Perhaps you are wondering what “time” is doing attaching itself to a diet description. Well, some of you may have guessed or know it already; however, the Six O’Clock Diet has something to do with restricting eating time. In this diet, you are allowed to regularly eat anything until the clock hits six o’clock in the evening. Your next meal follows the next morning when you wake up. This diet is also known by the description “after six”.
The concept lies on the body’s metabolism and activities. It is more active during the day and because of that, burning fat and calories is faster and easier as compared to when your body is inactive. Everything you’ve eaten in a day would be difficult to burn if you continuously munch on food as your activity levels drop. Aside from that, food gets “stored” by the body at night. Most of the body functions are turned off when we sleep, making metabolism slower and weight gain faster.
Why six o’clock? Some say that it is just the right time between night and day. When you stop eating at this point, you give your body some time to work on all the food you’ve eaten without having to deal with more incoming calories and fats as it does.
What you should remember about the Six O’Clock Diet is that you can eat in the morning but not anything you want. The idea is to eat what you need, not what you can. You still have to watch out for what you eat and what you need. If you overeat during the day, your body may not be able to burn down all the excess you’ve taken in. If that happens, you will just gain weight. In the same way, don’t eat too little during the day and then eat nothing after six. This will cause stress and fatigue and is more likely to get you sick than healthy. What some people do is that instead of eating three full meals a day, they eat four to six meals and snacks instead.
Of course, Six O’Clock Diets have its pros and cons. And just like any other diet, it isn’t for everyone. The After Six diet can be quite useful to people who have this urge to raid the refrigerator or eat while watching TV at night. However, for some people, this may cause insomnia and sleeping disorders. Also, the After Six diet can also cause you to eat a lot during the day because you have this feeling of “making up for lost time”. It is supposed to be a diet program, not an eating race against the clock.
What does the After Six diet have in common with other diets, though? The main thing here is discipline. If you’ve made up your mind not to eat after six, then you must also have the firm resolution not to overeat during the day, even though you still have to eat right and healthy for you to support the energy and nutritional needs of your body.
