After eating a heavy lunch , do you feel frustrated when you start craving snacks just a few hours later? You may think it is a matter of willpower or an inability to control your cravings. Your appetite may actually stem from an imbalanced meal that fails to keep you satisfied for long.
Dr Singh explained, “Lunch is a major meal that has to be balanced, where all the food groups have to be included in the right proportion. When distortion happens, food items included as part of your meal are not fulfilling the target needs of an individual in terms of macronutrients, such as carbohydrates, protein, fats, fibre, and micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals. So, irrespective of the size of your lunch, its nutritional composition matters more. A meal that does not contain a balanced combination of protein, fibre, carbohydrates, and healthy fats may leave you craving more food later. In the end, she emphasised that feeling hungry soon after lunch does not necessarily mean you need more food. Instead, you may need to improve the nutritional balance of your lunch by adding more protein and fibre.
