Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of Digestive Surgery at 108 Military Central Hospital, states that dinner plays a significant role in weight management. Eating correctly can help maintain your figure and even support weight loss. Conversely, eating improperly in the evening can lead to weight gain, abdominal fat accumulation, and other health problems.

Principles for dinner to support weight management:

- Eat before 7 PM: Having an early dinner allows the body time to digest and burn calories before sleep. Eating late can easily lead to excess fat accumulation due to reduced activity at night.

- Choose low-calorie, easily digestible foods: Prioritize foods rich in fiber, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates. Avoid foods high in oil, refined starches, or sugar.

- Control portions: Avoid eating until overly full; eat just enough to satisfy hunger. A healthy dinner should account for approximately 20-25% of your total daily calorie intake.

- Avoid high-calorie beverages: Do not drink soft drinks, milk tea, or alcohol in the evening, as they contain many empty calories and slow down digestion.

Chicken breast along with other foods such as salmon, white fish, and boiled eggs are recommended for dinner to promote satiety, aid digestion, and support muscle recovery. Illustration: Bui Thuy

Recommended foods for dinner:

- Protein-rich foods: Options like chicken breast, salmon, white fish, and boiled eggs are nutrient-dense and provide lean protein, helping you feel full longer, aiding digestion, and supporting muscle recovery.

- Green vegetables: Broccoli, spinach, zucchini, cucumber, and celery are rich in water and fiber, which helps reduce cravings and prevent excess fat accumulation.

- Complex carbohydrates (low starch): Sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice, or quinoa provide energy without causing blood sugar spikes.

- Foods rich in healthy fats: Walnuts and almonds (in small quantities) provide beneficial fats and reduce hunger. Olive oil and avocado support metabolism and offer healthy energy.

- Beverages: Filtered water, unsweetened green tea, or warm lemon water help detoxify the body and boost metabolism.

Foods to avoid for dinner:

- Sugary foods: Cakes, candies, ice cream, and soft drinks cause blood sugar spikes, leading to easy fat accumulation.

- Refined starches: White rice, white bread, or pasta contain many calories but offer little nutrition, easily contributing to abdominal fat.

- Fried foods: Oily foods are difficult to digest, cause bloating, and lead to the accumulation of excess fat.

- Fast food: Pizza, fried chicken, and snacks are not only high in calories but also contain a lot of salt, causing water retention and weight gain.

Dinner menu as suggested by Associate Professor Tuan. Image created by Gemini

Beyond nutrition, maintaining healthy habits before sleep can help burn more calories, thus accelerating weight loss. This includes light exercise, such as walking for 15-20 minutes after dinner to aid digestion and burn calories, and practicing light yoga to relax and reduce stress.

Lack of sleep increases the hormone ghrelin (which causes hunger) and decreases the hormone leptin (which reduces feelings of fullness), easily leading to late-night eating and weight gain. Therefore, adequate sleep is essential. Specifically, avoid eating late at night, as it increases the risk of excess fat accumulation because the body does not burn calories efficiently while you rest.

Thuy Quynh