Benefits of time management at the dinner table
Many people unsuccessfully try to lose weight by cutting their daily calorie intake and switching to mini-portions. As a result, most of them break down, and then gain weight with incredible speed, because the metabolism of the “starving” slows down. To prevent the body's metabolic processes from becoming spasmodic, it is important to plan meals in advance.
In addition, proper nutrition on an hourly basis, combined with adequate sleep and regular physical activity, helps the body synthesize energy from foods rather than converting necessary organic compounds into fat cells.
The main benefits of a food schedule are as follows:
- the body prepares in advance for food intake by secreting gastric juice (as shown in the experiment of Academician Pavlov);
- the risk of impulse consumption of unhealthy foods is reduced (because hunger does not take you by surprise);
- you can calculate in advance which portion will satisfy the energy needs of a given hour, and do not overeat;
- Regular meals of small portions of food help get rid of insomnia at night and normalize the production of somatotropin.
Quitting the diet
During the period of losing weight on a diet by the hour, the body quickly gets used to split meals at the same time, and the stomach noticeably decreases in size. Therefore, after stopping the course, it is very easy to maintain weight if you continue to eat right. In addition, a diet option with a completely balanced menu or based on the principle of alternation can be followed throughout your life.
However, such tough options for hourly weight loss as the “Golden Hour” or the six-day express diet definitely require the right way out. After the “golden hour” method of eating, returning to your usual diet is carried out according to the following scheme:
- add one new meal every day, starting with breakfast, and if the “golden” time was in the morning, then with lunch;
- Only healthy dietary products are used to create the menu;
- In proportion to the addition of new meals, the amount of food consumed during the “golden hour” is reduced.
In almost the same way, you need to get out of the six-day express diet, only you need to increase not the number of meals, but the volume and composition of portions. It is most reasonable to add a small amount (about 50–100 g) of healthy foods from the list of permitted foods to each meal until your individual daily caloric intake is reached.
As a result of this output, in both the first and second cases, a correct transition to proper nutrition should be obtained. In the future, it is recommended to lead an active lifestyle and have a fasting day once a week. The main thing is to maintain the gained weight during the first 6 months, and then the body will get used to it and the likelihood of a new gain will significantly decrease.
What should a healthy diet be like?
From a tender age, Russians are taught the concept of proper five meals a day by the hour: according to the requirements of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, in full-day kindergartens, children should be fed breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner, while the time of each meal is fixed. During school years, children are usually taught eat three times a day, and upon completion of training they either maintain the habit of three meals a day, or even switch to the hotel HB system (that is, breakfast and dinner). As for the time of eating, in adults it becomes a streamlined concept and is transformed from the correct schedule (08.00-10.00-13.00-16.00-18.00) into meals in the morning, afternoon and evening.
Domestic nutritionists (for example, A. Fomina) argue that the number of meals should be determined individually. For example, patients with chronic gastrointestinal diseases (ulcers, gastritis) are recommended to eat at least 5-6 times a day (that is, fractionally), and healthy people are allowed to divide the daily menu into 2-3 full meals (and eat once every 4-6 hours).
Some supporters of a healthy lifestyle believe that split meals by the hour is the most correct solution, but dividing the usual diet into 5-7 parts and eating regularly is not enough. Here are the basic requirements for a diet for weight loss:
- It is better to eat food at least once every 4 hours, but not more often than every 2.5 hours;
- the concept of breakfast, lunch and dinner should be preserved, but additional kilocalories should be obtained from healthy snacks, and not chocolates eaten on the run;
- it is permissible to start eating only when the subjective perception of hunger reaches seven points on a ten-point scale;
- portions must be reduced to 200 (maximum 250) milliliters;
- Skipping the first and last meals with proper nutrition is prohibited - breakfast and dinner can be very light and consist of vegetables or fermented milk products, but you cannot refuse food at key times (before and after sleep).
To make it easier for you to understand portions and suitable healthy foods, we will present an example of a weekly diet in the form of a table, while describing the classic three-a-day food regimen and a schedule of proper fractional meals.
Table 1. 3 meals
| day of the week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| breakfast | cheese on a piece of whole grain bread, fresh vegetables, tea | apple, matsoni, vegetable salad with yogurt dressing, coffee | steam omelette with herbs, 1 orange or 2 tangerines, tea | whole grain toast with ricotta or feta, fruit salad, coffee | fruit oatmeal with half and half milk, tea | Duchess or Duchess potatoes, apple, coffee | rye toast with yellow cheese, fresh tomatoes and poached egg, greens, fresh berry compote |
| dinner | stewed meat, boiled vegetables, freshly squeezed juice | pureed vegetable soup, chicken baked in foil, mineral water | stewed veal meatballs, fresh vegetable salad, boiled beans, jelly | durum wheat pasta with alla napoletana sauce, dried fruit compote | pumpkin soup with low-fat cream, grilled turkey, fruit salad, vegetable juice | steamed pike perch or perch, rice stewed with vegetables, green vegetable salad with sesame seeds, tea | beef baked in parchment, sweet potato or new potato puree, coffee |
| dinner | hard-boiled egg, poached vegetables, cottage cheese, rosehip broth | boiled rice, steamed coho salmon, berry juice without sugar | baked cheesecakes, unsweetened pear, carrot or tomato juice | steamed fish balls, stewed kohlrabi, tea | boiled veal, carrot salad with garlic oil, artesian water | cottage cheese 4-6% fat, avocado, pumpkin juice | scrambled eggs with green beans or asparagus, fresh vegetable salad, kefir |
*In classical dietetics, meal times with proper nutrition must be fixed at a specific period so as not to deviate from the schedule by more than 15 minutes.
Table 2. 5 meals
| day of the week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| breakfast | 100-125 g whole grain pearl barley porridge in water, 2 tablespoons of fresh berries, 5 cashews, a cup of tea without sugar | 150-200 grams of cottage cheese 4-6% fat with a pinch of cinnamon, a glass of water | 2 soft-boiled eggs, a cup of unsweetened coffee with milk | 100-125 g whole grain oatmeal with water, a small apple, a glass of water | 150-200 grams of yogurt 4-6% fat, a cup of tea without sugar | 100-125 grams of buckwheat porridge in water, 5 walnuts, a glass of water | 2 soft-boiled eggs, a cup of tea with 2 teaspoons of honey |
| snack | 100-150 gram jar of natural yogurt (2.5-5% fat), 2 unsweetened bread, a glass of water | 100-150 grams of seasonal fruit salad, a cup of tea without sugar | 100-150 grams of fresh vegetable salad, a cup of black coffee without sugar | 250 ml ayran with a fat content of 1-3.5% | 150-175 grams of sweet fruits (mango, guava), a cup of black coffee without sugar | 150-200 ml fermented baked milk with 4% fat content | 100-150 grams of soft cottage cheese (3.5-5% fat), 2 slices of whole grain bread, a glass of water |
| dinner | 150 ml fish soup, 2 slices whole grain bread, a cup of tea without sugar | 100-150 grams of baked rabbit meat, 100 grams of steamed vegetables, a cup of black coffee without sugar | 150 ml of lean beef broth and soup roots, a tablespoon of full-fat (8-10%) yogurt, a cup of tea without sugar | 100-150 grams of baked veal, 100 grams of stewed vegetables, a cup of tea without sugar | 150 ml vegetable soup with chicken broth, a cup of tea without sugar | 100-150 grams of baked turkey, 100 grams of boiled vegetables, a cup of black coffee without sugar | 150 ml of vegetable puree soup with a tablespoon of sour cream 10-15% fat, a cup of black coffee without sugar |
| snack | 150 grams of vegetable salad without dressing, a cup of black coffee without sugar, 1 piece of natural marmalade | 100-150 grams of mixture of nuts and dried fruits, a glass of water | 150-200 milliliters of natural drinking yoghurt, whole grain toast | 150 grams of vegetable salad with vinegar dressing, a cup of black coffee without sugar, 1 piece of natural marshmallow | green banana weighing 200-225 grams, a glass of water | 150 grams of fruit salad, a cup of tea without sugar, 1 piece of natural marshmallow | 250 ml matsoni with a fat content of 1-4.5% |
| dinner | 1 hard-boiled egg, 2 slices low-fat cheese, a cup of green tea without sugar | 250 ml kefir with a fat content of 1-3.5% | 150 grams of vegetable salad with lemon dressing, a glass of water | 150-200 grams of stewed white fish, a glass of water | 2 hard-boiled eggs, a cup of green tea without sugar | 150-200 grams of boiled red fish, a glass of water | 150-200 grams of vegetable salad of tomatoes and white cheese, a cup of green tea without sugar |
*A fractional regimen of proper nutrition also implies eating at a fixed time, while neglecting the main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) is strictly prohibited.
Meal plan for the day
Breakfast is the main meal of the day and should be rich in proteins. That is, early in the morning you can eat eggs, milk products, cottage cheese, and turkey sausages. If the body needs carbohydrates, it is recommended to include fresh fruit or muesli in your breakfast.
The second breakfast should be easily digestible and contain a minimum percentage of carbohydrates. If at this time there is no feeling of hunger yet, then you can drink a glass of kefir or eat any fruit. Lunch should be balanced and certainly include animal protein (meat, poultry or fish) and a little healthy fat, such as olive oil or nuts.
The afternoon snack should include carbohydrates (best in the form of fruit, porridge or, in exceptional cases, whole grain baked goods). Dinner, as well as lunch, should be balanced and complete. After the evening meal, the “danger zone” begins - a period when the desire to snack is caused only by a psychological, and not a physiological factor. If a person wants to lose weight, then he should not eat after dinner.
Hours of proper nutrition
European, Russian and American scientists have devoted many years to researching food timing. American nutritionists have proven that the first meal of those who practice proper nutrition by the clock should occur 30-45 minutes after waking up.
Researchers from the English company Forza Supplements have named the best lunch time and the ideal moment to start dinner. Lunch should start at 12.15, and dinner should preferably be at 18.00.
Russian psychoendocrinologist N. Gridasova, in an interview for MK, said that with proper nutrition, the intervals between meals should be no more than 3 hours so that the concentration of insulin in the blood does not increase too sharply.
Proper nutrition schedule and biorhythms
Most practicing nutritionists believe that the quantity, quality of meals and the pause between them should be calculated individually, depending on a person’s lifestyle and habits.
For example, under conditions of proper nutrition according to the biological clock, larks need less time to prepare the body for breakfast than owls, so their morning meal should be more plentiful. Owls, in turn, remain energetic longer in the evening, so their dinner should be higher in calories than larks.
A proper diet for a person who engages in heavy physical labor (for example, professional sports) often involves 6-8 meals during the day, which is due to its high energy consumption. At the same time, the hours of proper nutrition for an office worker look different, because the feeling of hunger does not bother him more often than once every 5-6 hours. To create an individual nutritional schedule taking into account health indicators and daily activity, you can contact a professional nutritionist or resort to the method of self-observation.
The Greenportal.pro team wishes you to always stay in shape!
The relationship between carbohydrates at night and hormonal levels
Hormones are useful substances produced by the body that help regulate vital processes. However, a person’s hormonal level completely depends on the amount of carbohydrates, fats and proteins received during the meal. After all, it is in food that all of the above components are present, on which the normal functioning of our body is based.
Knowing how many hours before bedtime you can eat, a person is able to ensure pleasant dreams and well-coordinated functioning of the digestive tract, as well as the nervous system. To enhance the positive effect of proper nutrition, doctors recommend additional exercise (bodybuilding, running, football, etc.).
