What happens if you skip dinner for a year in a row? Can you lose weight? Experiments reveal the answer
"Sister Zhao from the house next door is also in great shape. She's still in her forties..."
"I heard from her before that she doesn't seem to have dinner at night, she only eats a little fruit, and she has been controlling her diet all the time."
Listening to the conversation of the sisters, Auntie Li fell into deep thought. She was only in her early 40s, but she was already overweight among her peers. She recalled an article she read before, saying, "The less you eat, the better you live. The longer it takes", so she also began to make up the idea of "don't eat dinner".
But Auntie Li, who has long been used to eating all-you-can-eat dinner, could not bear the hunger at night. Because she was so hungry at night, Auntie Li ate more breakfast and lunch , thinking that she would not be so hungry at night. No.
As a result, after only one month, Aunt Li found that her weight did not drop but increased, from the original 70kg to 73kg, a full 6 kg fat , which made her very collapsed. Why don't you eat dinner and get fat instead?
1. The less you eat, the longer you live?
Regarding diet and health, there has always 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, gave the answer.
The study identified a protein called Sestrin in the model animal Drosophila, which has the effect 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 certain amino acids, than simply reducing calorie intake.
Proper dieting also has other positive effects on health.
Such as better promote fat burning, achieve the purpose of weight loss, but also 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 choose to give up dinner. If they don’t eat dinner for a long time, will they really lose weight? What effect does this eating pattern have on the body?
In order to understand the confusion, the research team of Southern Medical University recruited 139 obese people and randomly divided them into 2 groups: the first group was not limited to time (can only eat between 8:00 and 16:00), but also limited overall calories; Group 2 can eat at any time, but the overall calorie limit is limited.
After a one-year follow-up, it was finally found that the weight loss effect of the first group was 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 .
That is to say, if you simply skip dinner and don't pay attention to controlling your calorie intake at other times, you will still not be able to lose weight, as is the case with Auntie Li.
Moreover, it is difficult to lose weight by skipping dinner alone in the long run. It is true that you will lose weight by skipping meals at the beginning, but most of the loss will be water (only superficially, the weight will be lost), but there will be no change in fat.
If dinner is resumed later, the body will more violently break down fat and protein to provide energy, and when the protein is consumed, the muscle will also decrease, resulting in a decrease in the amount of stored glycogen.
At this time, once there is excess energy, it is more likely to be stored as fat, and the weight will return, even heavier than the original weight.
In addition, if you skip dinner for a long time, you may also face the following 4 consequences:
1. Gallstones
Only eating on time can "start" the contraction of the gallbladder, thereby excreting bile, which in turn helps us digest and absorb.
If you don't eat dinner, the gallbladder will not have the "power" to work, and the bile cannot be excreted in time. If it is stored in the gallbladder for a long time, it is easy to precipitate solid substances such as cholesterol and form stones.
2. Digestive system diseases
If you do not eat dinner for a long time, the body will be in a state of hunger all the time, and when you are hungry, gastric acid will be secreted. Once the acid substance is excessive, it will easily damage the gastrointestinal mucosa, and then cause digestive system diseases.
3. Induce diabetes
Long-term skipping of dinner can affect the islet beta cells, causing their function to decline, resulting in a relative or absolute lack of insulin secretion, thereby inducing diabetes.
4. Decreased resistance
In order for the body to function normally, it needs sufficient nutrition and energy support. If you try not to eat dinner, the body's organs will lack nutrients, and the resistance will naturally decline.
It can be seen how harmful it is to skip dinner for a long time, everyone still eats on time honestly.
3. Eating too much dinner or reducing life expectancy, how can it be considered right to eat?
Eating dinner right or not has a significant impact on health and longevity, so what is the healthiest way to eat it?
Generally speaking, these kinds of dinners are the most likely to hurt the body, such as eating too rich, too spicy, too sweet, too sticky, too full, like to drink thick soup, too late, Do not eat dinner, etc., pay attention to avoid it. The scientific and healthy dinner actually looks like this:
- Dinner should be 7 minutes full
The most scientific energy ratio of three meals a day is 25~30% for breakfast, 30%~40% for lunch, and 30%~40% for dinner, and at night, because the activity is not large and the consumption is low, it cannot be eaten. Too full, 7 points full is almost enough, otherwise it is easy to accumulate fat, leading to obesity and other problems.
- Eat 4 hours before bedtime
Because food consumption takes about 3 hours, and the best sleep time is around 10 o'clock at night, it is best to eat dinner between 6-7 o'clock, so that it is just digested and it is easy to sleep.
- Chew slowly when eating
To avoid gobbling meals, chewing multiple times can better help food digestion and nutrient absorption. At the same time, it can control food intake and protect teeth. The total length of a dinner is 20-30 minutes.
If you skip dinner for a long time, not only will you not lose weight, but it may lead to weight gain and even bring about a variety of other health problems. Therefore, friends who want to lose weight should still pay attention to the method. Remember to keep your mouth shut and stretch your legs is the key to losing weight!
References:
[1] "Nature sub-issue: The less you eat, the longer you live! 》. Mays Medicine. 2020-11-29
[2] What happens if you skip dinner for a year? Southern Medical University conducted a real experiment". Life Times. 2022-05-29
[3] "No dinner = weight loss? Don't be silly, doing this is tantamount to chronic suicide! ". People's Daily Online Science. 2021-02-10
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