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“It is not what you do in the moment but before and after that matter.” I don’t know who might have said this but this does hold accountable for the things to do before and after dinner. If you find yourself lazying in bed before dinner and then going to bed right after eating, it is time to change those habits.
It is true that we follow through some of the common healthy habits before and after dinner but for the most part, we are doing a number of things wrong.
To help you get back on track to your healthy routine, let me walk you through some of the healthy things to remember before and after dinner.
Healthy Things To Remember Before And After Dinner
To help you gauge a better well being, it is very important to ensure that you follow through a healthy routine before and after your dinner.
Dinner might not be the most important meal of the day but what you do before and after the meal does decide your overall well being.
So, plan accordingly.
Things To Do Before Dinner
Before you are about to start dinner, it is important that you have a set schedule, at least for 30 minutes to an hour before.
Having a concrete routine and plan for before the meal will help you have harmony in what you do. If you are still confused, let me help you out. Scroll down.
1. Drink A Glass Of Warm Water
Around 30 minutes before the meal, drinking some warm water can help in boosting the digestion and improving the slagging metabolism that you have been complaining about.
If just plain water isn’t much appealing to you, lemon water works well too but ensure that you don’t drink that if you have been empty stomach for a long time.
Lemon water before meals (at least 30 minutes) can help in a number of ways that you didn’t even know of.
In addition to boosting the overall digestion process, it has been found to help prevent overeating (R) as well which is amazing to prevent the risks of obesity and labored metabolism.
2. Wear Loose Clothes
Yet another one of the important pointers under the before in the things to do before and after dinner has to be for you to wear loose fitting clothes.
It isn’t rocket science that everything has a fixed space to work with. When you constrict something in a smaller space, the pressure increases because of the lack of room.
The same is the case with the food and the kind of outfit you are wearing for your dinner. It is true that you can’t show up in your pajamas to a dinner party outside but if you are having your dinner at home, this could be a good way to handle the problem.
Instead of wearing tight-fitting clothes, wear something loose and comfortable. Constricting clothes end up putting direct pressure on the abdomen which indirectly has contributing factors to the condition of heartburn.
3. Focus More on Eating Proteins
A protein-rich meal is not just healthy for you but has been found to have beneficial impacts in enhancing your metabolism and such which is something that you need for your overall well being.
I am not specifically asking you to consume a high protein meal for dinner but spacing out your proteins through the day is an amazing way to keep your body fit and in the best possible condition.
Consuming a little protein for dinner will help you with the better achievement of the weight loss goals as well which is an added bonus.
If you have been looking for things to do before your dinner, it is to plan your meal in a way that it will include protein and the necessary macro and micronutrients but at the same time, will be light on the stomach as well.
4. Caffeine Before Dinner
When we are discussing the healthy things to remember before and after dinner, one of the things to do before is to get a kick of caffeine around 30 minutes before the meal.
Make sure that you don’t go ham and drink a cup of coffee or a cup full of tea because that will end up doing you no good.
Instead, it is always best to stick to the minimal amount around half an hour before the meal. If coffee is too much, switch to green tea because even that is an amazing option for you to look into.
The consumption of green tea before dinner has been found to not just help boost the metabolism (R) but even keep down the risks of inflammation too.
Too much caffeine can end up causing an irregularity with your sleeping schedule, so make sure that you keep that in check.
[Also, Read: Ginger Tea For Weight Loss]
5. Deep Breathing
Before you start with your dinner meal, it is very important that you take out two minutes to just relax and let go off of the constant string of thoughts littering your mind.
Dinner is the time that you reflect through the entire list of events that happened throughout the day. But, it is time that you stop doing that as it ends up deflecting you from eating mindfully.
This is one of the things to do before dinner when discussing about the “before and after dinner” essentials.
Deep breathing has been found to have beneficial impacts in helping round with the proper eating habits and even charges your appetite well.
Not just before, taking a few minutes in between meals and focusing on the meal instead of the surrounding things can further help in preventing overeating and enhance the concept of mindful eating.
6. Prepare a Light Meal
“Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and dinner like a pauper.”
This is a saying that holds true for your dinner.
Given that the dinner is the last meal of the day, it is very important that you do focus on preparing a very light meal.
Don’t go overboard but eat things that your body would be able to digest easily. This is important.
Provided that we don’t indulge in much of the physical activity and moving around after dinner, it is best suggested that you prepare for a meal that is light on the stomach and will be digested very easily without much efforts put into it.
7. Indulge in Strength Exercises
As weird as this might sound but if we are talking about things to do before dinner under the healthy things to remember before and after dinner, indulging in strength training is actually an amazing addition to the list.
We aren’t talking just 20-30 minutes before your meal but at least maintain an hour’s gap in between the exercise routine and the meal.
Cardio exercises and strength training have been found to have beneficial impacts in helping round with boosting the overall metabolism of the body which further helps.
Strength training has been found to keep the overall metabolism elevated (R) for an extended period of time which comes in handy for you.
This is specifically amazing for the people who are trying to find ways to burn the excess fats in their body and lose weight.
8. Prepare for the Day Tomorrow
Maintaining a healthy routine for your life is important. The best way to kick-start that is by preparing yourself for the coming day before your dinner.
Post-dinner, chances are that you won’t have the kind of energy to plan and sort things out for the upcoming day.
This is why it is important that you do focus on preparing for the day before the dinner itself.
You can keep your clothes sorted for the day and even make a bag that you will take. Additionally, setting the phone for charging and setting an alarm for tomorrow can also add to the list of to-do things.
For the best results, it is important to ensure that you do focus on preparing ahead of time for the day coming around.
Things to Do After Dinner
Once you are done with your dinner, there are a number of things you should be doing or even avoiding. Your nighttime routine isn’t just about brushing your teeth and then plonking yourself on the bed. It is more than that.
If you are following through the things to do before and after dinner, make sure that you add these to the list as well.
1. Avoid Going to Bed Immediately
We often have the habit to just dive into the bed right after finishing the meal. That is possibly one of the worst things you are doing for your body.
Lying down following a meal, especially a dinner, has been found to end up affecting the overall process of digestion, thus causing sour stomach and bloating that you experience in the next day.
Studies (R) do suggest that sleeping right after dinner can be one of the markers behind poor digestion and weight gain as well.
Instead of going to sleep right after your meal, wait around for an hour or two hours and then hit your body on the bed. In the meantime, you can clean the dishes, go for a walk or just sit and read a book if required.
2. Go Out for A Short Walk
Many have myths and misconceptions surrounding the whole prospect of “going for a walk” post-dinner.
It is true that walking can help in boosting the digestion and even prevent the risks of weight gain post-dinner by preventing you from sleeping right away, but there are some triggers and red alarms too.
If you want what’s best for your health and adhere to the best routine before and after dinner, go for a walk at least an hour after your meal and not right away.
Taking that gap in between helps the foods settle well into the stomach to ensure better digestion.
Additionally, ensure that you aren’t walking too fast or for a very long time. Just 10-15 minutes is enough.
3. Brush Your Teeth
Yet another one of the things to do after dinner in the healthy things to remember before and after dinner is to brush your teeth without fail.
Even if you don’t feel like doing it, it is important that you do make a habit out of it.
Brushing your teeth on a daily basis at night after your dinner plays a very crucial role in helping out with the proper maintenance of oral hygiene.
When you eat food, chances are that the remnants of the food particles are going to end up being in the crooks and corners of the teeth and the gums which prove to have problems in increasing the bacterial infestation in the mouth.
Brushing your teeth after dinner gets rid of those remnant food particles and helps prevent dental issues like halitosis and plaque and tartar formation.
4. Avoid Smoking
Many people have the habit of smoking after their meals and if that is something that you are doing after your dinner, it is best suggested that you avoid it right then and there.
Smoking just after dinner (R) does have worse impacts than what it could have throughout the rest of the day. The absorption of the carcinogens from the cigarette just after a meal is a lot more in comparison to the rest of the day.
If you don’t necessarily want the worst for your body and increase the risks of cancer too, it is best suggested that you do avoid smoking following your dinner.
[Read: Different Ways to Quit Smoking]
5. Avoid Taking a Shower
Do you have the habit of taking a shower after your dinner? If that is the case, it is time that you cut it out of the list of the things to do before and after dinner.
Taking a shower right after having your dinner compromises with your body’s metabolism.
When we eat, our body processes the food and the digestion follows after that. If you take a shower right after eating, it ends up reducing the overall core temperature of the body which ends up slowing down the digestion and the metabolism process.
For the most part, it is best suggested that you focus on either taking a shower before the meal or wait for 2 hours after the dinner to take the shower.
6. Don’t Loosen the Belt After Dinner
If you tend to have the habit of loosening the belt after you are done with dinner, that needs to stop today.
Often times, people who have a big bulging belly are the ones who tend to loosen their belts following their meal. That is the last thing you want to do.
For those who are trying to tone down their muscles and avoid weight gain, this is a marker that you need to keep in mind.
Loosening the belt ends up loosening your abdominal muscles as well which is the last thing you want to experience.
Instead of adhering to that habit, consume a measured meal and prevent overeating to ensure you don’t exert excess pressure on the stomach and abdominal region.
7. Avoid Fruits After Dinner
Many have the habit of adding in a few pieces of fruit after their dinner meal thinking it would be amazing in helping round with adding more nutrients to the diet.
This is more than a misconception.
Eating fruits after dinner can be a downer for your health.
Given that fruits take the least amount of time to digest, when you eat it after your dinner, you are making it get stuck through the digestive tract, improperly digested with the food you just ate.
This is where the problem arises from.
Instead of eating fruits after a meal, eat it as a snack anytime throughout the day.
8. Limit Alcohol Consumption
Adding alcohol to a meal is common but if you are looking through the healthy things to remember before and after dinner, this definitely needs to go.
The addition of alcohol even before or even after a meal can have worse impacts on your body’s metabolism.
It slows down the process, thus affecting the weight of an individual in the process too. Even if you have a drink after the meal, make sure that you limit it to one pint or one peg and not more than that.
The things to do before and after dinner are important facts that one needs to be aware of. We have mentioned a few of them. Given that we are suffering from so many diseases because of our improper lifestyle, it is time to bring forth changes to that.
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