Trying to lose weight? Your dinner time can make all the difference

Ever since I started on my journey to lose weight, I realized that a lot of the things that helped me reach my weight goal and maintain it for more than a year now are actually some very small lifestyle changes I made to my life.

If you have read through any of my personal weight loss stories earlier, you would know that I have lost 30 kg in all, ever since I began losing weight. I was at 80 kg after the birth of my second child and am now at 50 (this moves between 50 and 52 and this is a very natural weight fluctuation, I will share about this some other time in a different article).

Some of the things that I can tell you right away about my earlier lifestyle that I know I was doing wrong was eating at odd times, waiting to eat till I was really too hungry and starving, which meant that I would end up eating whatever was available, including packaged foods and junk food, and not including exercise in my regular day routine.

A lot of people have a lot of things to says on this topic, and while I know many people support this theory, a lot of others say this is rubbish and not practical. I understand that this can be a very personal choice, and also something that you may have to follow based on the entire family’s eating time and habits. Also, if you are in a joint family, it can get difficult to eat before everyone else.

However, I am simply sharing how eating an early dinner has helped me cut down the excess weight and get a healthy shape and more stamina.

Before I give you the medical details, let me say that earlier I used to have my dinner around 9:30 to 10pm at night. Now, I eat around 6:30 pm. I know this is unrealistic for a lot of people, but even then, if you can finish your dinner by 8 pm, it can do wonders for your overall health and weight loss.

Here is how eating an early dinner can help you lose weight

• Having a longer gap between the last meal of the day and your breakfast the next day can help your body make the most efficient use of the food. This means that it will not hold on to the fats and carbs or calories, but will use them up and help them pass out of your system more easily.
• Eating later at night automatically makes you eat more, without your realizing. Because eating an early dinner still feels as if you are snacking, you tend to eat only as much as you really need, and do not overeat.
• It maximizes your body’s potential to burn fats and carbs and regulates the pattern, which is more effective in the long run to lose weight.

I eat the last meal of my day around 6:30 pm, after which most nights I go for my 10 km walk (this is extreme for a lot of people so it is fine if you even go for a light walk for say about 15 minutes – helps with digestion).

However, when I am back from my walk, I often get down to work, and am awake till about midnight, if not more. Naturally, it means that I feel hungry. But instead of snacking again, I sip on a few big cups of chamomile tea or jasmine tea which makes me feel relaxed, is good for overall health and weight management, and helps me unwind and bring the day to an end.

Also, before you feel what I am saying is absolutely wrong, I live in a nuclear family, so it is, of course, easier for me than those who live in a joint family. You can change it a little to what suits you and your family the most.

Read Ladies, your sudden weight loss may be due to these health issues