The importance of lunch is clear from the saying “Breakfast like a prince, lunch like a king, and dinner like a pauper” and shows how having a satisfying and nutritious lunch helps to sustain energy levels to motor through rest of the day. That’s why, no matter what rest of the world says, basic dal chawal, roti sabzi fit the bill of a “substantial and nutritious lunch” and they are weight loss friendly too, you just need to watch your portions. According to a new study, the timing of your lunch can also affect weight loss. A study in Spain included 420 obese patients who wanted to lose weight. Participants were classified based on the timing of their main meal, which in Spain is usually lunch. Researchers found that people who ate their lunch later (after three p.m.), lost less weight than those who ate it earlier (before three p.m.), even though they were of similar age, had the same levels of appetite hormones and energy expenditure, and slept for a similar amount of time. Lunch should be a combination of vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and protein.
