Last Updated on November 11, 2020 by Martin
Is it really that bad to have dinner after 6 p.m? When I want to lose weight?
It is a question that comes to many people’s mind when they want to lose weight and optimize their diet!
According to Manuel Villacorta a dietitian, and author, it is kind of a myth that everything you eat after 7 p.m. will store as body fat and make you gain weight.
So if you want to lose weight, I recommend you to forget all about late-night starvation or meal replacements. Instead, have a healthy meal and feel good about it.
Why You Don’t Want to Skip Dinner After 6
In fact, skipping dinner will cause you to overeat the following day. It will shut down your metabolism and fat burning making your diet difficult.
You may not notice it, but not having dinner and you will likely sneak in eating a couple of extra calories here and there, the next day.
So the point is if you skip dinner you are likely going to gain body fat and weight.
The Best Way to Have Dinner and Lose Weight
So from now on remember, there are no reasons feeling guilty if you are having dinner at 8 p.m. There are just a few precautions you must take before doing so. We will take a look at them next.
How Much Can I Eat?
Again according to Manuel Villacorta, 30% of your calories should be consumed for dinner. It is probably a lot more than you expected. The 70% that is left should be spread out during the day with breakfast as the most important meal of the day.
What About Late Night Dinner?
What about if I am working late? Should I then avoid having dinner?
Even if you are working late, you must still stick to the 30% rule. So let’s say you are having dinner at 10 p.m, you must always make sure to have your dinner.
All you got to do, to avoid any of it will be stored as body fat and make you gain weight, is to stay awake for 90 minutes after you had dinner.
It is the time your body needs to digest it and give you a good night’s sleep. So by all means, avoid going straight to bed after your dinner.
Healthy Food Is Vital To Your Success
To lose weight, it is important to eat healthily, even if you are working late. So buying a Pizza on your way home for them to crash in front of the TV is out of the question. By all means, avoid junk food.
If you don’t want to cook that late, make sure to have some leftovers, a salad or something you can prepare fast.
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What If I Am Not Sure About This Dinner After 6 Approach?
I completely understand if you are not sure about this dinner after 6 approaches because you have avoided having dinners!
If that is the case, you can either start out with smaller snacks, like something light like a Salad with cottage cheese for example.
Another approach is to lower your carbohydrate intake by leaving out starches like rice as well as potatoes and stick with vegetables.
Most important is that you don’t go hungry to bed.
Learn More
Manuel Villacorta has written a lot of books about nutrition and weight loss like his latest Flat Belly 365 You can learn more about his other books here.
If you feel you are entirely lost in your diet and not losing any weight, I recommend you to read this article Why Am I Not Losing Weight Despite Doing Everything I Can Lose Weight?
Or this article 5 Easy Fix Solutions to Avoid Weight Loss Plateau
