The root of weight loss is eating less calories than you burn in a day, choosing the right foods, and exercising to stay healthy.

That said, those aren’t the only steps you can take to optimize your weight-loss regimen. According to new research, the timing of your meals also determines the way those calories are used by the body, and eating breakfast may work in your favor if you’re trying to target fat. It all comes down to the body’s circadian rhythm, which has to do with a lot more than just when you get sleepy.

Circadian rhythms are any “physical, mental, or behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle,” according to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. In this particular study, researchers wanted to see how a person’s metabolism processes food at different points in the day and night.

They monitored the metabolisms of their subjects in whole-room respiratory chambers in two separate 56-hour sessions. In both sessions, the participants were given three meals a day, with lunch and dinner served at 12:30 p.m. and 5:54 p.m., respectively. In one of the sessions, they were given breakfast at 8:00 a.m., while the other provided them with a nutritionally equivalent meal at 10:00 p.m. instead. The overnight fast was the same for both sessions.

The researchers were surprised to find that although the total daily energy spent and nutrition was the same in both sessions, switching from breakfast to a late-night snack changed the way the body used carbohydrates and fat for fuel. When subjects ate right before going to bed, they burned less fat in a 24-hour period than when they ate breakfast and skipped the nighttime snack.

So is breakfast the most important meal of the day? We can’t say for sure, but the results of this study suggest that you should opt for breakfast instead of getting your calories in right before bed.

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski made his name by tackling through massive football players to score touchdowns, as well as throwing extravagant parties.

The retired Super Bowl champion-turned-CBD spokesperson may soon be tackling people again, but this time to a wrestling mat.

On WWE Backstage, a program that brings viewers behind the scenes of the world’s most famous wrestling promotion, correspondent and dirt sheet writer Ryan Satin reported that Gronk is close to signing a deal to appear in the squared circle as soon as later this month.

 

Per: @ryansatin 🚨BREAKING NEWS:🚨@WWE rumored to be close to a deal with @RobGronkowski #WWEBackstage pic.twitter.com/xnD7HV2UrX

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) March 11, 2020

 

 

While it’s unclear how Gronk would be used in the WWE, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to suspect he might tussle with some of the wrestlers as he’s done in the past. In 2017, he hopped the barricade at WrestleMania 33 to help his real-life friend Mojo Rawley win the Andre the Giant Battle Royale.

He’s even hinted at the idea previously, saying last year during an unrelated press conference, “With wrestling, I don’t feel like I would be a full-time wrestler, but there is one thing I’m down for. And that’s to do one crazy match. Practice it for a little bit, go out there – like in a Royal Rumble – go out there, I got my friend in WWE [Rawley], practice it and do a full-on WWE match.”

There’s a great opportunity for that to come true, as this year’s SummerSlam is taking place in Boston, the place he played in for his entire NFL career.

Triple H even hinted at this possibility when he and his wife, Stephanie McMahon, were at Gronk’s Super Bowl Beach Party in February. “Maybe you should come to our party in Boston,” Triple H said in a tweet. “Heard it’s the biggest of the summer.”

 

Thanks for the invite to the Beach Party @RobGronkowski … maybe you should come to our party in Boston … heard it’s the biggest of the summer. @StephMcMahon pic.twitter.com/eRQ8z0UmQI

— Triple H (@TripleH) February 1, 2020

 

 

Gronk certainly has the build and the personality to succeed in the WWE, and we’re sure someone like Rawley would train him well before he stepped foot in the ring. We look forward to this becoming a reality.

When it comes to losing weight, people will try just about anything: pills, an extreme diet, and even purposely starving themselves — err, we mean intermittent fasting. One strategy that’s been around for centuries is using herbal medicines such as teas, leaves, and powders. These products have been pushed by celebrities and alternative medicine enthusiasts as a way to lose your gut and feel better without taking prescription pills or having to undergo extreme lifestyle changes.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, according to one study, it is.

Researchers at the University of Sydney found that there is insufficient evidence to recommend herbal medicine for weight loss because the number of pounds shed through it only equaled about 5.5 pounds or less.

For the analysis, published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, the researchers looked at 54 randomized trials comparing the effects of herbal medicine for weight loss compared to a placebo. The herbal medicines included teas, other liquids, and powders made from green tea leaves, garcinia cambogia, white kidney bean, and African mango, along with hundreds of other plants.

They found that while the herbs did result in more weight loss than placebos, it wasn’t a lot — again, only about 5.5 pounds or less. Yet, one of the studies the researchers looked at found that 16 percent of U.S. adults have used herbal medicines to try to lose weight in the last year.

They also pointed out that, unlike pills, herbal treatments don’t need to be evaluated by federal agencies before they’re made available on supermarket shelves. Additionally, many of the products can be expensive and offer very little return on investment, they said.

If you’re a longtime reader of this site, there’s a good chance you’re not one of those people who turn to tea to shed a few pounds. You also know there’s only one tried-and-true way to lose weight: eat whole foods and consume fewer calories than you burn during a day.

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