Does Dinner Make You Fat?
It is advisable to eat at least two hours before going to bed so that the organism can complete digestion.
Not only does a healthy dinner improve your sleep, it can also prevent you from gaining weight. Because the answer to the question “makes dinner fat” is clear: yes! But only if you eat the wrong way in the evening.
We don’t need a lot of energy in the evening, so excess calories are stored as love handles. It is therefore particularly important to eat lightly and relatively early in the evening.
Stick to the saying: “Breakfast like a king, dine like a prince at lunchtime and like a beggar in the evening.”
Do you really get fat from dinner?
If you eat incorrectly in the evening, you are actually promoting weight gain. Take into account various factors:
- Our breakfast is mostly balanced, but when we come home we often feel cravings and we nibble on what we can find in the fridge. In this case, we often consume high-calorie and fatty foods.
- Often we have breakfast very quickly or not at all due to lack of time, then have a bite to eat, and in the evening we come home very hungry and rush to the fridge. Sooner or later, this diet will cause health problems.
- Late dining. Sometimes we get home late and have a variety of things to do. We then eat very late, right before we go to bed. Of course, that’s not healthy. There should be two hours between dinner and sleep so that the digestive process is complete before going to sleep.
Avoid these foods at dinner
Avoid heavy, lavish meals in the evening that make you fat and also impair the quality of sleep. You should also avoid sugared soft drinks and drinks containing caffeine.
We have put together a list of foods that you should better avoid in the evening:
Sandwiches
Bread, cold cuts and cheese are a tradition in many families in the evenings.
This dinner is quick to prepare, but it is not recommended if you do not want to gain weight.
It contains a lot of carbohydrates and also unhealthy fat that is no longer broken down and is therefore stored as fat in certain parts of the body.
Leaf lettuce
It will come as a surprise to some, but leaf lettuce is not easy to digest due to the high fiber content. This can cause flatulence at night.
Green salad for dinner is very common, but it is better to switch to tomato salad combined with protein-rich foods.
Garlic and onion
Avoid raw garlic or onion in the evening. Because both are difficult to digest and force the stomach to work late at night.
Pasta, rice and pizza
You should also avoid this at dinner or at least only consume very small amounts of it.
Prefer carbohydrates from vegetables!
What can I eat in the evening?
A balanced, light dinner promotes general health, a good night’s sleep, and a healthy weight. Vegetables are excellent for the last meal of the day:
- Lightly fried vegetables, soups, gazpacho (Spanish, cold vegetable soup) with a small portion of salmon or turkey fillet.
- You can replace fresh bread with wholemeal toast.
A couple of examples of a light dinner
- Egg mushrooms. Melon or watermelon as dessert.
- Tomato salad with mozzarela and shrimp, some salmon and toast.
- Zuchini cream soup with light fish. For dessert, yogurt with honey.
What happens if I skip dinner altogether?
This is also not recommended! You will then be very hungry for the next meal. In addition, the blood sugar levels fall, hypoglycaemia can occur and the consumption of calories is reduced.
You should therefore definitely have a bite to eat in the evening.
Which dessert is recommended in the evening?
- Fresh fruit or compote (the latter is easier to digest) and low-fat yogurt.
When is the best time for dinner?
- Two hours before going to bed.
