What should we eat for dinner and what not if we want to lose weight and if we want to sleep well? Is it true that we shouldn’t eat fruit in the afternoon? When should we last eat before going to bed? Proper nutrition and exercise are key factors in weight loss, but they are not the only ones. Numerous studies have shown that stress and sleep quality also have a significant impact on feelings of hunger, fat accumulation and metabolism. Yes, good and sufficient sleep can affect success in losing weight, because when there is a lack, the hormone ghrelin starts to be released, which is rightly called the hunger hormone, as it stimulates running. And of course, it doesn’t matter what we eat. Although we should eat healthily throughout the day, we must make sure that dinner is not too rich. Namely, if you eat too much in the evening, it may happen that your sleep will be worse. And it is really extremely important what we eat in the evening. In the late hours, we should especially avoid foods that contain a lot of fat, salt or sugar. For a balanced digestion, we recommend foods rich in fiber, such as whole grain bread and cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and don’t forget to drink enough water throughout the day.

Suitable and healthy evening meals are, for example, stew with vegetables and parsley, salad with fresh vegetables and roasted chicken breast, and chickpeas with roasted peppers, spinach leaves and egg. Quality dinners include turkey meat, cottage cheese, banana and a not-too-sweet apple. In the late hours, for example, it is not good to eat chocolate, as it contains caffeine, and alcohol, which can mainly affect sleep in the REM phase. Otherwise, there are no strict rules as to how many hours before bedtime you should last eat, although many advise the last meal around two hours before bedtime. As mentioned, it may happen that you have difficulty falling asleep or sleep worse because of an overabundant dinner. Otherwise, experts generally do not advise giving up dinner, because for a healthy way of eating, you should always eat five meals during the day – three main ones, i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner, and two snacks, which should be smaller, bridging meals.

Breakfast and lunch should be the largest meals in terms of quantity, while dinner should be a little smaller, but still bigger than lunch. It should represent between 20 and 30 percent of the daily energy intake. And it is not true that it is not good to eat fruit in the afternoon. The fruit does cause certain digestive problems for some people; if you are among them, adjust. In general, the consumption of fruit is not limited by time. If you want to lose weight, eat as many vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fruits and nuts as possible during the day, while it is good to know that you should eat at least 400 grams of vegetables a day and that legumes are extremely beneficial in terms of nutritional composition. But avoid processed foods rich in sugar and fat, processed meats such as hot dogs and salami, sweets, sugary drinks and salty snacks.

You can find ideas for quick, easy dinners

Yes, proper nutrition is important throughout the day and at all meals, not just in the evening. In general, it is good that the diet is healthy and balanced, which means that we choose as many different foods as possible and that we try to prepare meals ourselves from basic foods and not pre-prepared and processed ones. But it’s also true that it’s not wise to go to bed hungry, because a rumbling stomach can also make you sleep worse. On the other hand, we should not eat too much in the evening. Otherwise, our body will spend long into the night digesting hard-to-eat food and will not take advantage of the precious time to rest. So, in the evening you should eat, but little and healthy. Dinner should be light so that you can sleep better and the pounds will just fall off. Have a good and peaceful night!