Keeping in shape and gaining muscle mass goes beyond the aesthetic, as it helps us in our health, allowing us good mobility, resistance and strength. The way to achieve this is not only with exercise, an adequate diet is also essential. For this, it is important to comply with all the meals of the day. On this occasion, Karen Velásquez, nutritionist at Clinica Ricardo Palma, gives us some advice to achieve our goals.

How many meals should we eat per day?

An adequate diet is important to achieve our objectives; therefore, the three main meals must be met, breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, there are many myths that circulate around the latter, since it is believed that eating dinner gains weight, which is false, or that it is enough to drink an infusion, have a piece of fruit for dinner or eat only toast; however, this is not enough to give the body the necessary nutrients. Dinner is one of the most important meals, even more so for those who do sports, since they need extra energy to preserve and continue building muscle mass.

What foods can be eaten at night?

The foods that can be eaten at dinner to help increase muscle mass are the following:

• Proteins, such as poultry, fish, or beef
• Eggs
• Fruits and vegetables
• Dairy
• Carbohydrates, such as cereals, beans, potatoes or rice
• Lipids, such as nuts, olives, olive oil, among others

Recommendations for a proper dinner

• Dinners should be light, fat-free and adequately digested.
• You should always try to eat dinner at the same time and eat slowly; dedicating at least 20 minutes to this moment
• It is advisable to eat dinner between 7 and 8 pm at the latest, as eating later can affect sleep and digestion
• A healthy snack in the middle of the afternoon will help you not to arrive very hungry at dinner time

Karen Velásquez
Nutritionist at Clinica Ricardo Palma