The health benefits of eating at fixed times: how a seemingly innocuous habit can have significant benefits in your life.
How can eating at the same time stabilize your mood?
If you are looking to improve your health, eating at fixed times can be a simple but very beneficial practice.
Indeed, our eating habits have a significant impact on our body and mind, far beyond simple digestion.
By stabilizing your blood sugar, this habit can help you maintain a Stable mood, a better concentration And a greater productivity.
An anonymous bipolar testifies to the positive impact that this practice has had on its stability and productivity;
Since the start of the pandemic (Covid 19), she has noticed that the disruption of her meal schedules has had a negative impact on her ability to concentration and his feeling of hunger.
By working with a nutritionist, she eliminated foods that upset her blood sugar and learned how to exchange those foods for foods that upset her. stabilize.
Thanks to this, she managed to maintain a self-discipline rigid without having to resort to draconian diets that have negative effects on his health.
In fact, Eating at fixed times can help stabilize blood sugar, which may have a positive effect on mood and concentration.
In cases of sensitive blood sugar, eating regular meals can help avoid blood sugar drops and hypoglycemia attacks.
By exchanging foods that disturb blood sugar for foods that upset blood sugar stabilize, it is possible to maintain stable blood sugar levels while avoiding negative health effects.
It's important to remember that our body is what we eat, and that our eating habits have an impact on our physical health and Mental.
By eating at fixed times and choosing foods that promote stable blood sugar levels, we can improve our mood, focus, and productivity while maintaining our overall health.
As we can never say enough We are what we eat 😉
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the work and meal schedules of many individuals (including me) have been Disrupted.
This led to the finding that the time of taking meals has a significant impact on the capacity of concentration And the Feeling hungry, in addition to the choice of foods consumed.
Spending more time at home has resulted in a problem of overeating.
Several years ago I worked with a nutritionist for stabilize my weight.
I eliminated sugar, white flour, and most processed foods from my diet and started following a favorable diet to my health.
My irresistible desires have almost all disappeared.
But now I have to deal with the urge to eat more, and more often.
It is not about “will.”
When it comes to food, the term “will” makes me want to shout.
In the past, so-called willpower — rigid, blind, and potentially dangerous self-discipline — allowed me to go on starvation diets and become a “pro” yo-yo dieting.
I was gaining and losing 10 kilos a year, which was not good for my body or mind.
I've learned the hard way that eating fewer than 1,000 calories a day can triggerHypomania.
(Pay attention to the diet for your bipolarity)
Today, I am fully capable of using this rigid self-discipline.
If I stick to a meal schedule and balance the ratio of macronutrients (carbs, healthy fats, and proteins), I don't overeat.
Recently, however, it was a big “if.”
Our blood sugar levels can affect our mood.
Have meals at regular hours stabilizes our blood sugar, which for me means greater productivity and greater ingenuity in finding time to write.
I take advantage of the “holes” in my schedule to focus on writing.
Since I have to juggle my many responsibilities — work, raising children, etc. — I find that the more productive I am, the more I am able to write and the better I feel.
In addition to the importance of maintaining stable blood sugar levels, our eating habits have a bigger impact than we think.
Experts point out that consistent meal timing can make a difference, as diet not only affects the digestive system, but also other systems like the endocrine, circulatory, circadian, etc.
Three years ago, a nutritionist explained to me what it means to have a” sensitive blood sugar ”, which does not show up in blood tests.
She pointed out to me that my blood sugar is very reactive, which means that I am sensitive to changes in my blood sugar levels.
Of emotional triggers or others stressors can cause my blood sugar to drop and cause hypoglycemia.
But if I keep my blood sugar levels steady, these stressors will have less of an effect on me when I encounter them.
After explaining this to me, we used worksheets to review the “food exchanges.”
That is, how do you exchange foods that can disturb blood sugar levels for foods that can upset blood sugar levels. stabilize.
When I was a young adult and didn't really know how to deal with bipolar disorder — apart from taking more medicines — I was experiencing hypoglycemia “crises” or episodes of hypoglycemia.
But I didn't know that was what I was going through.
Here is what I felt:
First the tremors.
Then, panic attacks temporarily immobilized me.
They went beyond the inability to focus — I was not able to add two plus two.
I was on the verge of tears, but I had no idea why I was sad.
I haven't experienced low blood sugar in years because I know how to recognize the signs and deal with them proactively. Plus, the way I eat (and what I eat) is completely different.
Current barriers to meal times and planned snacks.
As I spend more time at home, I have a lot more opportunities to eat, making it even more difficult to Eat my meals at a regular time.
Other than breakfast, I eat at random times and more often, which ends up making me hungry.
If I eat dinner too early, I am hungry at bedtime and end up eating before going to sleep.
Eating just before bed is known to contribute to weight gain, which in itself isn't great; however, if you have underlying medical conditions or are taking medicines that may result in a weight gain Additionally, it should be avoided.
Eating on a regular basis has many health benefits, including stabilizing your mood, increasing your productivity and also stabilizing your weight.
Since the start of the global covid health crisis, maintaining a distance of more than six meters from the refrigerator has been a challenge.
Intense travel seems to be in my rearview mirror.
Currently, my commute to work (and back) is 15 minutes; my lunch break is only 30 minutes; and I can take care of my papers from home.
The time I spend away from home every day of the week has gone from over 10 hours to just 8 hours.
In normal times, I would have been thrilled.
But I had no place to go to take advantage of this blessing:
No gym.
No meetings.
No events.
No volunteering except through video conferencing.
Normally, seeing this shortened route, I would say to myself:
“Look at all this potential extra time to focus on writing! “
But I write better when I see new landscapes, eliminate distractions, and set a deadline for myself.
Why?
Because there is less time to think and review.
When I'm stuck at home during these overtime hours, it's harder to be Productive.
After the first hour, I wanted to leave, looking for a way to be more effective in my writing.
And the kitchen is right there.
Last week was the first time I went out of my house to write.
I went to a café and drank my tea for a few hours while writing a few observations about Demi Lovato from the first episode of her recent documentary series, “Dancing with the Devil.”
Small adjustments to fix my meal times.
Right now I am not 100% in control of my schedule.
My current assignment as a long-term substitute teacher ends in mid-June, and every week is different with the hybrid learning schedule.
But the great thing about freelance writing as a complementary activity is that you can stick to it and work anywhere you have an Internet connection.
This is in part why I strive to create and respect regular meal times : to free up time for writing and to feel focused enough to write well.
I know it can be difficult to change more than one habit, of a routine Or of a purpose at the same time, but I am trying to change two things because they are both old habits:
Note what I eat each day and abstain from eating between 8:30pm and 7 am.
Thank you for this great testimony. 👏
It teaches us the importance of food on our bipolarity which is often overlooked.
Les medicines 💊 can also have a negative impact on weight gain so do not hesitate to consult a nutritionist During a new treatment.
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