It is simply amazing how many different diets (mainly for weight loss) can be found on the Internet today! Some of them look promising, but there are also such “dietary complexes” that inspire, at least, distrust, and even look ridiculous. But almost every diet provides for fractional, multiple meals during the day and a complete rejection of food before bedtime. Eating at night – is it really that bad? What to do to those people who can eat normally only in the evening, having come home from work? But what about those who regularly raid the fridge while all the rest of the family has sweet dreams?
It turns out that night gluttony is not physiological, but psychological dependence. Moreover, this dependence is inextricably linked with the wrong mode of wakefulness and sleep, which ultimately affects the overall nutrition system and, of course, on weight.
Moreover, scientists have found that reduced appetite during the day and irrepressible hunger at night are caused by hormonal disruptions in the human body. Normally, the level of the hormone “satiety”, leptin, should increase by evening. The hormone of sleep should also increase – melatonin. But in “night gluttons” the level of these hormones, on the contrary, decreases sharply. The result – a person cannot sleep and experiences a strong feeling of hunger.
Is it possible to somehow change this situation? Yes you can. And proper nutrition for the night will help in this , that is, the so-called night diet.
How and what to eat?
Many will be amazed, but the basic rule of a night diet is the same fractional nutrition throughout the day. You need to eat every 2-3 hours, but little by little – servings should weigh a maximum of 200 grams.
The second important rule is that with each subsequent meal, the food should “lighten”, ie, become less high-calorie. This means that breakfast should be full, very satisfying, and very hearty, even if you absolutely do not want to eat in the morning.
Recommended foods with a high content of fiber and protein: poultry, eggs, cottage cheese, vegetables, nuts, etc. But in the evening, shortly before bedtime, you can afford a maximum glass of yogurt. From “harmful” products, especially alcohol, sweet and fatty, it is advisable to refuse completely.
The meaning of maintaining such a diet is that fractional nutrition stabilizes the production of hormones in accordance with human biorhythms. Plus, the products that nutritionists recommend eating for breakfast in large quantities contain a special substance – tryptophan.
This component stimulates the production of pleasure hormone – serotonin, and sleep hormone – melatonin. Consequently, thanks to tryptophan, which enters the body in the morning, it is possible to normalize the level of melatonin and serotonin in the evening. The result – hunger disappears, and a night’s sleep becomes strong, full.
Closer to the night you can’t …
We will not say anything new about the products “prohibited” for the night. The list in this case is standard:
– meat (especially fatty, fried);
– any sausages;
– confectionery – cookies, sweets, cakes, cakes, etc .;
– any white flour baked goods – bread, loaves, rolls, pies, etc .;
– fast food, chips, crackers;
– any alcohol (the exception is dry red wine – one glass);
– sweet soda;
– fruits with a high content of glucose and sucrose – tangerines, mangoes, grapes, melon, etc.
And finally, the last rule: to clearly adhere to the regime of daily fractional nutrition and a night diet, you need not a week and not one or two months, but at least six months. It takes so much time to “retrain” your body and get rid of night gluttony. At first, of course, it will be difficult, but in the future everything will normalize. Refusing a hearty dinner will be much easier, approaches to the refrigerator will stop, and your sleep will be sound and healthy. Plus, thanks to proper nutrition at night , you can easily and easily get rid of a couple of extra pounds.