Eating before 7 PM is a widely misunderstood myth. Discover the key to living a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Everyone dreams of finding a fitter body and a healthy lifestyle. Much like regular exercise, a balanced diet and adequate water intake, having meals at the correct time is important. One of the tips to live a healthy lifestyle suggests having the meals before sunset.
However, it is tricky to incorporate proper meal timings with a busy lifestyle. Moreover, the amount of information available could be confusing. Do you struggle with understanding the correct meal windows? Would you want to learn how eating after 7 PM affects your body? How can we achieve our fitness goals without compromising our routine? Let us find out!
Eating Before 7 PM – An Approach to Balance Our Biological Clock
In simple terms, the biological clock refers to the internal clock that maintains the involuntary activities in our body. It senses when our brain, heart, digestive system and other organs work the best and when our body needs to rest. Thus, following a healthy lifestyle calls for eating before 7 PM. It is when our body wants to spend less energy breaking down macros. Thus, overeating or late dinners can lead to fat accumulation.
Eating before 7 PM can help you reach your health goals. It aids fat loss, reduces calorie intake and incorporates a better sleep cycle. Let us look at some of the major benefits of having your last meal around sunset and how it influences healthy lifestyle,
Healthy Mind and Better Sleep
Our body spends energy breaking down our food. It digests the meal, helps absorb nutrients in the blood and ultimately converts food into energy. An early dinner ensures our food is digested far before we unwind and sleep. It ensures a better sleep schedule and a healthier mind; leading to healthy lifestyle.
Aids Fat Loss
When we are in the habit of eating after 7 PM, our body finds it difficult to digest the food. Insulin is tired after supporting the body for the entire day. Thus, a percentage of our meals get stored as fat. It can lead to an unwanted increase in belly fat and promote an unhealthy lifestyle. However, following the biological clock and eating before 7 PM helps digest food faster. It reduces cravings, and we are less likely to overeat.
Moreover, an early dinner expands the fasting window for our body. During this time, our body is fueled by stored fat. It further helps in losing weight.
Maintains Blood Sugar and BP Levels
Diabetic patients are often suggested to have meals at fixed times. Eating before 7 PM helps maintain the GI index of the body, as insulin levels are maintained. A study suggests that fixed eating windows help maintain blood pressure levels by regulating the metabolic rate.
Alternatives To Eating Before 7 PM: Tips To A Healthier You
Eating before sunset or at fixed times impacts our health significantly. However, in a busy lifestyle, people may have difficult schedules. Sometimes your brain is used to nocturnal schedules, and you might also have late-night shifts. Here are some alternatives that you can follow for a healthy lifestyle if you can eat dinner before 7 PM:
Eat at least 2 hours before hitting the bed
If you can’t have your last meal before 7 PM, try to have it at least 2 to 3 hours before bed. It will give your body enough time to digest your food.
Take a post-dinner walk
A recent study has proven that taking a light walk after dinner helps manage insulin and blood glucose levels. It ensures a better quality of sleep and helps maintain weight loss goals.
Avoid overeating
If you want to have a healthy body, it is important to understand your hunger cues. Try to eat slowly and practice portion control. It will help you achieve a healthier heart too.
Precautions to Eating Before 7 PM
Eating before sunset can help maintain a healthier body and a fitter mind. However, one should practice hunger cues and listen to their body to achieve the benefits. You should not starve yourself at any cost and ensure you eat all the meals timely and drink enough water. If you work late at night, do not stay hungry. Experts advise starting slow. If you’re new to intermittent fasting or want to lose weight, consult your doctors before starting a new routine.
Summing Up,
The key to better health is eating proper meals at the proper time. Eating before 7 PM, maintaining 7 to 8 hours of sleep, and following a holistic lifestyle support your dream of achieving a fitter body. However, taking precautions is extremely necessary for leading a healthy lifestyle. It is advised to consult an expert before making new lifestyle changes. A healthier routine should be tailor-made to suit your fitness goals.