Do You Want To Lose Weight? Don’t Forget To Eat Dinner!

If we want to lose weight, we must adapt our menu at night so that it is light and healthy and helps us to keep the body burning fat instead of storing it.

Many are the myths that revolve around diets and how to lose weight. One of them is undoubtedly the one that indicates “no dinner to reduce kilos.

In this article we tell you why you shouldn’t skip the last meal of the day if you want to lose weight. However, it must be borne in mind that this issue is highly controversial, as experts show disparate opinions.

Does eating make you fat or help you lose weight?

Some people make the decision not to eat dinner because they are trying to lose weight. However, this habit has the opposite effect. The reason is very simple.

When the body does not receive food for a certain amount of time, it “wakes up” an alert state (similar to when there is a danger) in which it does not consume energy, since it stores it to cope with the situation.

Therefore, instead of reducing calories we are causing an accumulation of them. However, it is not about going to the other extreme and having plenty of dinner. In either case, the body will suffer.

However, it is also possible to find evidence that intermittent fasting has benefits when it comes to stimulating weight loss. Either of the two methods can be valid if they are raised well. The answer will depend on individual variability.

Dine frugally

Perhaps you know the popular saying that says “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.” Remember this when organizing your intakes.

• In the morning we need to eat more so that the body has all the energy and nutrients necessary to face the day.
• At noon we still need a little “fuel” to continue.

• However, at night, the body only needs the basics, as we will soon go to bed. Dining frugally is not the same as eating nothing. Therefore, we recommend that you do not completely eliminate this last meal of the day.

If you don’t eat dinner, you may wake up at dawn with such an appetite and anxiety that you open the fridge and eat whatever you find. This is known as the night eater syndrome .

On the contrary, if every night (or several times a week) we have a copious dinner, with foods high in fat and carbohydrates, it is more likely that we will either gain weight or we will not be able to lose weight as we want.

These two elements are stored in the body and it is difficult to eliminate them, especially since at night we sleep and do not exercise.

If you are looking to lose weight, we advise you not to skip meals and, above all, not to neglect dinner.

You can choose to eat healthier foods, such as yogurt, a salad, a soup, or some pieces of fruit. The important thing is that you limit your calorie intake, not that you have an appetite or sleep on a completely empty stomach. Also note that protein intake before bed has shown some benefits on muscle mass, which could help you consume more calories.

Eating dinner allows us to lose weight

When a person wants to lose weight but does not want to carry out a very restrictive diet, the key is basically to change the dinner menu.

In today’s life we ​​make the mistake of not having breakfast, eating something light at noon to continue working and taking advantage of the evening to enjoy heavier food, eat in restaurants or order dinner.

Since after dinner we only do activities that report a low calorie consumption (watching television, sitting around the table, reading, sleeping, etc.), it should be as light as possible.

What would then be the perfect intake? One that does not leave us feeling “full” and that is not full of carbohydrates, fats and sugars. Of course, alcohol is also not included in the ideal dinner. This poison is capable of impairing the functioning of the body, according to a study published in BMJ .

Therefore, we should focus on the proteins that this intake provides. These should come from low-fat foods. For example turkey breast, hake, salmon and green leafy vegetables.

Recipes for dinner and lose weight

Perhaps the advice to eat more protein and less carbohydrates at night may seem a bit “abstract” to us.

Also, as we are so used to flours and fats, we do not know that there are thousands of recipes that meet the requirements and can be part of the “perfect dinner”.

Here are some examples:

Chicken with avocado and tomato sauce

This is an ideal option for those who are starting with the diet and looking for foods that satisfy their anxiety and appetite.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast cut into cubes.
• ¼ cup of cheese cut into cubes (30 g).
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup of spinach (30 g).
• 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce (45 g).
• Salt to taste).

Preparation

• The chicken can already be prepared ahead of time. Otherwise, you can either boil it or sauté it with very little olive oil.
• Boil the spinach leaves for a few minutes to make them more tender.
• Peel the avocado and remove the pulp.
• In a bowl, mix the chicken, cheese, avocado and spinach.
• Pour in the tomato sauce and mix well.

Tuna and vegetable salad

A fresher recipe that can be used for summer dinners and to satisfy your appetite without spending hours in the kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 can of natural tuna.
• One onion.
• 1 bell pepper.
• 8 or 10 black olives.
• ½ can of palm hearts.
• 1 tray of mushrooms (about 250 g).
• 2 tomatoes
• Olive oil.
• Salt to taste).

Preparation

• Chop the onion and bell pepper. Chop the tomatoes and the palm hearts.
• Fillet the olives and mushrooms.

• In a bowl, place the tuna and mix with the other ingredients.
• Season with a little salt and olive oil.

Improve dinners to lose weight

If you want to lose weight, instead of not having dinner, you can try to improve the quality of the food that you introduce at this time of day. Always bet on fresh ones and reduce the presence of sweets and products with a high carbohydrate content.