Why can't I eat staple food at night to lose weight

Not eating staple foods at night during weight loss can help control calorie intake and blood sugar fluctuations. The main reasons include reducing nighttime energy surplus, optimizing fat metabolism efficiency, avoiding drastic fluctuations in insulin levels, reducing the risk of fat accumulation, and improving sleep quality.

1. Reduce calorie surplus:

Nighttime activity decreases, and excess calories are easily converted into fat storage after consuming carbohydrates. Staple foods such as rice and noodles are rich in starch, containing about 350 calories per 100 grams. Lack of exercise after dinner can easily lead to excessive calorie intake throughout the day. Replacing high protein or dietary fiber foods can prolong satiety.

2. Optimize fat metabolism:

The human body will preferentially break down fat for energy supply when fasting. Not consuming staple food for dinner can prolong the fasting period, promote growth hormone secretion, and accelerate fat breakdown. Research shows that intermittent fasting for more than 16 hours can increase fat burning efficiency by 20%.

3. Stable insulin levels:

Refined carbohydrates can rapidly increase blood sugar and stimulate the secretion of large amounts of insulin. Nighttime insulin sensitivity decreases, and sustained high insulin levels can inhibit lipolytic enzyme activity. Choosing low glycemic index foods such as broccoli and mushrooms can avoid drastic fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

4. Prevention of visceral fat accumulation:

The liver's ability to metabolize carbohydrates decreases at night, and excess glucose is easily converted into triglycerides and stored in the abdomen. Long term high carbohydrate dinner diet increases the risk of waist circumference growth by 47% and is positively correlated with the occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

5. Improving sleep quality:

High carbon water dinner may cause postprandial drowsiness but interfere with deep sleep. Blood sugar fluctuations can lead to an increase in nighttime awakenings, while protein and healthy fats can promote tryptophan absorption and help synthesize melatonin. Suggest pairing deep-sea fish or nutty foods with dinner.

In practical operation, progressive adjustment can be adopted, initially halving the amount of staple food and pairing it with sufficient vegetables, and then replacing it with high-quality protein after adaptation. Pay attention to supplementing with complex vitamins B and magnesium elements to prevent nutrient deficiency. If there are obvious symptoms of hypoglycemia, a small amount of slow carbon intake such as oats and brown rice can be taken, while increasing daytime exercise to enhance metabolic flexibility. Long term implementation requires regular monitoring of changes in body fat percentage and muscle mass to avoid muscle loss leading to a decrease in basal metabolism.