What happens if you don't eat dinner for a year in a row? Can you lose weight? Experiment reveals the answer
"Sister Zhao from the house next door is also in great shape, she's in her forties and still maintains such a good shape..."
"I heard from her before that she doesn't seem to eat dinner at night, but only eats a little fruit, and has been controlling her diet."
Listening to the conversation of the sisters, Aunt Li fell into deep thought. She was only in her early forties, but her weight was already considered heavy among her peers. She remembered an article she had read before, saying that "the less you eat, the more you live. The longer it takes", so she also started to think of "not eating dinner".
But Aunt Li, who has long been used to having all-you-can-eat dinner, couldn’t bear the hunger at night. Because she was so hungry at night, Aunt Li ate more breakfast and lunch , thinking that in this way she would not be so hungry at night. no.
As a result, after only one month, Aunt Li found that her weight had not dropped but increased, from the original 70kg to 73kg, a full 6 kg of fat , which made her very collapsed. Why do I gain weight even if I don't eat dinner?
1. The less you eat, the longer you live?
Regarding diet and health preservation, there has been a saying that "the less you eat, the longer you live". Is there any scientific basis for this statement? A study published in Nature Aging, a new sub-journal of Nature, gives the answer.
The study identified a protein called Sestrin in the model animal Drosophila, which has the function of regulating dietary restriction. If the content of this substance is increased, the lifespan of Drosophila can be extended to a certain extent.
In other words, dietary restriction (eating less) is indeed beneficial to health , especially eating less certain foods, such as protein and specific amino acids, is better than simply reducing calorie intake.
Proper dieting has other positive effects on health.
For example, it can better promote fat burning, achieve weight loss, improve cognitive ability, and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
2. If you insist on not eating dinner for a year, what will happen in the end?
When many people lose weight, they will choose to give up dinner. If you don’t eat dinner for a long time, will you really lose weight? What effect does this eating pattern have on the body?
In order to clarify the confusion, the research team of Southern Medical University recruited 139 obese people and randomly divided them into two groups: the first group not only limited time (can only eat between 8:00 and 16:00), but also restricted the overall calories; The second group can eat at any time, but the overall calories are limited.
After one year of follow-up, it was finally found that the weight loss effect of the first group was indeed more obvious at the beginning, but from the perspective of the whole process, the weight loss effect of the two groups was basically the same .
In other words, if you simply skip dinner and don’t pay attention to controlling your calorie intake at other times, you still won’t achieve the effect of losing weight, which is the case for Aunt Li.
Moreover, it is difficult to lose weight in the long run by skipping dinner alone. In the beginning, skipping meals will indeed make you lose weight, but most of what you lose is water (only superficially, weight loss), but there is no change in fat.
If dinner is resumed later, the body will break down fat and protein more violently to provide energy, and when the protein is consumed, the muscles will be reduced, which will lead to a decrease in the amount of stored glycogen.
At this time, once there is excess energy, it is easier to store it as fat, and the weight will change back, even heavier than the original weight.
In addition, if you skip dinner for a long time, you may face the following four consequences:
1. Gallstones
Only by eating on time can we "start" the contraction of the gallbladder to excrete bile, which in turn helps us digest and absorb.
If you do not eat dinner, the gallbladder will not have the "strength" to work, and the bile cannot be excreted in time. If it is stored in the gallbladder for a long time, solid substances such as cholesterol will easily precipitate and form stones.
2. Digestive system diseases
Skipping dinner for a long time can keep the body in a state of hunger, and when hungry, gastric acid will be secreted. Once the acidic substance is excessive, it will easily damage the gastrointestinal mucosa, and then cause digestive system diseases.
3. Induce diabetes
Skipping dinner for a long time can affect the islet β cells, causing their function to decline, resulting in relative or absolute lack of insulin secretion, thereby inducing diabetes.
4. Decreased resistance
If the body wants to function normally, it needs sufficient nutrition and energy support. If you try to skip dinner, your body organs will lack nutrients and your resistance will naturally decline.
It can be seen how harmful it is to skip dinner for a long time. Everyone should eat on time honestly.
3. How to eat right if you eat too much dinner or reduce your life expectancy?
Whether dinner is eaten right or not has a significant impact on health and longevity, so how to eat is the healthiest?
Generally speaking, these ways of eating dinner are the most likely to hurt the body, such as eating too much dinner, eating too spicy, eating too sweet, eating too sticky, overeating, like to drink thick soup, eating too late, Skipping dinner, etc., should pay attention to avoid. And a scientific and healthy dinner actually looks like this:
- It is advisable to eat 7 minutes for dinner
The most scientific energy ratio of three meals a day is 25~30% for breakfast, 30%~40% for lunch, 30%~40% for dinner, and at night because of the low activity and low consumption, so you can't eat If you are too full, 7 points is enough, otherwise it is easy to accumulate fat and lead to obesity and other problems.
- Eat 4 hours before going to bed
Because it takes about 3 hours to consume food, and the best sleep time is around 10 o'clock at night, so it is best to finish dinner between 6-7 o'clock, so that you can just digest it and sleep well.
- chew slowly when eating
Avoid wolfing down meals. Chewing multiple times can better help food digestion and nutrient absorption. At the same time, it can also control food intake and protect teeth. The total length of a dinner is most suitable for 20-30 minutes.
Skipping dinner for a long time will not only fail to lose weight, but may lead to weight gain, and even cause various other health problems, so friends who want to lose weight should pay attention to the method, remember to keep your mouth shut and open your legs is the key to weight loss!
References:
[1] "Nature Sub-journal: The less you eat, the longer you live!" ". Metz Medicine. 2020-11-29
[2] "What happens if you don't eat dinner for a year?" Southern Medical University conducted a real-life experiment". Life Times. 2022-05-29
[3] "Skipping Dinner = Losing Weight? Don't be stupid, doing this is tantamount to slow suicide! ". People's Daily Online. 2021-02-10
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