Dinner is one of the trickiest meals of the day. We are aware that we need to eat a light dinner, which will consist of food that is easily digestible, because our body’s metabolism slows down considerably during the later part of the day. We are also aware that at dinner, we are faced with a long period of no food, so we are propelled to eat something that is light, and at the same time filling. Naturally, it becomes important for us to keep a sharp watch on everything that we eat at night, including something as apparently innocuous as yogurt.
Keeps hunger pangs away
For most of us who are on a weight watchers diet, yogurt is the go to option when hunger pangs strike. As everyone who is on a weight loss diet will know, the temptation to reach put for a high calorie snack to combat the hunger pangs is universal and often irresistible. Yogurt is a great replacement for such snacks, and that counts for the midnight snacking as well. Who doesn’t know the temptation to take out the ice cream bowl from the refrigerator in the middle of the night for some sinful satisfaction? And it inevitably leads to feelings of immense guilt for cheating on your diet.
Opting for a bowl of low calorie yogurt instead would make the nighttime snack a lot less guilty and actually quite healthy. If a bowl of yogurt of not really your thing, you can always add some chopped fruits to it to make a delicious fruit salad. Or add a little bit of a sweetener, some salt, and some lime juice, and give it a good churn in your blender, and you have a glass full of cold, delicious lassi.
Builds muscle
A cup of yogurt is recommended not only for the ingredients it doesn’t have, but also for the amount of protein it does have. We usually sleep for around six to eight hours during which we get no nutrition. Our body slowly starts to enter the catabolic state, that is, it begins to use up the existing stores of fat and muscle in order to keep functioning and prevent starvation. Yogurt contains quite a lot of protein, which helps a lot in ensuring that your lean muscle building is not completely stopped during the night. Around 11 grams of protein are found in 8 ounces of yogurt, so you can plan your intake in accordance to your weight goals.
It is important to ensure that the yogurt you eat is free of sugar.
Sometimes, the packaged yogurt that you buy will contain quite a lot of sugar even if it is not the traditionally sweet version. It is always better to eat the kind that is completely free of sugar in order to gain the maximum benefits of a low calorie food. Be careful about the yogurt that you buy. Yogurt is great for your health, but only as long as it doesn’t affect you adversely. If you feel any discomfort, stop eating yogurt by itself and make a fruit salad instead.