You may need to rethink your plans for tonight, now that a nutritionist has revealed the best times to eat dinner if you’re worried about weight gain.
Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal of the day. There’s also plenty of scientific evidence to support that idea.2019 research published in International Journal of Nutrition When it comes to breakfast, we conclude that larger portions are definitely better for people who want to lose weight.
Researchers at the University of Murcia in Spain found that people who ate a larger breakfast followed by a smaller dinner lost weight and improved markers of metabolic health compared to those who ate the opposite.
Basically, eating more calories early in the day gives you more time to burn them, and when combined with a smaller dinner, you can lose weight or keep it off. It becomes significantly easier.
But simply eating less dinner isn’t enough, says Blair Lofton, a registered dietitian at Lumen, the company that developed the world’s first metabolic health device that tracks your progress through your breath. It’s also about when you have it.
Lofton said. newsweek: “For the body to metabolize food efficiently and prevent weight gain, it is best to eat the last meal early in the evening to maintain harmony with the body’s natural circadian rhythm. Circadian Rhythms play an important role in regulating a variety of physiological processes, including digestion, sleep, and hormone production.”
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Essentially, the same logic applies as starting your day with a hearty breakfast. But dinner involves another element: sleep. Research has already shown that poor eating habits can negatively impact your sleep.
Research papers published in magazines obesity Earlier this year, a direct link between an unhealthy diet and poor deep sleep quality was identified. In a series of experiments, researchers found that eating junk food affected the depth of sleep and quality of recovery.
Overall, we found that the effects of an unhealthy diet on deep sleep are similar to changes in sleep quality that occur with aging and disruptive conditions such as insomnia.
But Loften believes it’s not just what you eat that matters, but when you eat it. Simply put, the sooner the better.
“Eating a few hours before bed gives your body time to digest and absorb nutrients, allowing your body to focus on repair and rejuvenation rather than digestion during the night, resulting in more restful and restorative sleep. “It’s possible,” Lofton said.
So if you want to maintain or lose weight, when is the best time to eat dinner?
“Overall, it’s best to stop eating three hours before bed,” says Lofton. “This helps the body shift toward burning fat for fuel in the morning, which is key to a functioning metabolism that makes weight management easier.”
Research published in scientific journals cell metabolism Last year, we announced that eating late in the day can negatively impact weight gain. Researchers have found that eating four hours later than usual causes significant changes in some of the physiological and molecular mechanisms in the body. Your overall risk of obesity increases and you get less sleep, which is also important in burning fat.
The message from both researchers and nutritionists is clear. A balanced diet is important, but the slower you eat, the worse your weight gain.