Do you have late dinners every night? © Shutterstock
It is said that you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. The logic behind this is simple. After all, mornings are when you require maximum energy and fuel to get you through the day. During lunch, you need to carefully balance your meal so as not to make it too light or too heavy. Dinners are a time after which we retire to bed and hence it s best to stick to easy-to-digest foods that are easy on the stomach. But how many of us actually follow this? Dinners are usually the only time when most of us can manage to eat with the family together. That s why most of us prefer feasting during dinners and end up eating the most then. It wouldn t be wrong to say that this and many of our other dinner eating habits are hampering our weight loss goals and putting our health in jeopardy. Here are the 5 most common mistakes you are making while eating dinners.
1) You eat too late and just before going to bed
You need to give a gap of at least 2 hours between dinner and bedtime because it takes that much time to digest food. If your food doesn t digest, it can lead to acidity, gas and bloating. It s best to eat at about 7.30 pm or 8 pm so you can go to bed at about 10. Did you know that celebs like Sonam Kapoor and Alia Bhatt never eat dinner after 7.30 pm?
2) You eat too much during dinner
Eating a plate full of fried rice or biryani or even chole or paratha at night, especially without any salads will make you uncomfortable. You shouldn t skip carbs completely but you must make sure that all the nutrients are well balanced on your plate. Have a cup of rice with a cup of vegetables or 1 portion of meat. Remember that you are not going to do any activity at night that will help you burn off all the calories. Indulge in desserts and other delicacies earlier in the day. Don t stuff yourself during dinner. Skip refined foods and refined wheat items like pastas and noodles.
3) You don t prep for dinner in time
and then end up ordering oily, spicy dinner from outside. This is a sure-shot way of putting on weight. Plan the menu in advance, stock your fridge with veggies and other ingredients so you know what you re going to make for dinner.
4) You drink alcohol or aerated and caffeinated drinks
These can seriously hamper your sleep. The sugar and caffeine in the drinks can keep you awake throughout the night. Various scientific studies have linked less sleep at night to obesity and diabetes.
Image source: Shutterstock
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