‘Tonight I’ll just have a little something’. Sound familiar? ‘Jeez, I’m so hungry I could eat a horse’. We bet that sounds familiar, too. There are some people who want to scale down their portions for dinner, believing that everything they eat in the evening goes straight to their hips. Meanwhile, others are helping themselves to large bowls of pasta or even a whole pizza, because they consider their evening meal as the time when they can finally ‘really eat something’ after a long, hectic day. Yet neither of these approaches benefits the body’s natural fat-burning process. Read on to discover five important considerations for boosting your metabolism by providing your body with a low-calorie meal that is both tasty and filling.
When it comes to your evening meal, there are two things which should absolutely be taken into consideration - skipping dinner affects your metabolism negatively and eating too much does not help your body in any way. Now here’s the golden rule for an evening meal which encourages fat burning: what you eat at dinner time should represent between 15% and 20% of your energy intake for the whole day. That’s why it makes sense to choose meals which are nutritionally balanced and low in calories for the final meal of the day. You don’t need to supply your body with an enormous amount of energy at this point, because late in the day the body doesn’t require much energy. Instead, allow your portions to be more generous at breakfast or lunchtime, so that you won’t feel hungry in the evening.
A common mistake that calorie-conscious people make is to skip eating dinner. Yet every time you skip your last meal of the day, your blood sugar drops to a below normal level, causing a mild state of hypoglycemia which slows down your metabolism. A sluggish metabolism means that your body is burning fewer calories. So we actually end up with the opposite of what we wanted – we’re feeling empty and the hunger pangs will only encourage us to surrender to unhealthy cravings.
If you’ve spent the day following a good nutritional plan and eating sensibly, your body has been able to burn fat all day long thanks to a breakfast high in healthy fats and a light, yet filling lunch. Your last meal of the day serves as a pendulum which will balance out the rest of your day. So for dinner keep in mind that an appropriate portion of low-fat protein ensures that the metabolism can function properly.
If you’re not really feeling hungry in the evening, you shouldn’t consider grabbing a small snack, although you’ve had a low-calorie meal. Cornflakes, muesli or even fruits eaten in the evening can increase your calorie intake and inhibit your metabolism just as much as eating a chocolate bar. In addition, the fiber in cornflakes or muesli is some-what heavy for the evening. Snacks are best eaten during the day, at those times when you’re feeling a bit hungry but lacking the opportunity to have a full meal.
Having a salad for your evening meal wonderfully satisfies your hunger while giving you another opportunity to provide your body with more vitamins and a bit of energy. The current favorite making the rounds at Asana Rebel is the red beet salad. This crimson colored super veggie contains a high amount of silica, which helps to prevent osteoporosis and promotes healthier skin, hair and nails. It also lowers blood pressure and is a great source of iron, which makes it a popular food among vegans and vegetarians.