Sports answers: can you eat after 6 pm
“Can I eat after 6 pm?” Is the most common question I get asked.
I answer: eating after 18.00 is not only possible, but also necessary. And that’s why.
WHY YOU CAN EAT AFTER 18.00
Anyone who wants to lose weight should monitor meal times and diet. If you eat in the evening, fat will not be stored. However, if you are on a diet, do not take more than 10 hours between meals.
The body stores food “in reserve” to save energy. During the next meal, hormones will be released, which will force you to eat more. So you definitely won’t be able to lose weight.
Metabolism slows down during sleep, but does not stop completely. Food in the stomach is still digested. At the same time, physical activity decreases in the evening. The body has nowhere to use the amount of energy from eating large amounts of food. Therefore, it does not matter what time you have dinner – before 6 pm or after. If you eat poorly and do not exercise during the day, you will not be able to lose weight.
WHAT TO DO TO LOSE WEIGHT
When losing weight, you must maintain an energy balance. Energy expenditure should exceed the number of calories consumed. If you are inactive during the day, try to consume most of your diet in the first half of the day.
To avoid gaining weight, eat dinner 3-4 hours before bed. And in 1-1.5 hours, make a small snack. During such a short-term intake, try to eat only easily digestible food and in small quantities.
Having a hearty dinner before bed is undesirable. The body needs to process all the food eaten into energy, which you simply cannot spend. The likelihood of becoming overweight will increase.
After 6 pm, it is better to eat lean protein foods and fiber. This way you will definitely not get fat. Protein and fiber speed up metabolism and burn fat. At the same time, the body does not lose water and muscle mass.
If you are a sedentary lifestyle, a simple diet will not help you. For healthy weight loss, you need to eat right and exercise. When exercising, the body uses fat stores as a source of energy. Regular exercise increases muscle mass, which helps you burn more calories at rest. Sport combined with proper nutrition is a guarantee of weight loss.
WHAT CAN YOU EAT AFTER SIX
In order not to get fat, you need to consume an amount of calories that does not exceed the daily norm of the average person. On average, that’s 1,500-2,500 calories. Of these, about 20-30% should be for dinner.
3-4 hours before bedtime
The preparation of the evening menu must be taken seriously. 3-4 hours before bedtime, you need to eat something that contributes to the rapid digestion of food, recovery after a working day and replenishment of fluid reserves.
For dinner, choose foods and foods that contain more protein and carbohydrates. Such food gives a feeling of fullness and is digested quickly. This means that extra pounds will not appear on the sides.
Proteins help maintain and increase muscle mass and also fill the blood with amino acids. Carbohydrates produce insulin and store glycogen in muscles and liver. Glycogen sends signals of fullness to the brain, so you definitely won’t feel like overeating.
Many people think that it is necessary to completely eliminate fats on a diet. This is not true. Fats are involved in the absorption of vitamins and minerals, which play an important role in a balanced diet.
Dishes suitable for dinner:
- vegetable salad;
- egg whites omelet;
- fruit;
- low-fat cottage cheese;
- chicken, turkey, or lean meat;
- Fish and seafood.
1-1.5 hours before bedtime
Choose low-fat, light and low-calorie foods. At the same time, you should like the dish and give a feeling of satiety and comfort. A diet full of restrictions and conventions quickly becomes boring and inevitably leads to a breakdown.
Why you need a late snack:
- satisfies hunger before bed;
- helps to fall asleep quickly;
- activates metabolism.
Ideal is low-fat yogurt or bran kefir. Such a set of foods will prevent you from gaining weight, even if you eat it right before bed. A snack like this keeps your body glucose and other nutrients needed. Just pour a few grams of bran with kefir, wait until they swell, eat.
Foods to eat as a snack before bedtime:
- dairy and fermented milk products;
- vegetables;
- berries;
- juice, green tea, and low-calorie drinks.
PERFECT DINNER
The perfect dinner follows a simple “plate rule”. Conditionally divide the dish into 4 parts: one will be for a side dish, the second for vegetables, the third for protein products and the remaining fourth for fruits. By following this rule, your body will receive all the essential nutrients.
An example of an ideal dietary dinner:
- buckwheat;
- lean boiled poultry meat;
- vegetable salad;
- an Apple;
- a glass of water or a cup of green tea without sugar.
TABLE OF FOODS YOU CAN EAT IN THE EVENING
| Product | Kcal / 100gr | Product | Kcal / 100gr | Product | Kcal / 100gr | Product | Kcal / 100gr | Product | Kcal / 100gr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal products | Fish and seafood | Dairy | Vegetables | Fruits and berries | |||||
| Boiled chicken | 135 | Squid | 75 | Yogurt (1.5%) | 51 | Eggplant | 24 | An Apple | 46 |
| Turkey | 150 | Boiled carp | 46 | Kefir 1% | 38 | Zucchini | 27 | Orange | 38 |
| Rabbit meat | 115 | Shrimp | 85 | Kefir 0% | thirty | Cabbage | 28 | Lemon | 31 |
| Fried chicken | 210 | Crabs | 70 | Milk (3.2%) | 60 | Carrot | 33 | Apricot | 46 |
| Chicken egg 1 pc | 65 | Bream | 48 | Whole cow’s milk | 68 | Cucumber | fifteen | Cherry | 49 |
| Pike | 41 | Curdled milk | 59 | Sweet pepper | 23 | Pear | 42 | ||
| Seaweed | sixteen | Ryazhenka | 85 | Salad | fourteen | Raspberries | 41 | ||
| Pollock | 70 | Fat-free cottage cheese | 72 | Tomato | 19 | Blueberry | 40 | ||
Don’t believe the myths about good nutrition. Use common sense. Even if you follow these rules, you will not be able to lose weight without exercising.