This is the Best Time to Eat Your Meals if You Want to Lose Weight

You may have often heard that you shouldn't eat fruits in the evening or carbohydrates at night and so on. But can the time of your meals actually affect your weight loss goals?

Well, according to ancient Ayurvedic texts, solar energy and your inherent body composition actually varies throughout the day. These fluctuations can actually take a toll on your diet, making your meal timings an important part of your fitness journey. 

Ayurvedacharya Dr Partap Chauhan, director of Jiva Ayurveda agrees, "According to Ayurveda, there are three kinds of rhythms to the day, corresponding to our inherent doshas namely, vata, pitta, and kapha. At certain times of the day, the rhythm of our bodies and the natural environment is more conducive to certain kinds of activities and foods. If you learn how to eat according to these, you can maintain your diet as well as include a few cheat meals!"

Try a solar diet!

Not only your meal timings, but you also need to update your diet according to the seasons. An imbalanced diet can throw your diet and weight loss goals off track. Dr Chauhan says that a healthy fitness plan is all about keeping the vata, pitta and kapha in balance. He suggests the following timeline:

10 am to about 2 pm:

"This time of the day, the sun is at its peak and so is the Pitta dosha. The Pitta hours are perfectly suited for having your heaviest meal of the day because the digestive ability is the strongest at this time. So, have a light breakfast and a decent lunch during these hours."

6 pm to about 10 pm:

"The evening is when Kapha powers are at play. You should avoid eating heavy foods and have an early dinner at this time. Otherwise, the food may remain undigested or partially digested, which may create ama (toxins) in the body and may give rise to digestive issues and other health problems."

Lastly, sleep on time 

The easiest way to follow this Ayurvedic diet plan is by regulating your sleep schedule.

He adds that a majority of the population do not sleep well mostly because of our habit of using phones until bedtime. Not only does the blue light emitted from electronic devices disrupt our sleep cycles, but it also harms our skin. Meanwhile, tummy troubles are another reason that keeps people up at night. He suggests drinking a glass or two of lukewarm water to aid your bowel movement.