Is there a wrong time to eat?
Are you eating at the wrong time and in fact is there a right time to eat that is most beneficial for our guts. The short answer is yes there is, but as with most things it’s a little more complex.
Some people skip breakfast, lunch or dinner or eat late at night, some of us graze all day long and some eat 3 square meals a day. What is best? If we were all built the same, weighed the same and looked the same the answer would be easy to say, however, we are a diverse bunch and there is no “one size fits all option.” The best we can do is listen to our bodies, which we spoke about in last weeks blog and keep eating in a nutritious manner that has a variety of whole foods.
All that said when should we be eating? Or maybe we should be asking when shouldn’t we be eating? Late night eating or snacking is a problem area for many people and here is some great information about why we should try to arrest it and change those habits.
Ever heard of circadian rhythms? Well if not they are the 24-hour cycle that tells your body when to sleep, eat and wake. When these rhythms are disrupted, so is your sleep and as we know sleep is the great healer. According to your circadian rhythm, nighttime is for resting, not eating. Several animal studies support this theory. Mice that eat in opposition to their circadian rhythm gain significantly more weight than mice that only eat during waking hours, even if they eat the same amount of food. Furthermore, researchers have discovered that people who eat late or during the night tend to eat more calories overall. In one study, researchers looked at the relationship between meal timing and total calorie intake of 59 people. Notably, individuals who ate closer to their bedtime ate more calories overall than those who ate their last meal earlier. Another study found that people who ate between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. consumed roughly 500 more calories per day than those who limited their intake to daytime hours. Over time, the average nighttime eater gained 4.5 kilograms.
These are small numbers that have been studied, but initial findings indicate that there is a link between late eating and weight gain. The other issue with eating late is that the gut does not get to rest? What, our gut needs resting? To be fair, what part of your body doesn’t need a rest? Your gut and ours is always working away, especially during the process of digestion. It filters, it flushes, it’s finely tuned to help you function. When you are constantly putting things in your mouth, the entire length of your gut is working away.
It takes approximately 3-4 hours for your gut to digest a meal, so if you can eat that amount of time prior to bed, you can ensure that you gut and you will start getting the rest you need. Some find that difficult and we understand that, and if you are a late night snacker, or don’t get home till late it’s hard to manage. We’ve put together a few tips that might help.
Try brushing your teeth as soon as you finish dinner, the taste of peppermint doesn't go well with whatever is leftover in the pan and then you can always reheat the next day for lunch of dinner. Leftovers always taste better the next day!
Take a break before you start kitchen cleanup. Studies show that it takes about 20 minutes for your body and more importantly, your brain to feel full. When you take a short break, it gives your body a chance to feel satisfied, so you'll eat fewer leftovers during kitchen cleanup.
If you know that a late dinner is in the cards, have a snack in the late afternoon that includes some protein, carbs and veggies. It will help take the edge off your appetite. You'll eat less at dinner, which will greatly help either your weight-loss efforts or your gut will have less to digest at the end of the day.
Food is fuel and nutrient dense eating is the choice at Gut Happy. Packing our breakfasts, lunches and dinners with whole foods that are full of fibre, protein and good fats is our nutritional goal. It is also about the timing of when we eat that what we try to stick to as well. Most meals in my house are done by 6:30pm, but not always. The important thing to remember is that we are all doing the best we can.
When we learn something new about nutrition we can try to apply it to our lives and that of our families. Nutrition for us all is a daily journey of trial and error and with knowledge of what is good, and also what works, we can live full and healthy lives. That’s our aim at Gut Happy. Living life to full every day, one nutritious meal at a time.
Stay Gut Happy
The Gut Happy Girls
xxx