving weight loss is possible as long as you manage your overall intake and expenditure.

However, the study also found that participants who consumed more calories in the morning experienced more stable appetite, stronger satiety, and reduced food cravings—potentially aiding dietary control.

If you wish to further stabilize your appetite, aim to consume most of your calories earlier in the day, effectively achieving “eat well during the day, stay full at night.”

2. Two Meals a Day vs. Multiple Meals: To Lose Weight, Cut Down on Snacking

Many advocate for “eating smaller, more frequent meals,” driven by the same logic: if you keep total daily calories constant, wouldn't it work to eat less per meal, have more meals, and eat when hungry?

The idea sounds appealing, but putting it into practice is often challenging. A 2019 study examining the impact of eating frequency on health compared low-frequency eating (1-2 times/day) with high-frequency eating (5-6 times/day). The findings revealed:

Individuals who ate more frequently showed a significantly increased risk of developing diseases and gaining weight.

The reason frequent eating leads to weight gain is that without meal timing control and with high frequency (meaning eating whenever desired, multiple times a day), overall calorie intake becomes harder to manage. Ultimately, it achieves “more meals” without achieving “less food” [3].

Conversely, low-frequency eating can more easily create fasting windows without restricting meal times. This reduces food cravings, hunger sensations, and eating urges while regulating gut microbiota [4, 5].

Therefore, if you wish to increase meal frequency, it's best to combine this with time-restricted eating:

If you don't want to skip any meals, you can consume three meals (or even snacks) within an 8-hour window while controlling total calorie intake. The “16+8 intermittent fasting” method doesn't strictly limit meal frequency; instead, it regulates body hormones and total energy intake by creating fasting windows, ultimately achieving fat loss.

3. Consistency is Key to Healthy Eating

By now, you've probably grasped the main points:

Alright! Starting today, I'm skipping dinner, cutting out snacks and extra meals, and waiting to see dramatic weight loss in 8 weeks!

Hold on!

Research also shows:

If you consistently eat frequently and then suddenly switch to infrequent meals—or constantly flip between high and low frequencies—this irregular pattern can actually increase hunger-related hormones, disrupt metabolism, and even raise the risk of weight gain [6].

In other words, if you've consistently followed a “multiple meals a day” high-frequency eating pattern and abruptly switch to low-frequency eating (like cutting down to just one meal daily), you're not only unlikely to lose weight but may actually gain it. This shift could also negatively impact digestive function.

The recommended approach is to start by reducing snacking and eating until about 70% full at each meal. Gradually transition to a 16:8 fasting schedule or “skipping one meal,” paying close attention to your body's signals along the way. Supplementing with appropriate nutrition and incorporating exercise is the right path.

So, after reading this, have you decided what to eat tomorrow?

References:

[1]Ruddick-Collins, L. C., Morgan, P. J., Fyfe, C. L., Filipe, J. A. N., Horgan, G. W., Westerterp, K. R., Johnston, J. D., & Johnstone, A. M. (2022). Timing of daily calorie loading affects appetite and hunger responses without changes in energy metabolism in healthy subjects with obesity. Cell metabolism, 34(10), 1472–1485.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2022.08.001

[2]Dhurandhar E.J., Dawson J., Alcorn A., Larsen L.H., Thomas E.A., Cardel M., Bourland A.C., Astrup A., St-Onge M.-P., Hill J.O., et al. The effectiveness of breakfast recommendations on weight loss: A randomized controlled trial. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2014;100:507–513. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.114.089573.

[3]Paoli, A., Tinsley, G., Bianco, A., & Moro, T. (2019). The Influence of Meal Frequency and Timing on Health in Humans: The Role of Fasting. Nutrients, 11(4), 719. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11040719

[4]Paoli A., Bosco G., Camporesi E.M., Mangar D. Ketosis, ketogenic diet and food intake control: A complex relationship. Front. Psychol. 2015;6:27. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00027.

[5]Alhussain M.H., Macdonald I.A., Taylor M.A. Irregular meal-pattern effects on energy expenditure, metabolism, and appetite regulation: A randomized controlled trial in healthy normal-weight women. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2016;104:21–32. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.115.125401.

[6]Alhussain, M. H., Macdonald, I. A., & Taylor, M. A. (2016). Irregular meal-pattern effects on energy expenditure, metabolism, and appetite regulation: a randomized controlled trial in healthy normal-weight women. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 104(1), 21–32. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.115.125401[7]Bradley J., (2022). The idea that we should eat three meals a day is surprisingly modern. How many meals a day is best for our health? BBC Future.[8]Maukonen M., Kanerva N., Partonen T., Kronholm E., Tapanainen H., Kontto J., Männistö S. Chronotype differences in timing of energy and macronutrient intakes:A population-based study in adults. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2017;25:608–615. doi: 10.1002/oby.21747.