Research Says It’s Healthier To Breakfast Like A King, Lunch Like A Prince And Dine Like A Beggar

Many of us are rushing to get to work in the morning, or to start with our daily chores, so we tend just to grab something to eat on the go, and eat the largest meal for dinner, when we have the time to sit down and eat. Most of the dietary recommendations focus on what we should eat, yet, when do we eat is equally, if not more important. A recent research^[1] indicates that we can lose more weight if we consume more calories in the morning and less in the evening. Thus, if you “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a beggar”, you can be healthier and thinner.

Late-night overeating leads to indigestion and influences your metabolism

Your metabolism is getting slower as the day goes by, and it also slows down when you skip a meal. That is why it is important to have a large breakfast every morning to have enough time to burn the calories and boost your metabolism, whereas the large intake of calories in the evening leaves less time for them to be processed properly. In addition to slowing down your metabolism, when you eat a large meal latter in the day, it can lead to indigestion, which causes stomach pain and bloating. It takes around three hours for food you ate to digest, thus if you eat late and go to bed soon afterward, it means you have a lot of undigested food and acid in the stomach, which increases your chance for acid reflux.

People whose biggest meal of the day is breakfast have a reduced desire to eat later, so they end up consuming fewer calories during the rest of the day, and they have good concentration and more energy to perform everyday tasks, and in return, their mood improves. Another healthy benefit of eating a big breakfast is that it can improve your blood sugar levels.

When you eat may be more important than what you eat

San Raffaele Rome Open University conducted a research^[2] on a group of 18 women who consumed the same amount of calories, however, one group of women ate more calories in the first half of the day, while the other group ate more calories in the second half of the day.

The results showed that the women who consumed more calories in the first half of the day lost more weight than the other group, and their sugar levels improved as well. This proves that even if we eat the same amount of food, if we eat more calories until the afternoon, we can experience weight loss since our bodies are programmed to burn the calories in the first half of the day, and store energy supplies during the night.

Plan your diet carefully

You should plan your diet so as to consume one-third of your daily calories intake in the morning. For breakfast, you should focus on eating more proteins and fewer carbohydrates and fats. You can start your day with protein-rich foods, such as Greek yogurt, egg whites, cottage cheese, smoked salmon, turkey breast and tofu. You can also include healthy carbs, such as whole grains, oatmeal, nuts, fruits and vegetables. If you want to eat something sweet, take a little piece of dark chocolate. Generally, your breakfast should include 7 servings of protein, 2 servings of carbohydrates, 2 servings of fat and 1 sweet.

Lunch should include 3 servings of protein, 3 servings of low-calorie vegetables, 2 servings of sweeter vegetables and 1 serving of fruit. You can, for example, eat steamed asparagus, green salad, chicken breast, and some fruit.

As for dinner, it should consist of 0-3 servings of protein, unlimited low-calorie vegetables, 2 servings of sweeter vegetables, and 1 serving of fruit. You can eat green beans, mixed salad, boiled eggs and some blueberries.

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