Optimal time for dinner
The last meal before bed is determined individually and depends primarily on the expected time of sleep. For example, if you have a habit of going to bed around 21:00, then your last meal time falls at 18:00, and not an hour later or earlier, because... A late dinner will be harmful to your health, and too early will cause discomfort for the night.
On average, a person's last meal before bed should take no more than 10 minutes. And this is quite possible, since for dinner only light dishes that do not require cooking are allowed. If dinner is delayed, the stomach will not have time to digest the food received, as a result of which the person will gradually gain weight (this will become especially noticeable in the abdominal area).
What is the ideal dinner?
For people with a healthy gastrointestinal tract, an ideal dinner includes foods such as:
- Boiled chicken meat (fillet or breast).
- Any vegetables that do not have high acidity (can be in the form of an unsalted salad).
- Cottage cheese without sour cream and sugar.
- Oatmeal.
- Kefir or yogurt with low fat content, and without added chocolate and sugar.
- Some fruits are banana, persimmon, apple, etc.
Important! Patients suffering from digestive tract problems are allowed to consume these products in small quantities, 1-1.5 hours before bedtime. Since going to bed on an empty stomach is prohibited if you have pathologies of the digestive system.
Of course, for people with good digestion, 3-4 hours before bedtime it is not prohibited to eat heavy food. After all, this time is enough for the stomach to digest the food received, but not enough to take it again.
How many hours before bedtime can you eat to avoid gaining weight?
Can late meals harm your figure?
Depending on the time of day, our body copes with food differently. At night, food stays in the stomach longer, and less energy is required to digest it. In addition, eating late can slow down your metabolism. One small experiment found that when participants ate a large snack an hour before bed, they burned 15 grams less fat per day than when they consumed the same portion for breakfast.
Another study of 20 men and women found that eating dinner at 6 p.m.—three hours before bed—fat oxidation was 10% higher than eating dinner at 10 p.m. Similar data were obtained in a two-week study involving 11 women. Participants who ate a 200-calorie snack at 10 a.m. burned 6.2 grams more fat per day than women who ate at 11 p.m. (fat oxidation increased by 12%). In addition, eating a large late meal can prevent you from falling asleep on time and getting a good night's sleep, and lack of sleep increases your appetite.
What time does it cost to have your last meal?
Try to eat at 18–19 hours. This eating schedule can speed up fat oxidation, improve insulin sensitivity and promote weight loss. Thus, in an experiment involving 12 healthy young people, eating a meal during the day—from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.—provided benefits for the figure compared to a later regimen—from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
With the same caloric intake, those who finished eating at 7 pm lost weight and lost weight in 8 weeks.
But if, due to work and other matters, you cannot sit down at the table until 20–22 o’clock, you should not make sacrifices and go to bed hungry. A late dinner will not necessarily lead to weight gain, and an early dinner will not necessarily lead to weight loss. If you are trying to lose weight, try replacing a full meal with a high-protein snack.
When can you eat your last snack?
Small, high-protein snacks 30 minutes before bed will not only not harm your figure, but can also help with weight loss. Two small experiments in young men and women found that 30–48 grams of protein 30 minutes before bed increased energy expenditure the next day by 4–5.5%. In addition, there is evidence that a serving of protein powder half an hour before bed increases the feeling of fullness the next day. At least this is true for overweight women. This way, you will not only go to bed full and without a heavy stomach, but you will also spend more energy and eat less the next day.
Eating after 18 pm
Most nutritionists strongly advise against eating after 6 p.m. (especially for women), arguing that eating a late dinner increases the risk of gaining weight. And indeed it is. After all, human biorhythms and meal times are closely related.
For example, when the human body is most active, the digestive tract works at full capacity, processing food, incl. and heavy. Closer to sleep, the body prepares for rest, and the organs of the digestive system at such a time slow down.
If you load the body while resting, then food absorption does not occur properly. As a result, beneficial substances do not enter the blood, but are deposited in the fat layers in the hips and abdomen. However, it is possible to satisfy hunger at a later time with light dishes.
Fresh vegetables
You can eat fresh vegetables 2-3 hours before bedtime, as they have a positive effect on the body. The following vegetables are considered useful for a late dinner:
- Beet. This vegetable regulates the metabolism of fat cells, allowing a person to maintain a toned figure after a late dinner.
- Cabbage. Thanks to its beneficial properties, cabbage takes pride of place in dietary salad recipes, which means it is also suitable for evening consumption.
- Pumpkin. One of the most high-calorie foods, rich in carotene. In terms of positive effects, it resembles carrots, but has a less pleasant taste. Although this is not for everyone.
- Turnip. A very necessary vegetable to eat before bed and treat diabetes.
If you don’t like fresh vegetables before bed, you can cook caviar or salad. Such a light dish will diversify your diet and help you lose weight if required.
Benefits of fresh fruits
Fresh fruits are considered no less healthy and easier on the stomach than vegetables. Therefore, eating after 18:00 is allowed and recommended by doctors and nutritionists. Experts recommend the following fruits:
- Kiwi. This fruit is recommended to be taken even after the main dinner, since it is able to break down fat and relieve heaviness in the stomach. Adding kiwi to your regular diet can trigger weight loss.
- Nectarines and grapefruit. These fruits contain a large amount of vitamins that help improve the functioning of the digestive tract.
- Pears. Unlike apples, pears do not increase appetite, so consuming them before bed is a smart decision.
Important! It is strictly forbidden to consume watermelon at night, as it has a diuretic effect. However, nutritionists advise adding it to your daily diet, as watermelon cleanses the kidneys and liver.
Despite the great benefits of fruits, they should be consumed in moderation so as not to provoke allergies.
Fermented milk products as an alternative to a light dinner
If a person is hungry, and in the refrigerator there are only those foods that cannot be eaten before bed, then it is recommended to satisfy your hunger with low-fat fermented milk products, namely:
- fermented baked milk;
- kefir;
- yogurt.
But the above dairy products should be consumed exclusively without sugar, as it neutralizes the beneficial properties.
Porridge
Among the porridges that can be consumed at a late hour, without harm to the stomach, only unsweetened oatmeal cooked in water can be distinguished. As for cereal porridges, buckwheat, pearl barley, semolina and others, it is better to eat them at lunch, since in order to process the elements, the stomach must work at full strength.
Perfect dinner pp. Calorie content
- You should eat 2-3 hours before bedtime. For each person, the time of the last meal will be individual and depends on his daily schedule. If you go to bed at 9-10 o'clock, then you should eat no later than 7 o'clock. Many people are night owls and go to bed no earlier than 12 o'clock, in which case they can eat at 9 and 10 o'clock in the evening.
- When losing weight, dinner should account for no more than 25% of the total daily calorie intake. This is approximately 300-400 (sometimes 500) kcal depending on your activity, height and weight. It is not uncommon for a person to eat very little during the day, and in the evening he pounces on food and sweeps away everything. To prevent this from happening, you should not skip the main meals - breakfast and lunch, even if you don’t have much of an appetite in the morning. And then for dinner you can easily meet the calorie allowance.
- A proper dinner when losing weight should consist of proteins and vegetables rich in fiber. Refuse the abundance of complex and simple carbohydrates, avoid foods with a high glycemic index.
- The approximate size of your serving should fit in two palms. At the same time, there should be two times less protein products than vegetables. Optimally – 250 g, of which 80-100 g of animal protein and 150 g of fiber.
- Kefir or other fermented milk products are not suitable as a main dinner. However, if you feel hungry after an evening meal, you can drink a glass of kefir at night - 30-60 minutes before bed. It satisfies hunger, is good for the stomach and contains extremely few calories.
When should your last meal be?
According to nutritionists, it is better to take your last meal 2-3 hours before going to bed. This period of time will be enough for the food to be completely digested and the stomach to rest during sleep. Also, 2-3 hours after a meal a person will not have time to get hungry, which means there will be no discomfort during sleep in the form of hunger pangs.
If you feel hungry just before going to bed, then you can’t wait to deal with this problem, since thoughts about food will not allow you to sleep peacefully. There are two ways to temporarily remove the feeling of hunger: try to mentally distract yourself or fill your stomach with a glass of water. The second method is recommended to be used if the first does not produce results.
Ideal dinner for weight loss. The main principles of a healthy dinner
Before moving on to specific dinner options for weight loss, let's first look at the basic principles of creating a healthy dinner. So what is important to know about your last meal?
1. You need to have dinner about 3 hours before bedtime. Not earlier, otherwise you will go to bed hungry. And not later, otherwise the food will not have time to be absorbed.
2. To avoid overeating for dinner, be sure to have a full breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack.
3. Forget about the rule: do not eat after 18.00. Unless, of course, you go to bed at 21.00.
4. Also forget about the rule: “eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend, and give dinner to your enemy.” You need to have dinner, otherwise hungry evenings will definitely lead you to an eating breakdown.
5. But you don’t need to overeat in the evening. Avoid situations where you snack during the day, and in the evening you decide to catch up on what you missed for the whole day.
6. As a rule, dinner should be 20-25% of the daily calorie intake.
7. The ideal dinner for weight loss should include protein and fiber-rich foods. Protein is a tool for building our muscles and bones, and fiber is a product that is not processed into fat cells.
8. If you still couldn’t restrain yourself and ate too much for dinner, don’t go on a hunger strike the next day. Better organize yourself an additional cardio workout.
9. You can limit yourself to evening kefir (for example, with bran), but only if you eat your calorie allowance during the day. Not the minimum of 1200 kcal, but the norm.
10. The most important rule for losing weight: eat less than your body can burn in a whole day. Therefore, yes, counting the caloric content of the diet and maintaining the balance of dietary fat is the basic principle of nutrition throughout the day, regardless of the correct “dinners” and “breakfasts”. BUT! If you learn to properly plan your menu during the day, you are guaranteed to achieve weight loss faster.
What can you do before bed?
Information on how long before bedtime you can eat fruits, vegetables, cereals and dairy products is presented above. However, this is not the entire list of what can be consumed after 18:00. In addition to these foods, bananas, nuts, egg yolk, almonds and even still water can also have a positive effect on the digestive tract before bed.
The benefits of a glass of still water
Still water is considered very beneficial for the human body, and its benefits are especially noticeable before bedtime. First of all, water can quench night thirst, which will save a person from frequent awakenings in the middle of sleep. When hunger occurs, still water can fill the stomach, temporarily, relieving cramps.
As for the general benefits that water has on the body, it can include:
- normalization of nutrients in the blood;
- saturating the body with oxygen;
- improved sweating.
However, frequent use of water can lead to trouble - an increased need to correct minor needs.
The benefits and harms of bananas before bed
Unlike other fruits, bananas are not recommended by nutritionists for consumption after 18:00. But this opinion is fundamentally at odds with the medical point of view. After all, bananas contain a large amount of melatonin, which can induce sleep in a person. This means that if you eat bananas before bed, you can satisfy your hunger and get ready to dive into the kingdom of morphea.
Almonds and other nuts
Almonds have a very pleasant taste, and in addition, they contain a large amount of calories that fully saturate the body. At the same time, almonds, like other nuts, can be consumed before bed. However, this method of getting enough food after 18:00 will not be suitable for older people, since the oral cavity is no longer capable of grinding solid foods.
Important! In addition to calories, almonds also have a large amount of vitamins that have a beneficial effect on the nervous system. Therefore, long-term use of this product will improve sleep.
The relationship between carbohydrates at night and hormonal levels
Hormones are useful substances produced by the body that help regulate vital processes. However, a person’s hormonal level completely depends on the amount of carbohydrates, fats and proteins received during the meal. After all, it is in food that all of the above components are present, on which the normal functioning of our body is based.
Knowing how many hours before bedtime you can eat, a person is able to ensure pleasant dreams and well-coordinated functioning of the digestive tract, as well as the nervous system. To enhance the positive effect of proper nutrition, doctors recommend additional exercise (bodybuilding, running, football, etc.).
