Skipping dinner: Is losing weight a good idea?
To compensate for overeating during the day or during the day, or to lose weight quickly and lose weight visibly, many people decide not to eat in the evening. Good or bad idea to skip dinner? Psycho-dietitian, nutritionist, and author of the illustrated book L'anti-mythe alimentaire published by Éditions Albin Michel answers us.
Skipping dinner shouldn't become a habit
You decide: you want to lose weight and you have set yourself a goal to achieve. But if there are many ways to lose a little extra weight (by choosing, for example, nutritional rebalancing or a very specific diet), some of our beliefs in food should be revised. Among them we find the idea of not eating in the evening, and skipping dinner, to significantly reduce the number of calories eaten. But this idea is not necessarily a good one, especially if it becomes a habit...
In the evening, ask yourself the question: Am I really not hungry, or am I trying to convince myself not to be hungry, not to eat, and therefore (wish) to lose my pounds so much?
Indeed, if you are not hungry in the evening, at dinner time, there is no point in forcing yourself! If you have a heavy and late lunch, do you leave the table at 4pm? Yes, in this case it is better not to continue with dinner when you are not hungry and your body is not lacking anything.
On the other hand, a body that needs daytime, also needs food intake in the evening. Dinner is an important meal like breakfast and lunch.
Skipping a meal for no particular reason is not a good thing, because an unsatiated body tends to hoard during the night for fear of not being given back what it needs.
And yes, when you prevent your body from getting the fuel it needs, it takes reserves!
Also, if I eat normally at lunch and deprive myself of dinner in the evening, there is a risk that I will be hungrier the next morning, and that I will make up for this lack of nutritional intake from the day before. Eat a breakfast or lunch that is rich in calories and plenty.
So skipping dinner from time to time is not a very dangerous thing, it's getting used to skipping dinner every evening and that's not a good thing, because of the message that we are going to send to our body, which is going to store fat all of a sudden.
The best option? light dinner
The right choice to lose weight while still eating three meals a day? Eat a light, balanced meal in the evening, after an adequate lunch.
On the menu: cooked vegetables (or raw, if your digestive system supports raw vegetables well) and a small portion of protein, which will allow you to stop and feel full (it could be an egg, fish, a little meat, and even a quiche to treat yourself).
It's all about quantity. It is important to adapt it to your needs. If you overeat dinner, not only will you have trouble falling asleep and getting a good sleep, because digestion will be more complex, but your body, which is not active during the night, will also have a tendency to store (be careful, for example, the fats that Increase the energy consumption of the meal, for example, raw vegetable salad + vinaigrette (maximum dose of 1 tablespoon).
Can I eat carbohydrates in the evening?
Starches, which are foods rich in starch or complex carbohydrates (pasta, rice, quinoa, legumes, potatoes, etc.) are essential for our body. These are starchy foods that provide the energy needed for the day.
The best time to eat carbohydrates remains the first part of the day, in the morning or at lunch. At noon, a portion of carbohydrates (always in a reasonable amount) is necessary to last the rest of the day, and to avoid strokes or disturbances of concentration at work, for example.
On the other hand, starchy foods are optional in the evening. It again depends on your hunger level, and what you ate in the previous day's meals. If you want to eat starches for dinner, eat them, but be wary, again, of the quantities. Because at night, the body burns fewer calories than during the day, so it needs less fuel.
Good to know: food balancing is never done in a day, but in a week, it is important to consider balancing meals according to their needs, keeping an eye on their streak!