chronological eating
Chrono-eating or chronological eating , contrary to popular belief, is not a diet. This is a food system developed by French scientists Alain Delabaugh and Patrick Lecomte. The principle behind chronoeating is that any food is healthy and digested well if eaten at the right time of day. And time is calculated by individual human biorhythms .
Patrick Lecomte studies the hormones and enzymes that the human body produces during the day. And based on the results of the research, he compiled a list of products that perfectly interact with the enzymes of the human body. That is, following the chronoprotective system and this list, a person at a certain time of the day eats only what his body can really digest and what his body really needs. At the same time, metabolism is optimized, useful substances from food are absorbed as fully as possible – this means that no fat remains. Thus, any person of any age can lose weight with the help of the chrono-nutritional system and without exhausting himself with diets.
Theory of chronology
The human body uses calories at different times of the day in different ways because each time of the day produces specific hormones that distribute nutrients differently.
In the morning, for example, the most cortisol is produced. This hormone is responsible not only for stress, but also for regulating the digestive cycle. Together with other substances, it ensures the supply of food to all organs of the body: glucose for the brain, proteins for the muscles, fats for the cell membranes, etc. That is, in the morning, during the peak of cortisol, the body produces those enzymes that are necessary for the breakdown of fats. So, you should eat fatty foods for breakfast . According to the same scheme, but with the participation of other hormones, proteins will be best absorbed by a person by lunch, and carbohydrates by the evening. In accordance with this, a chronomenu is drawn up .
The entire system is based on strict discipline with minimal restrictions on product selection. There should be exactly 4 meals a day in the exact time period set for it:
– Breakfast from 6:30 to 9:30. According to the chrono-nutritional system, breakfast “starts” the whole body, and the intensity of metabolism during the day depends on how nutritious and healthy it is;
– Lunch from 12:00 to 13:30. At this time, the nutrients received at breakfast still support the body, so there is no need to make first, second and dessert for lunch. A meal rich in animal protein and starchy vegetables is sufficient;
– Afternoon breakfast from 17:00 to 18:30. During this period, the amount of insulin in the body is at its peak, so it’s time to eat sweets : they will turn into energy very quickly, and the energy will relieve accumulated fatigue. In addition to sweets directly, the menu can include nuts and [dried fruits;
– Dinner one hour before bed. Dinner should not be heavy in any case, because if the body is burdened with the need to digest food at night, it will not rest. It is recommended to include fish, white meat, seafood and light vegetable salads in the menu.
Basic rules of chronological nutrition
Since the level of sugar in the body decreases in the morning, it is not recommended to have breakfast with sweet foods: then the sugar will rise sharply and you will immediately feel tired.
It is also better to exclude alcohol from the menu as a whole, especially strong, high-calorie ones. The chronological diet allows two glasses of dry red wine per day for women and three for men, but no more.
All meals during the day should consist of one meal of some kind, but not every meal of several. And since one of the main rules of chronological nutrition is compliance with the measure, you should pay special attention to the side dish: no more than 9 tablespoons per day.
If breakfast turns out to be too filling and you are not hungry for dinner, you should not force yourself to eat. But the next day the breakfast should be adjusted, preferably by reducing the bread .
You should drink plenty of fluids while practicing chronofeeding , but you’ll need to make sure that the drinks don’t contain sugar or sweeteners.
Twice a week you can allow a deviation from the meal plan, but only for one meal. For example, Tuesday for lunch and Friday for dinner. At this time, you can eat any food, but in moderation, without overeating.
In addition, for a successful result in the case of using the chrono diet for weight loss, the following mandatory recommendations must be observed:
– in no case do not violate the chosen meal schedule – regardless of the circumstances, you must eat strictly at the same time every day;
– the use of dairy products, bananas, carrots will have to be limited;
– under no circumstances should overeating be allowed, which is why it is necessary to carefully observe the dosage of food.
If chrono nutrition is used as a weight loss diet , then after losing weight it is necessary to adhere to the rules of the food system for some time to consolidate the result.
Recommendations for creating a diet based on the principle of chrononutrition
Chrono breakfast
Breakfast in the chronological diet excludes simple carbohydrates, i.e. croissants, various ready-made cereal-based snacks, biscuits, fruits, jams will have to be abandoned. But one slice of whole grain bread is permissible, as it refers to foods that contain slow carbohydrates. Breakfast should contain proteins necessary for the recovery and growth of muscle tissue. Most protein is found in foods like cheese or ham. It is from them that you should make a menu.
An excellent chrono breakfast would be a salad with ham and eggs or rice sticks with cheese.
To prepare a salad with ham and eggs, you will need the following ingredients: 400 g of ham, 2 fresh cucumbers, 3 hen’s eggs, 1 sweet pepper, 400 g of canned corn, 20 g of dill, 200 g of mayonnaise, 20 g of green onions, salt to taste.
All the ingredients must be prepared: boil and peel the eggs, wash the cucumbers, dill and peppers in cold water, drain the liquid from the corn. Crack the eggs into a large bowl, add the corn and mix well. Cut the ham, peppers and cucumbers into strips and add to the eggs. Mix, add finely chopped dill, salt to taste, add mayonnaise and mix again. The salad is ready.
And for rice sticks with cheese, you will need: 100 g of wild rice, 2 chicken eggs, 4 tbsp. spoons of wheat flour, 150 g breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp. water, 100 g of cheese, spices, black pepper and salt to taste.
Boil the rice and wait for it to cool down. Then add to it 1 egg and only the yolk of the second egg. Sprinkle the spices, flour and mix everything well. The cheese is cut into thick sticks. From the rice mixture, form loaves, in the center of which place a stick of cheese and wrap it with the rice. Mix the remaining egg white with water, dip the rice sticks in it, then roll them in flour, dip again in water with egg white and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. When all the sticks are processed, fry them in a deep fryer until soft.
Chrono lunch
At this time, the process of lipolysis in the body is complete, so fatty foods should be excluded from the menu. Preference should be given to proteins of animal origin, which are abundant in meat and combine with vegetables.
Therefore, for a chrono lunch , for example, French-style meat is suitable. To prepare this dish you will need: 500 g of pork (boneless fillet), 4 onions, 300 g of cheese, 300 g of mayonnaise, salt and pepper to taste.
The meat should be washed, dried and cut into thin layers across the fibers, then carefully remove the shells of each such layer, season with pepper and salt. Peel the onion, cut into circles, grate the cheese on a coarse grater. Grease a baking sheet with oil, put the minced meat on it, sprinkle the onion on the layers of meat in a thin layer. Mayonnaise should be slightly diluted with water and spread over the meat. The top is sprinkled liberally with grated cheese. Place the baking tray in the oven heated to 180 °C and bake the meat for half an hour. When ready, let the dish stew for 10 minutes, sprinkle with fresh herbs and you can serve.
Chronological afternoon snack
At this time, the body needs carbohydrates, so desserts are suitable for an afternoon snack. You can eat chocolate, ice cream, cakes and other sweets. The fact is that thanks to the carbohydrates obtained from them, the amino acid that is produced in the body from meat reaches the brain and turns into serotonin. And this hormone provides not only a good mood, but also reduces the need for sweets until the end of the day.
Chrono dinner
In the evening, all processes in the body slow down and digestion goes into sleep mode. During this period, the body stores nutrients to restore itself during the night’s sleep. If you eat anything extra, it will turn into fat. Therefore, if there is no feeling of hunger, you can completely refuse dinner. But if you want to eat, then the food should be light.
For dinner, for example, fish cutlets are suitable . To prepare them, you will need the following ingredients: 600 g of lean fish, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 tablespoon of potato starch, 1 tbsp. soy sauce, salt, pepper to taste.
Peel the onion and carrot, cut the onion into small cubes, grate the carrot on a fine grater. Fry in a small amount of vegetable oil with the addition of soy sauce. When ready, stir. Cut the fish fillet, place in a blender and bring to the state of a homogeneous mass. Add the fried vegetables to this mass, mix everything again with the blender and pour the resulting mixture into a bowl. Add salt, pepper and starch. The minced meat should be mixed well and placed in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, after which cutlets should be formed from it, rolled in flour and fried on both sides in a pan. When they are almost ready, add a little water and let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes. The dish can then be garnished with finely chopped fresh herbs and served.
The chrono menu examples are optional. You can come up with your own recipes such as fish meatballs for dinner or prepare light versions of an English breakfast in the morning – according to your taste and capabilities. The important thing is to follow the basic principles if you decide to try this type of timekeeping .
