It’s amazing how many different diets (mainly for weight loss) you can find on the Internet today! Some of them look promising, but there are also such “dietary complexes” that inspire at least distrust, or even look ridiculous. But almost every diet provides for fractional, multiple meals during the day and a complete refusal of food before bedtime. Eating at night – is it really that bad? What should those people who can eat normally only in the evening, after coming home from work, do? But what about those who regularly “raid” the refrigerator while all other family members are having sweet dreams?  

It turns out that nighttime gluttony is not a physiological, but a psychological addiction. Moreover, this dependence is inextricably linked with the wrong mode of wakefulness and sleep, which ultimately affects the general nutrition system and, of course, weight.

Moreover, scientists have found that decreased appetite during the day and irrepressible hunger at night are due to hormonal disruptions in the human body. Normally, the level of the “satiety” hormone, leptin, should rise in the evening. The sleep hormone, melatonin, should also increase. But in “night gluttons” the level of these hormones, on the contrary, sharply decreases. The result is that the person cannot sleep and experiences a strong feeling of hunger.

Is it possible to somehow change this situation? Yes, you can. And correct nutrition at night , that is, the so-called night diet, will help in this . 

How and what should you eat?

Many will be surprised, but the basic rule of the night diet is the same fractional meals during the day. You need to eat every 2-3 hours, but little by little – portions should weigh a maximum of 200 grams.

The second important rule is that with each subsequent meal, food should “lighten”, that is, it should become less high in calories. This means that breakfast should be complete, very satisfying, and very hearty, even if you absolutely do not feel like eating in the morning.

Foods with a high fiber and protein content are recommended: poultry, eggs, cottage cheese, vegetables, nuts, etc. But in the evening, shortly before bedtime, you can afford a maximum of a glass of kefir. From “harmful” products, especially alcoholic, sweet and fatty, it is desirable to give up completely.

The meaning of maintaining such a diet is that fractional nutrition stabilizes the production of hormones in accordance with human biorhythms. Plus, the foods that nutritionists advise to eat for breakfast contain a large amount of a special substance – tryptophan.

This component stimulates the production of the pleasure hormone serotonin and the sleep hormone melatonin. Consequently, thanks to the tryptophan that enters the body in the morning, the level of melatonin and serotonin can be normalized by the evening. The result is that hunger disappears, and the night’s sleep becomes deep, full.

Closer to the night it is impossible …

We will not say anything new about the products “forbidden” at night. The list in this case is standard:

– meat (especially fatty, fried);

– any sausages;

– confectionery – cookies, sweets, pastries, cakes, etc .;

– any baked goods made from white flour – bread, loaves, rolls, pies, etc.;

– fast food, chips, crackers;

– any alcohol (an exception is dry red wine – one glass);

– sweet soda;

– fruits with a high content of glucose and sucrose – tangerines, mangoes, grapes, melon, etc.

And, finally, the last rule: strictly adhere to the daily fractional diet and night diet, you need not a week or one or two months, but at least six months. This is exactly how much time it takes to “retrain” your body and get rid of the nightly gluttony. At first, of course, it will be difficult, but in the future everything will return to normal. It wi