Most people are used to eating dinner anywhere between 6 and 8 pm and we think of those “early bird specials” restaurants run as being only for old people. Well in Today is Still the Day I strongly urge not eating past 7 pm and I have some good reason for that recommendation.
We are learning that when you eat is just as important as what you eat. There are numerous benefits to practicing intermittent fasting, which I discuss in more detail in Today is Still the Day and explain ways you can try it pretty effortlessly. Some of those myriad benefits include regulating the body’s hunger hormone (ghrelin), clearing out toxins and regulating insulin levels, allowing your digestive system to “take a breather” and promoting better sleep.
However, even if you aren’t practicing intermittent fasting, not eating past 7 pm can not only help you lose or maintain healthy weight, but also improve heart health. When you restrict your eating to before 7 pm, you allow your digestive system some all-important down time. It takes several hours for your stomach to empty after your last meal of the day. If you have a late dinner or snack it won’t have time to be digested before you go to sleep. Your body has restorative and renewal activities to tend to during the nighttime hours and if you haven’t digested your last meal it has to focus on that process instead.
You want to give your body time to rest at night and also to digest and use the good fuel you provide during the day to nourish your body. And if weight loss is the goal, calories consumed late in the day are more likely to be stored as fat, because your body does not have time to burn them off before you hit the hay.
Do you restrict the bulk of calorie consumption to earlier in the day? Or are you a late night snacker?
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Still a struggle. How do you avoid going to bed hungry? This is especially an issue for us as the days get longer and we go on evening rides. But I have gotten better since your last post about this!
Holly I think my body is used to this now. However, there are some nights my stomach is rumbling! It happens. Especially as the days get longer and you are active later into the day, it may be necessary to push the time a bit and maybe begin eating later in the morning to give your body enough of a break.
Good to know. Yeah, I typically don’t eat until the afternoon, so I get the break. It’s just hard to get everything perfectly dialed in. I just try to pay attention to how I feel!
Holly no one gets it all done perfectly. At the end of the day we are all different and have unique lifestyles. You are wise to pay attention to your body and how you feel. What works for me may not be right for you. That doesn’t mean either of us is wrong. Just different.
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