Ideal Meal Timings

Most people are confused about setting meal timings and end up either with no time schedule for food or even skipping meals. Especially, young people during holidays and people while traveling tend to lose all sense of time and discipline. Irregular meal times can lead to lowering of the metabolism and acidity. Also when the meal is too late and the gap between meals is too long there is a tendency to over eat or you lose control and eat anything you see, specially fatty snacks or sweets even though you have made some serious resolution to avoid these foods.

The ideal time to eat breakfast is between 8-9 am. If you wake up very early about 5 am you may want to eat breakfast by 7 or 7.30 am. If you have to leave for an early work shift or school bus we would advice you to eat the breakfast by 7am. rather than skip it or eat it later at office or school at 10.30am. which is too late for breakfast.

The idea is that you would have eaten dinner by 8-9 pm so breakfast should not be delayed by more than 12 hours later. The latest time for breakfast is not to be beyond 9.30 am. When you wake up from your sleep in the morning your metabolism comes up from resting or basal state to active state. When you eat, chew and digest food the metabolism rises further. This is why an early breakfast and never skipping breakfast is very, very important. Also the body has been without food for 10-12hours, this is like a fasting state and you are low in energy like a car on low or empty petrol tank so eating breakfast and eating it at least by 9am or 9.30 am is very important.

Lunch should be after 4-5 hours with a fruit in between around 10.30 to 11am. 12.30 -1.30 pm is a good time for lunch. 2pm should be the latest as most people who go beyond this time tend to develop an acidity problem as they age.

4-5pm is tea time and even if one is not so hungry at this time we would advice you to have a cup of tea or coffee and a couple of crackers or a slice of toast. Those not used to tea or coffee could drink a glass of skimmed milk or buttermilk at this time. The reason is that the gap from lunch to dinner could be 7-8 hours. Many who miss this tea break tend to lose all control by 6 or 7pm and eat oily snacks, cookies or sweets by this time. Other wise they eat nothing from lunch to dinner and then start eating from dinner till they go to bed without any control on quantity or any restriction on fatty food.

We advice that at 6 or 7 pm after your tea and cracker you should also have a fruit and if still hungry a glass of skimmed milk or buttermilk too. This is usually the time when many people get home from work and start indulging in all the wrong food. Dinner is best between 7.30-8.30 and the latest should be by 9.30pm. The ideal is to finish dinner at least 2 hours before you go to bed. At night your metabolism is slow and if you eat very late then as the metabolism is very slow most of the food will be stored as fat.