It’s no secret that hormones affect just about everything, and that includes our eating habits. For women of reproductive age, being flexible might be more beneficial than being rigid with their mealtimes.
“Women in their reproductive years, especially during the luteal phase of their cycle [the phase after ovulation, or about two weeks in], need more calories and more slow-burning macros [nutrients like protein, carbs and fat] to keep blood sugar stable, keep PMS at bay, maintain a healthy weight and to have quality sleep,” Vitti said.
This means women should work on listening to their bodies when deciding what time to eat dinner, and even how much they eat.
It’s important for men to listen to their bodies, too, but their hormones fluctuate less, making this less of a necessity.
“Men don’t have an infradian rhythm, so they can stick to their same meal timing every 24 hours,” Vitti added, referring to the menstrual cycle, which is the most common type of infradian rhythm.
At the end of the day, what time you eat dinner really comes down to what works best for you.
“People should eat at a time that is realistic for their lifestyles and sleep habits,” Beckerman said. “That may mean eating a later lunch during the day if you know you won’t sit down for dinner until 9 p.m., which is totally OK!”
This post originally appeared on HuffPost.
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