Many of you pay attention to what you eat and less to meal times. However, they will also play a role in disorders of the metabolism and the weight gain. The time at which you eat will be as important as the contents of the plate itself.
“ To contribute to the proper production of hormones that govern appetite as well as to promote good satiety, as well as the production of digestive acids, it is better to eat at a fixed time. Especially when you get older. This allows you to add rhythm to your day, which is no longer the case when you are retired. Meals at fixed times ensure good food intake at the right times to avoid deficiencies “, recommended Raphaël Gruman, nutritionist.
However, be careful to keep 3 to 4 hours between each meal. “ The important thing is to respect sufficient space between two meals, but not too long to avoid throwing yourself onto your plate at the next meal. », adds the expert.
What are the risks if I eat at odd times?
In vacation, we all tend to sleep longer in the morning or hang around at aperitifs, which means we find ourselves having lunch at 2 or 3 p.m. This habit will have little impact if it does not last. However, if it drags on, you should not be surprised to sleep poorly, feel tired and gain weight.
Eating meals at varying times does not allow the body to transmit the right information to the brain, particularly regarding the feeling of satiety. The latter is essential to avoid snacking and the desire to make up for the next meal.
Eating at odd times will also slow down metabolism. Concretely, a fast metabolism burns more calories than a slow metabolism. Metabolism can explain why some people have difficulty losing weight, while, on the contrary, others eliminate it without much effort.
The biggest mistake: eating very late or snacking at night
The nutritionist recommends having breakfast from 8 a.m., lunch by 12:30 p.m. and dinner by 8 p.m. at the latest. Ideally, it is not recommended to take the last meal too late as it risks interfering with the sleep and gain weight. Indeed, during sleep, the sugar and fatty acids which have not been burned during the day stagnate in the blood and go towards the adipocytes, whose envelope is particularly permeable after dark. Result: we store fat, sugar, and we even expose ourselves to cellulite.
And especially since at night, your body expends less energy.
Warning for those who dine very late or snack at night : our body is not designed to be fueled at night. As a result, you risk storing more and gaining weight. It’s just hormonal. Our hormones do not work the same way day and night. This phenomenon explains why night workers have difficulty not gaining weight.
