Mealtimes and Listening To Your Body Clock

Our lives nowadays are becoming increasingly dependent on our work and activity clocks. External influences are setting off alarms in our heads at odd hours of the day, even more so with current stay at home schedules.

If you have a demanding schedule that’s keeping you from eating at the right times, it could weaken your metabolism and throw your sugar levels out of whack.

It’s not only about what you eat, but also when you eat it

Our internal body clock or “Circadian Rhythm” which is responsible for our sleep-wake cycle, gives us many more signals than we at times care to pay heed to.

Consider, for instance, the embarrassingly loud noises an empty stomach makes between 7-9 A.M in the morning. All this is, is a signal for you to break your nightly fast and provide your body with fuel for the day ahead, which is why breakfast should be taken within 2 hours of waking up.

When we choose to ignore this and stay in bed till five minutes before our 10 o'clock conference call and ultimately reduce breakfast to coffee and a slice of toast, we are laying grounds for insulin resistance.

Similarly denying ourselves nourishment till late in the day makes our body crave food that is high in calories and ultimately leads to a spike in blood sugar levels after the said high-calorie meal has been taken.

Thankfully for our circadian rhythm, which is constant and sustained by our bodies, we can follow three simple guidelines to help us eat when it counts for the most:

1. Eat breakfast and Lunch before 1 P.M. Daytime is when our insulin levels are higher and we have enough energy to digest and make use of the food we eat. Eating a late lunch (beyond 1 P.M) is like working a late shift; it tires your body out. You may end up feeling groggy due to the extra energy being devoted to digesting one of the heavier meals of the day.

2. Make an early dinner prep regime so that you can eat at most by 6 PM. By around 8-9 P.M. your insulin-producing cells, which have been active throughout the day, wind down. That’s why eating an early dinner that is low in caloric value and allowing at least 3-4 hours for digestion can help control your sugar.

3. Avoid late dinners or nightly snacks. Come sundown, we see an increased production of our sleep hormone (melatonin) which helps ease the body into a rest and repair phase. Eating at this time or late at night when your body expects you to be asleep, increases the chances of weight gain, and is not good if you happen to be diabetic. Plan your snacks in between breakfast and lunch instead.

Simply put, your body knows exactly how to keep itself healthy, and listening to its signals and tapping into your natural reserves of hormones can help you control your blood sugar effectively and naturally.