After a long day, you may enjoy eating a hearty meal, and then relaxing in front of the television, munching on some of your favorite snacks. Right? Well, if you have existing health challenges (or want to prevent them), including managing your weight, snacking in the evening is not a good idea. A recent study adds to the growing body of evidence that reveals that when you eat can be almost as important as what you eat.
Researchers found that the average adult consumes almost 40% of their daily calories after 6 PM, with their hunger peaking as late as about 8 PM. Not only is this long after you’ve probably completed most of your usual physical activities; but certain key processes in your body are reduced, making the digestion of food much less efficient.
This means you’re likely to go to bed with elevated blood sugar, which leads to storing more calories as body fat and increasing your risk of diabetes. Plus, digesting heavy meals can disrupt your sleep, causing an increase in appetite hormones and more weight gain.
Late-night meals and snacks also tend to include less nutritious food choices, like chips instead of fruit or a green salad.
Work with your body’s internal clock
Because of the body’s internal clock known as the circadian rhythm (which is regulated by light and dark), our bodies gear up in the morning, peak about mid-afternoon, and then begin to wind itself down into the evening gradually. It is because of this 24-hour physiological cycle that you should progress from the heaviest meal in the morning when your body (including your brain) most needs a good supply of nutrients for the long day ahead — to lighter meals as the day wears on. Eating your daily meals in this way will support greater physical and mental health.
Tips to eat your heavier meals during the earlier parts of the day:
- Skip the evening meal and snacks. This may be challenging at first, but commit for one week without any evening meal or snacks. This can result in several benefits like improved blood sugar management, enhanced release of the sleep hormone, melatonin, and increased morning appetite.
- Prioritize quality sleep. Having better control of your day starts with the night before. Getting regular quality sleep is essential for good health. Skipping the evening meal allows your body to rest without having to work for hours digesting food. Go to bed earlier so you can wake up feeling refreshed.
- Drink water. When you wake up, drink plenty of water. You lose about one liter of water due to breathing and perspiring each night. Rehydrating will make you feel more alert and stimulate your appetite.
- Morning exercise. Take a few minutes to get some exercise. This will invigorate you and also rev up your appetite. If your morning is especially tight on time, try a short workout. A brisk 10 to 15 walk or a few calisthenics will get your day off to a great start. Exercise is cumulative so you could always get more exercise later in the day.
- Eat a hearty breakfast. Go for a full-strength, nutritious breakfast. Include fresh fruit, whole grain cereals, and bread. If you’re not fond of cereals you could try a more savory meal in the morning. Try something like rice, beans, vegetables, and bread.
- Make it convenient. A nutritious breakfast can be simple. Decide what you’re going to eat in advance. Heat leftovers. Prepare the ingredients for a smoothie the night before and store it in your refrigerator.
- Pack your lunch. Take a well-balanced meal with you. This will help you avoid settling for fast food options. If you work at a desk, change locations to eat your lunch so that you can focus on enjoying it.
- Make your later meal your lightest meal. Some bodily functions like the production of insulin and digestion are decreased in the evening. For this reason, the later meal (if you choose to have one) should be light. Easily digested foods like smoothies, fruit, whole grain bread, and tomato soup are good choices. It would be best to avoid heavy protein and fatty foods in the evening.
And what about snacking? Eating between meals would keep your body constantly digesting food. This becomes taxing on the digestion organs. After one meal is finished being digested, your system should be allowed to rest before having to process more food.
As important as knowing what to put in your body is, it is also vital to know when (or when not to) put it in your body. The old saying, “Eat breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; and dinner like a pauper” offers sound wisdom for anyone who wants to experience greater health.
Photo by: Imranul Rahman