Today we will talk about the most popular misconception of biorhythmologists who recommend not eating after 18:00.
Most of us do not think at all about why we cannot eat after 18 hours, but simply fanatically follow this recommendation for losing weight. This statement is voiced by biorhythmologists , who substantiate it by the fact that a person is a daytime creature, and the activity of the human body lasts from sunrise to sunset.
Of course, this conclusion is valid, but only for people who lived several millennia ago. But since then, man has evolved: with the appearance of fire, he shifted activity to night time, invented new works and crafts, acquired new blood groups, whereas before he had only one. Meanwhile, biorhythmologists in their judgments are still based on the ancient demihumans, not taking into account the modern types, which include the nocturnal type too.
The thesis about the activity of the organism from sunrise to sunset does not stand up to criticism. One has only to mention the inhabitants of the hot south, where they sleep part of the night and part of the day, or the inhabitants of the Far North, where the sun does not rise above the horizon from several weeks to several months. It is difficult to imagine that the northerners slept the entire polar night or were massively ill due to the inability to live in accordance with the daily cycle.
The 18 hours statement is also controversial. Why is this time chosen? After all, in winter the sun sets earlier, in summer – much later. This figure is probably the average. Fitness fans know firsthand about the quality of average values. Take the tables for calculating the ideal weight. For asthenics, the weight given in them is excessive, for hypersthenics, on the contrary, it is insufficient.
As evidence of why a person gains weight in winter, biorhythmologists hypothesize that in winter the human body hibernates, the sun sets earlier, so the weight is added. We will not comment on this, but here is some scientific evidence of weight gain in winter:
in winter, the consumption of vitamins and greens decreases, which leads to a decrease in metabolism;
in winter, depression often occurs due to a faded color scheme around;
in winter, mobility decreases,
most of the time is spent indoors;
it is cold in winter, and the cold forces the body to accumulate fat to protect itself from hypothermia.
And finally, the main counter-argument to biorhythmologists is the division of people into types that they prefer to ignore. The ideal of a biorhythmologist is a lark. In the case of “owls”, however, activity occurs like a fan at night, and “pigeons” can easily adapt to any lifestyle.
So, consider a typical morning lark day. At 6 in the morning he wakes up completely slept and rested. From the moment he wakes up, his body turns on at full capacity, so morning physical exercises not only do not irritate him, but also bring a certain pleasure. He eats breakfast with appetite, goes to work, where he dines during the day, and in the evening he dines at 18-19 o’clock. By 22 he begins to feel sleepy and by 23 he safely falls asleep.
Please note: 4-5 hours have passed since the last meal of the “lark”.
The same day in the life of an “owl” looks something like this: the morning rise, regardless of the time of awakening, does not cause enthusiasm in a “owl” person. Often he does not sleep well, he does not observe any increase in strength, either mental or physical. The “owl’s” body has not yet woken up, so morning physical exercises bring nothing but an even greater feeling of fatigue and weakness. In the morning, the “owls” have no appetite, but following the generally accepted methods of losing weight, a person valiantly cramps a hearty breakfast into himself, because “it is so necessary.” Moreover, no food is expected in the evening.
As a result, the body, which is still sleeping, will process food very sluggishly, depositing part of the food eaten into fat. That is, the result is about the same as if you eat before bedtime.
Often during the day the “owl” cannot eat, and not everyone can come home before 18:00. That is, a person is often left not only without lunch, but also without dinner. And this is where the fun begins. In the evening, the “owl’s” organism wakes up, all systems are activated, work at full capacity,
like a “lark” in the morning, and ask for food. And she won’t. A hunger strike in the most active time for the body is fraught with the fact that the body will add kilograms as “revenge”. The “owl” goes to sleep after midnight.
Please note: 6 hours or more have passed since the last meal of the “owl”.
And as the last argument of the lack of proof of the theory “do not eat after 18”. Try to find at least one person who would lose weight just by not eating after 6:00 pm. Of course, by sharply limiting yourself in food, you can lose weight. However, weekends, holidays, birthdays come … The number of pounds gained begins to exceed the number dropped. The process of effective weight loss is a whole range of measures, including both proper nutrition and exercise.