The Best Time to Drink Bone Broth for Weight Loss

You’ve been trying to lose weight, and you keep hearing about this trendy drink called bone broth.

Your friend swears it’s helping her lose weight, but you’re not sure if it’s just another fad.

As you scroll through your phone late one night, you wonder: is there really a “best time” to drink this stuff for weight loss? And more importantly, does it actually work?

Let’s dig into when you should be having this drink.

What is The Best Time To Drink Bone Broth For Weight Loss?

Drinking bone broth about 30 minutes before meals can help curb your appetite, and there’s some science behind why this works.

When you sip on warm bone broth, it starts filling up your stomach. This sends signals to your brain that you’re starting to get full, even before you’ve eaten your main meal.

The warmth of the broth can also be soothing and satisfying, which might make you less likely to overeat later.

Bone broth contains protein, which takes longer for your body to digest compared to carbs or fats. This slower digestion helps you feel full for a longer time.

The protein in bone broth can also help balance your blood sugar levels, which can prevent sudden hunger spikes. Some bone broths also contain collagen, which may help improve feelings of fullness.

When you drink the broth, it also stretches your stomach slightly. This stretching activates receptors in your stomach that tell your brain you’re getting full.

As a result, when you start eating your actual meal 30 minutes later, you may already feel partially satisfied and eat less overall.

The liquid nature of bone broth is important too. Liquids move through your stomach faster than solid foods, so the appetite-suppressing effects can kick in quickly.

Plus, the volume of liquid helps create that feeling of fullness without adding many calories.

It’s worth noting that while this strategy can be helpful, it’s not magic.

The effects can vary from person to person, and it works best as part of an overall healthy eating plan.

But for many people, this pre-meal bone broth habit can be a useful tool in managing appetite and potentially supporting weight loss efforts.

Also Read: Best Time To Drink Dandelion Tea For Weight Loss

Optimal Times To Drink Bone Broth For Weight Loss

Here are some times that you can have bone broth to maximize your weight loss

As a Snack

One of the best times to have bone broth is when you’re hungry between your main meals, such as lunch and dinner, and you’re craving something.

Why not have a bone broth? It’s super weight-loss-friendly; one cup of broth on average contains about 30-40 kcal, which is fairly negligible.

With this, you get two benefits: you’re getting at least 9-10 grams of protein, plus you’re satisfying your hunger pangs while staying within your daily caloric limits and not going overboard.

30 Minutes Before Meal Time

Since it’s a liquid-based dish, you can consume bone broth right before mealtime to suppress your hunger levels, which in turn helps you avoid overeating during your meal.

In my experience, I’ve seen people with huge appetites struggle to satisfy their hunger without overeating.

One of the biggest challenges is often having excessive hunger levels.

By strategically using bone broth 30 minutes before mealtime, you trick your brain into believing you’re actually giving it food.

The sensation of liquid filling your stomach can trigger the release of satiety hormones, resulting in feeling less hungry when it’s time to eat your meal.

As a Post Workout Meal

To lose weight, you need to have a consistent workout routine that you follow throughout the week, either in a gym or through home workouts.

The routine should be challenging enough that you feel muscle soreness the next day.

This soreness indicates that your muscles have undergone micro-tears in the muscle fibers due to the demands placed on them during exercise.

To rebuild and become stronger, your muscles need two things: protein and sleep.

While sleep can be addressed later in the evening, having a post-workout high-protein meal can be beneficial. This is another opportunity to have your bone broth.

One cup of bone broth contains approximately 9-10 grams of protein, which isn’t a lot, but you can increase that by adding more meat pieces.

Bone broth is also rich in minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, and potassium, all of which are known as electrolytes.

On days when you do intense workouts like running on the treadmill or cycling, you lose many of these electrolytes through sweat.

By having bone broth as a post-workout meal, you not only get protein but can also replenish your electrolytes.

Also Read: 10 Best Exercises For Weight Loss

Potential Benefits Of Drinking Bone Broth For Weight Loss

The following are the potential benefits of drinking bone broth for weight loss.

Low in Calories

Bone broth is typically very low in calories, with most varieties containing only 30-50 calories per cup.

This makes it an excellent option for those trying to create a calorie deficit for weight loss.

By replacing higher-calorie snacks or beverages with bone broth, you can significantly reduce your overall calorie intake without feeling deprived.

This can be particularly helpful for managing hunger between meals or as a late-night snack option.

Appetite Suppression

Drinking warm bone broth before meals may help suppress appetite.

The combination of warmth, liquid volume, and nutrients can send signals of fullness to your brain.

This pre-meal strategy might lead to eating smaller portions during your main meal, naturally reducing calorie intake without feeling overly restricted.

Supports Intermittent fasting

For those practicing intermittent fasting as a weight loss strategy, bone broth can be a valuable tool.

During fasting periods, it can provide some nutrients and electrolytes without significantly impacting the fast or adding many calories.

This can help manage hunger and maintain energy levels while sticking to the fasting schedule.

Alternative to Unhealthy Snacks

One of the biggest challenges in weight loss is managing cravings and avoiding high-calorie snacks.

Bone broth can serve as a satisfying alternative to these snacks. Its savory flavor and warmth can help curb cravings, especially for salty or high-fat foods.

By replacing chips, crackers, or sugary snacks with bone broth, you can significantly reduce your calorie intake while still feeling satisfied.

Also Read: Best and Worst Drinks For Weight Loss

Downsides Of Drinking Bone Broth For Weight Loss

Drinking bone broth also comes with its own set of downsides such as the following.

Not Beneficial as a “Bone Broth Diet”

I don’t know if you are aware but there is an eating plan called The bone broth diet.

It is a 21-day plan that’s a mix of a Paleo diet and intermittent fasting, with a twist of bone broth magic.

For five days a week, you eat Paleo-style meals. This means lots of meats, fish, eggs, and veggies that don’t have much starch and healthy fats. But you can’t have dairy, grains, or sugars.

Then, for two days a week, you do mini-fasts where you mostly just drink bone broth.

This might sound good, right? But it’s not really helpful for losing weight.

Let me explain why.

First, it’s very strict. You’re mostly drinking bone broth and eating Paleo, which means you can’t eat a lot of food.

This can make you miss out on important nutrients that come from eating many different kinds of food.

Second, right now, there are no studies that have looked at how the Bone Broth Diet affects weight loss.

So all the weight you might lose while on this diet is basically from eating a lot less food than normal.

This means when you go back to eating normally, you might quickly gain back the weight you lost. This is called “yo-yo dieting.”

It is Expensive

High-quality bone broth, especially from organic or grass-fed sources, can be quite expensive. If you’re drinking it regularly as part of your weight loss plan, this cost can add up quickly.

Making your own bone broth at home can be more cost-effective, but it’s time-consuming and requires a significant upfront investment in bones and other ingredients.

The high cost might make it unsustainable for some people to continue long-term as part of their weight loss regimen.

Not a Complete Meal Replacement

While bone broth is rich in protein and certain minerals, it lacks many essential nutrients found in whole foods.

It doesn’t contain significant amounts of carbohydrates, fiber, or a wide range of vitamins.

If you rely too heavily on bone broth as a meal replacement, you might miss out on important nutrients your body needs for optimal health and weight management.

A balanced diet including a variety of whole foods is crucial for sustainable weight loss and overall well-being.

Exaggerated Claims of Its Benefits

When it comes to bone broth and weight loss, it’s important to understand that there’s no magic ingredient or special power in bone broth that directly makes you lose weight.

While many people believe bone broth is a great tool for shedding pounds, especially in diets like the keto diet, the scientific evidence to back this up is pretty thin.

Sure, bone broth has some good nutrients, but there’s nothing in it that specifically targets fat or speeds up your metabolism in a unique way.

The idea that it’s a weight loss superfood has become popular, but it’s more of a trend than a proven fact.

The bone broth itself isn’t doing anything special to burn fat or boost weight loss.

It’s low in calories and can be filling, which might help some people eat less, but so can many other low-calorie foods or drinks.

So while bone broth can be part of a healthy diet, it’s not a guaranteed weight loss solution.

Conclusion

While there isn’t a single “best” time to drink bone broth for weight loss that works for everyone, incorporating it strategically into your daily routine can potentially support your weight loss efforts.

Whether you choose to have it before meals to curb appetite, as a low-calorie snack between meals, or as part of your evening routine to avoid late-night snacking, consistency is key.

Remember that bone broth is not a magic weight loss solution, but rather a tool that can be part of a balanced, calorie-controlled diet. Its low-calorie, high-protein nature can help manage hunger and provide nutrients, but it’s most effective when combined with an overall healthy eating plan and regular physical activity.

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