How to Avoid Compensatory Overeating
Why eating less often can make you eat more
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Why Eating Less Often Can Make You Eat More
A lot of people try to lose weight by skipping meals thinking “fewer meals = fewer calories.” But for many people it backfires.
The “Rubber Band” Effect
Think of your appetite like a rubber band.
Small, regular meals keep the band gently stretched.
Long gaps without food pull it tighter and tighter…
Until it snaps at night: bigger portions, faster eating, more cravings, and that “I deserve this” feeling.
That snap is compensatory eating—your brain trying to protect you from what it perceives as scarcity.
What the Data Shows
In tightly controlled research, late eating (same calories, just shifted later) increases hunger and changes appetite hormones in a direction that can make it easier to overeat.¹
A randomized trial in healthy women found irregular eating patterns worsened metabolic responses (like glucose) and altered the body’s “after-meal calorie burn,” which can nudge appetite and energy balance the wrong way.²
When researchers isolate how we eat, a meta-analysis of randomized trials shows that changing how often you eat doesn’t reliably reduce total intake—because many people naturally compensate by eating more per eating occasion.³
A 2024 meta-analysis of randomized trials found meal-timing strategies (including fewer meals / restricted timing) can help with weight loss on average—but results vary, largely because adherence and compensation differ person to person.⁴
The Practical Takeaway
If “eating less often” makes you feel too hungry, try this for 7 days:
Never arrive at a meal ravenous. (That’s when portions explode.)
Build your first meal around protein + fiber (eggs + berries, Greek yogurt + chia, tofu scramble + veggies).
If there’s a long gap, plan a “bridge snack” (20–30 g protein or a high-fiber snack).
Keep your eating window earlier, not later, when possible.
See you tomorrow for your next 1-Minute Health Tip.
To your zenith within,
Sara Redondo, MD, MS
References:
Vujović N, Piron MJ, Qian J, Chellappa SL, Nedeltcheva A, Barr D, et al. Late isocaloric eating increases hunger, decreases energy expenditure, and modifies metabolic pathways in adults with overweight and obesity. Cell Metab. 2022;34(10):1486-1498.e7. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2022.09.007.
Alhussain MH, Macdonald IA, Taylor MA. 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(1):21-32. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.125401.
Higgins KA, Mattes RD. Systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of portion size and ingestive frequency on energy intake and body weight among adults in randomized controlled trials. Adv Nutr. 2022;13(2):351-373. doi:10.1093/advances/nmab112.
Liu HY, Eso AA, Cook N, O’Neill HM, Albarqouni L. Meal timing and anthropometric and metabolic outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Nov 4;7(11):e2442163. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.42163.