Experts answer bluntly: by itself, eating fruit and yogurt does not lose weight. If during the rest of the day you eat uncontrollably, it will be worth limiting your dinner to fruit and yogurt. Also, if it is because you think it is healthy, think that if you eat a lot of fruit you can end up taking too much sugar.
To make up for excesses once in a while, yeah
Although, as Alma Palau, dietitian-nutritionist and acting president of the General Council of Official Associations of Dietitians-Nutritionists points out, if you only do it from time to time, this type of dinner can be useful to compensate for excesses that you have been able to commit throughout the day. But remember that it is something that you should do only sporadically, not on a regular basis.
How to dine on fruit and yogurt
In this case, Alma Palau recommends opting for fruit that has a low glycemic index (cherries, apples, pears …). The glycemic index measures how fast a food raises blood sugar (blood sugar). If a certain fruit has a high glycemic index, the sugar present in the blood will rise a lot. The body will then secrete insulin to lower it and if there is still an excess, it will accumulate in the form of fat in adipose tissue. To this you have to add that foods with a high glycemic index cause that after a few hours you suffer a considerable drop in blood sugar and you feel the need to eat again.
Whole yogurt + red fruits, apple, pineapple or pear, for example
As for yogurt, it is recommended that it be whole, natural and without added sugar. Its fat intake is low (lower, for example, than that of meat or fish), but on the other hand, it has the advantage that it helps make us feel more satiated, in addition to improving the absorption of calcium and its fixation in the bones .
So is it healthy or not?
There is no doubt that both fruit and yogurt are healthy foods and that having either or both of them with dinner is absolutely correct. The problem comes when you do not accompany them with any other food, since then you are making an unbalanced dinner that lacks nutrients. Keep in mind that in most nutrition guides it is recommended that dinner contributes between 20 and 30% of the daily calories. And according to the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, each of your main meals should include 40% vegetables, 10% fruit, 25% carbohydrates (rice, bread …) and 25% protein ( meat, fish, eggs…).
How is a dinner to lose weight?
To lose kilos, it is best to make a light dinner with vegetables or salad and accompany it with protein in a very moderate amount (lean meat, fish or eggs). This will help you feel satiated and not have to raid the fridge in the middle of the night. You can also complete the dinner with a piece of fruit and / or a yogurt.
Regarding carbohydrates (bread, rice, cereals …) in general, they can be taken without problem at dinner, but when looking to lose weight it is better to suppress them or include them in garnish portions and always in their integral version.
In addition to choosing foods well, it is important to cook them in a simple way (grilled, steamed, in papillote …), so that digestion is not heavy and you can sleep without problems. In this sense, it is also more advisable to opt for fish instead of meat and cooked vegetables instead of raw, since they are easier to digest.
Light dinner ideas
As clear as we have that dinners must be light, the problem is that after a long day going from here to here we are too tired to go into the kitchen. However, there are many more dishes than you can imagine to prepare light dinners to lose weight that, in addition to being low in calories, are also delicious and that hardly take time to prepare. Here are some ideas:
- Chicken and vegetable fajitas. Make them with wraps or whole grain pancakes. For the filling, use strips of grilled chicken breast and accompany it with some baby spinach leaves, some diced tomatoes and some strips of peppers. This dish is perfect to take advantage of some leftovers like that roast chicken that you have left over from Sunday lunch or the remains of some sauteed vegetables.
- Tortilla Paisana. To prepare it, you can use the vegetable stir-fries that they sell already washed and cut (either frozen or fresh). Add it to a pan with a little oil and cook until the vegetables are tender. Beat some eggs, salt and pepper them and add the vegetables. Curdle the tortilla and voila! If you want to buy some time, you can cook the vegetables in the microwave.
- Zucchini mini pizzas. It's as easy as slicing the zucchini about a centimeter thick. Cook the slices on the grill or put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Next, cover the slices with chopped natural tomato, cooked ham and some sliced cheese. Put in the oven until the cheese is golden brown.
- Salmon with mango salad. Cook the salmon on the grill or in the oven. While it is being done, chop onion, tomato, avocado and mango. Mix it and season it with oil and lemon and add some mint leaves. Serve the salmon with the fruit and vegetable salad.
- Complete salad. Prepare a base with some green leaves, some cherry tomatoes and some chopped wild asparagus. Then add protein to it either by adding a few cubes of low-fat cheese, chicken breast or strips of smoked salmon, and a handful of chopped nuts. To give it a different touch, you can also add some raspberries or a few pieces of apple, nectarine or other fruit.
