In order to limit weight gain, eating at the end of the day remains an essential point for the body. Here are five tips to follow to better manage eating problems that you may encounter after 5 p.m.
Based on analyzes provided by American dietitians contacted by the online magazine EatingWellmany methods have emerged to manage your weight and your bodily well-being.
Avoid overeating at the end of the day
If you feel hungry when returning from school or work at the end of the day, it simply means that you are lacking essential nutrients for your body due to poor nutrition in the morning and midday.
To avoid this problem, you will need to eat a balanced and complete breakfast and lunch, with fiber, whole grains and proteins. Then, a mid-afternoon snack, based on fruit or almonds, is possible in order to no longer feel hungry before dinner.
“When we starve ourselves, we are more likely to overeat, even before our body senses the signals of satiety,” explained nutritionist Nicole Stefanow in the interview with the online magazine.
Make balanced meals
Beyond the important notion of pleasure in food, each meal must be as balanced as possible in order to not lack essential nutrients. Among the latter, carbohydrates help fuel our brain and our nervous system, proteins act on the muscles and metabolism, then lipids allow us to ingest food and reduce the glycemic impact.
“If you don’t eat a balanced dinner, you’ll probably end up consuming many more calories (and not the healthiest) once your hunger catches up,” registered dietitian Melissa Mitri told EatingWell.
Often criticized, slow sugars at dinner can be an interesting alternative for long-term satiety since they help reduce the feeling of hunger.
Eat dinner at least 3 hours before sleeping
A balanced diet also starts with fixed eating times. The rule is not to eat dinner less than three hours before sleeping to give your body time to digest properly. If you do not respect this principle, you expose yourself to possible sleep disorders, acid reflux and weight gain.
A survey dated 2020 and carried out by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism took into account ten men and ten women going to bed between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., waking up at 7 a.m., with varying times for dinner. People who ate their meal later recorded an 18% higher blood sugar peak and burned 10% less fat than those who dined earlier.
Get a good night’s sleep
When it comes to diet, a sedentary lifestyle and sleep play a major role. Thanks to a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published in 2021, the link was made between eating food at night, lack of movement to lose weight and increased triglyceride levels. For this, it is essential to have an established sleep routine since the later you stay up in the evening, the more likely you are to have a nighttime craving.
Another investigation published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics helped prove that lack of sleep also affects your nutrition the next day. She revealed that a person sleeping less than seven hours a night tends to snack more the next day, turning to fatty and caloric products. This effect is due to insufficient sleep, which will increase the level of cortisol and ghrelin, the appetite hormone, in the blood, which leads to poor eating habits.
SNACK IN FRONT OF THE TV
Indulging in snacking in front of the television at the end of the day can be detrimental to weight management. Indeed, snacking without real hunger can lead to overconsumption of calories, often from foods that are not very nutritious and high in fat or sugar. Compulsive snacking can also disrupt the body’s satiety signals, leading to unwanted weight gain. It’s also helpful to choose healthy, nutritious snacks, such as fresh fruit, cut vegetables, or nuts, to avoid consuming processed foods high in empty calories.
DRINK AN PLENTY OF SWEET OR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Consuming excess sugary or alcoholic beverages late in the day can add a considerable number of empty calories to your diet. Soda, sugary fruit juices, alcoholic cocktails and energy drinks can be high in sugar and calories without providing essential nutrients. Instead, opt for water, unsweetened herbal teas or light drinks to maintain adequate hydration without adding unnecessary calories to your diet.