Feeling pumped, cravings or heavy digestion at 3 p.m.? The contents of the plate are not the only culprit. According to several nutrition experts, the precise time at which you eat your lunch plays a decisive role in blood sugar levels and afternoon fatigue.
After lunch, we often feel heavy, tired and sleepy, especially if the meal is large or high in carbohydrates. “Lunch is the meal that often determines whether you approach the second half of your day with energy and focus, or whether you struggle with cravings and sluggishness.“, explains dietician Marjorie Nolan Cohn straight away. But it is above all the time at which we eat our lunch which impacts our level of fatigue in the afternoon.
Eating lunch “at the wrong time” also impacts blood sugar levels, in other words blood sugar spikes. Depending on the time the meal is eaten, the body does not use insulin (the hormone produced by the pancreas which regulates glucose in the blood) in the same way. Eating after a certain time also encourages you to eat more and faster. “This can encourage excesses at the table, larger portions than necessary, a feeling of overfullness, less thoughtful choices – eating with your stomach and reacting to cravings – and more difficult digestion, with bloating and even weight gain.“, explains the dietician.
So what exactly is the worst time to have lunch? “For most people, it is not recommended to postpone lunch after 2 p.m. answers Jill McNutt, dietitian interviewed by Parade magazine. When lunch is too late, blood sugar can drop, which can leave you tired, irritable, or ready to grab anything quick and easy“. The ideal time slot for eating is around 12-1 p.m.: this is the most favorable configuration for spending an afternoon without cravings or fatigue.
Eating breakfast too early isn’t the answer either. Eating before 11 a.m., when breakfast was eaten around 7 or 8 a.m., creates too long a window without food before dinner, which can cause exactly the same crash mid-afternoon. “Rather than postponing lunch in a fasting state, I recommend providing a small, balanced snack between meals”advise the experts. This allows you to space out food intake without feeling hungry and to arrive at the next meal without being hungry. Likewise, it is advisable to have dinner as early as possible, ideally around 7 p.m.
The simple rule to remember: avoid going more than five to six hours without eating since your last meal. Also, beyond the schedule, the golden rule for keeping a clear mind after 1 p.m. is to fill half your plate with vegetables, aim for a portion of protein (egg, fish, chicken, legumes) and limit refined carbohydrates such as white bread or overcooked pasta. Finally, if you still have to have a late lunch (it can happen!), walk for 5 to 10 minutes right after your meal: this simple movement helps the muscles absorb sugar from the blood and reduces drowsiness.
