Hi everyone this is Monica Reinagel and you're listening to the nutrition

Divas quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous. Today I want to talk a little bit about some very interesting new research on appetite

and how our biological signals do or maybe don't line up with our daily schedules.

So are you an evening snacker?

Well, you're not alone.

Even though people in the US commonly

eat their largest meal at the end of the day, many people still have a powerful urge to snack after dinner.

Weight loss clients often tell me that they eat well all day and then everything falls apart in the evening.

After dutifully sticking to their healthy, low calorie eating plan through breakfast, lunch and dinner,

they find themselves powerless to resist high calorie, salty snacks, and sweets in the evening.

It's as if we just run out of willpower at the end of the day,

but it turns out there may be a biological explanation for this.

Researchers at Oregon Health and Sciences University

recently found that our appetite has a strong circadian or daily rhythm that's completely independent of the timing of our

meals or our sleep patterns. No matter what eating and sleeping schedule the subjects in this study were on, their appetite

always peaked at 8 p.m. and was lowest at 8 a.m. Now think for a second about the

usual dietary advice.

We're told to always eat breakfast and refrain from snacking after dinner.

In other words, we're supposed to eat when we don't feel like it,

and then stop eating just as our appetite reaches its

natural peak. No wonder we struggle. I have to tell you that when I first read this

research my initial response was, why fight biology?

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