Published: 07/05/2014 - Updated: 08/17/2018
Author: Miriam Reyes
"Eat breakfast like king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" is a popular saying that today is not only advisable to follow, science itself has proven to be ideal for maintaining a healthy weight.
Knowing how our metabolism works, the secretion of hormones that control it, along with a good selection of food, helps to promote a healthy weight. So that eating the right foods at the right times helps us feel more satisfied, with more energy, thus avoiding binging and in that way metabolism favors fat storage being activated.
Hormones and Metabolism
Although we do not see during the day, our body undergoes changes in its metabolism. During the day, we produce hormones that help us to book and take advantage of our energy, what we require for our activities, however during the night while we sleep, we don’t eat food, so "lose power".
Through hundreds years, our body has been adapted, adapting to these cycles to function during the day, that we know as "life cycle". This whole process is regulated by the secretion of hormones such as cortisol, dopamine, melatonin and adrenaline.
Cortisol for example, is secreted in the morning and helps keep us active during the day, while melatonin is secreted when daylight falls and helps us sleep and have a good rest. Therefore, it is recommended to sleep when the sun goes down, and wake up at dawn to daylight.
Most suitable for breakfast
Cortisol can take away the appetite in the morning, because it promotes optimal levels to face day's tasks glucose, however, overnight, this hormone is reduced, causing glucose also fall slightly, so that by night we usually resort to foods rich in carbohydrates or sweets. In addition, serotonin also descends, causing even greater anxiety for such caloric foods. If we are under a lot of stress, these responses can be enhanced.
Given these effects, it is highly recommended to have breakfast, as what we eat for breakfast helps us maintain our energy reserves.
The ideal is to eat a breakfast that includes carbohydrates such as bread, cereals, potatoes, etc..
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In addition, the ideal breakfast should include protein, can come from meat, eggs and dairy. Finally, try to include some healthy fats such as vegetable oils, seeds such as almonds or walnuts. The balance can feel satisfied during the morning until lunchtime.
What to eat at noon?
The midday meal should be well balanced, thus can avoid the terrible anxiety of taking dinner rich in carbohydrates, and foods that are dense in general.
Include a source of protein in your food, and fiber-rich foods such as legumes and vegetables.
Also include healthy fats, such as the olive oil or other vegetable oils.
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Low carb dinner
During the night, we must control our anxiety by eating foods rich in carbohydrates and fat. Try to have a light meal that includes protein, and those that include fibers.
If possible, try options before 20 hours.
Eating carbohydrates at night is a stimulus to insulin, favoring fat reserves during sleep.
Recommendations to distribute our food
It is advisable to take 4 to 5 meals a day, thus limiting anxiety by overeating during meals.
Try not to exceed 4 hours of fasting between each meal, except for overnight fasting while you sleep.
It is advisable to take three main meal times that would be breakfast, lunch and dinner. Plus two snacks between those major times, which would be between breakfast and lunch, which corresponds to morning snack, and finally the evening snack, corresponding between lunch and dinner.
The purpose of snacks is to keep our blood glucose levels, so that our appetite stays at bay, preventing eating too much.
The snacks should consist of fruit, skim milk, or a handful of nuts.
Try to reduce stress in your life, as this can raise the levels of cortisol, which in turn causes weight gain, and can also be associated with other diseases such as hypertension, osteoporosis and diabetes.
You need to follow your meal times within the extent possible. Eating foods in this way not only gives us energy during the day also helps us avoid the excesses working with our metabolism.
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