Dinner isn’t dead: Why your body still needs that third meal after 40

Produced by: Manoj Kumar

Dinner Deception

Skipping dinner won’t boost your metabolism—it might wreck it. Without fuel at night, your body slows down to conserve energy, ironically making you gain weight.

2AM Cravings

Ditching dinner often backfires. The body, denied nutrients, retaliates with late-night binges, low leptin levels, and a foggy sense of satiety. Cue hunger at odd hours.

Metabolism Myth

The body doesn’t switch off during sleep—it runs repairs, balances hormones, and digests. Denying it dinner slows these processes, not your metabolism.

Celebrity Echo Chamber

From Karan Johar to Ram Kapoor, celebs flaunt their OMAD (one meal a day) glow-ups—but your gut and heart health may not survive that Insta trend.

Timing > Skipping

It’s not if you eat dinner—it’s when. A light, nutrient-rich meal by 7:30 pm gives your body time to digest before sleep and sets you up for metabolic balance.

Skipping Consequences

A 2023 nutrition journal study links one-meal-a-day habits with increased cardiovascular risk. Skipping dinner is not just a diet tweak—it’s a health gamble.

Mental Health Toll

A 2020 study linked meal skipping in older adults to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Food isn’t just fuel—it’s also emotional equilibrium.

Muscle Memory

Past 40, muscle mass starts declining. Skipping dinner means skipping protein, accelerating muscle loss and metabolic slowdown when you need strength most.

Smart Plate Fix

Don’t ditch dinner—redesign it. Replace refined carbs with greens and protein. Aim for 1g protein per kg body weight to counter age-related muscle drop-off.