Making your mid-day meal, your primary meal, provides your body and mind with the energy it needs, when it needs it most.
Let’s face it, all life follows cycles that change over time. Not just in a 24 hour period, but through all four seasons as well. It’s so important to align your lifestyle to the natural cycles/rhythms that your body was designed for. For example: between the hours of 10am and 2 pm—when the sun is brightest—your body has maximum energy and your digestive system works at maximum efficiency.
This is Part one of a 10-part series: 10 Habits That Will Drastically Improve Your Life
As such, eating your main meal during this period results in more efficient digestion and allocation of that nourishment. Eating proteins and good fats, earlier, will fuel your body through the afternoon. In addition, the blood sugar those proteins and fats provide will give you maximum energy when your brain needs its most—between the hours of 2-6 pm.
Low blood sugar results in distractions, and an inability to focus. Blood sugars provide you with mental clarity and better communication. All of this results in higher productivity and better problem solving.
Sounds good, right? But wait…there are even more reasons to eat an earlier, lighter dinner.
Additional Benefits
Eating a lighter meal at the end of the day—between the hours of 5 and 7 pm for example—give you better control of your weight, a better sleep, and a lighter, more refreshed feeling when you wake up in the morning. (In part two of my series, Ten Habits That Will Drastically Improve Your Life, I’ll discuss in detail the benefits of going to bed earlier and rising earlier.)
6-10 pm is the time for connection relaxation and enjoyment. Eating larger meals, later in the evening, forces your body to focus on digestion instead of winding down your day and setting your body up for a good sleep.
Food will not efficiently digest during this period, so you won’t sleep as well and you will make it harder to have a proper poop in the morning. (We’ll talk more about this in another part of the series.)
The hours between 10 pm and 2 am is naturally a cleansing time, when your body is moving food downwards toward its ultimate elimination. If you eat a late dinner then your body is busy digesting it when it should be in cleansing mode.
If we lose the cleansing cycle time, we have more waste buildup in our system which results in putting pressure on the rest of your organs the next day. If you do this repeatedly, you place a constant load on your system which results in feeling tired and low energy.
A Bit of History
What we call lunch, was traditionally called dinner and served as the main meal of the day. What we call dinner was traditionally referred to as supper, which served as a supplemental meal in the early evening.
Think Supper = Supplemental = Lighter Meal.
Soups were main features of these lighter, supplemental meals. Soups are easier to digest, satisfying, and provide warmth in the belly that helps you relax. Soups also hydrate you for the night. Here’s an Instant Pot Lentil Dal soup recipe I make all of the time.
Conclusion
If you struggle with mental clarity in the afternoons, try this simple habit of making lunch your main meal, and having earlier, lighter dinners. You’ll be amazed at the results!
Juliet Cullins is a holistic health coach and offers 12-week and 52-week Body Reset programs to help people adopt a more rhythmic, natural lifestyle and live happier and healthier lives etc. Learn more about her programs at her MountainLuv Wellness web site.