The circadian system is essential to normal regulation of energy balance and metabolic health. Local circadian mechanisms shape rhythmic transcriptional and translational events in the brain and key peripheral tissues to cope with the daily switch between fed and fasted states. Importantly, clock function and individual components of the circadian clock contribute to homeostatic mechanisms which dictate physiological response to acute and chronic shifts in energy state and can mitigate response to metabolic perturbation, such as mistimed food intake. Here I will discuss some of our work examining the role of Rev-erbα (Nr1d1) in adaptive metabolic response to both acute energy deficit and chronic surplus in mice.