Chrononutrition of Dr. Alain Delabos

Chrononutrition is not considered to be a diet, but a balanced system of nutrition. It was developed by French doctor Alain Delabos. The rule of such ration is quite simple – any food will be useful, if you use it strictly on time. The hours of food intake are calculated due to the individual biorhythms.

Dr. Delabos has analyzed the dependence of the digestive system of a person on the level of hormones and the production of enzymes, as well as the fluctuations of their indicators during the day. The result of his research has shown that if you eat at certain hours, the body is ready to absorb almost any food without harm to health. At the same time the metabolism is on the proper level, and the lipids are not deposited in reserve. His observations came from old aged pensioners in a retirement home. He noticed the slimmer, healthier ones ate with gusto just not the same foods as the overweight OAPs.

Principles of the chrononutrition:

– the use of sugar is forbidden until 17:00 (this applies to both sweet tea and cakes, as well as sweet fruit);

– breakfast should be large and must not be limited to one cup of coffee;

– the use of white and red meat should not exceed 2-3 times a week. Fish and seafood can be eaten every day, but the best for dinner;

– the menu should be maximally varied and balanced. Thus, it is recommended to alternate the products, so that the body receives the necessary vitamins and minerals;

– you should limit the consumption of bananas, carrots and beets due to the high glycemic index. Seasonings and spices should always be in your ration;

– dairy products should be consumed in small amounts. Choosing cheese, it is desirable to give preference to hard sorts;

– food intake should take place without haste, every 3-4 hours, and no snacking in between;

– fast food, fatty and fried foods (trans-fats) must be strictly excluded from the ration.

– the use of alcoholic and carbonated beverages is prohibited. However, red wine is an exception to this rule. You can afford to drink a glass at dinner two or three times a week.

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Chrononutrition is not a strict diet for weight loss, but it helps to cleanse the body of accumulated harmful substances, as well as to normalize the metabolism and digestion. You can not lose weight in a short time using the methodology of Dr. Delabos. It is recommended to adhere to this regime throughout the whole life. However, it is worth noting that you will see noticeable changes in 1-3 months. Of course, it is a long term, but the resulting weight will be optimal for you, and superfluous kilograms will leave you without harm to health.

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Time for meals is a strict daily schedule. Only then the chrononutrition brings results and benefits.

Breakfast – from 6:30 to 9:30

Lunch – from 12:00 to 13:30

Afternoon snack – from 17:00 to 18:30

Dinner – not later than one hour before bedtime.

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Dr. Delabos notes that you can skip the evening meal, but it is strictly contraindicated to skip the other meals.

This technique is primarily aimed at health improvement, and then – losing weight. You’ll get used to the regime and after a couple of months the body will start to run like clockwork, and extra kilograms will noticeably disappear.

LWDLIK - My BFF's sister has been on this for 3 months and lost 12 kgs, my BFF has been on it 2 months and has lost 5kgs, I've been on it about a week and can feel my clothes are getting a little looser. I also noticed that not having protein and dairy in the same meal felt very comfortable, less bloating and fullness.
I'm convinced that my metabolism has stopped working as I was on a mainly veg diet (apparently cooked veg have higher glycemic value which means more sugar, raw veg need more time to digest perhaps prolonging hunger when coupled with protein) maybe that's why it wasn't working.
Last night another friend told me she went on a 3 day fast and lost zero weight, a shocker, but for older ladies nearing or in menopause we all wonder what the hell happened to the days the weight would fall off easily when dieting. As chrononutrition was founded on observations of OAPs whose metabolism must be a lot slower than mine so I'm even more convinced to try this out - I'm not so religiously committed but have adopted the main concept and I am, so far, quite impressed. 

In short - no dairy and protein in the same meal. Big breakfast, smaller lunch, healthy snack and light dinner. No cakes, trans-fat processed food, no sugar. I am struggling a bit with the timings and no sugar but I'm getting there. The great thing is you do not feel hungry. It seems as long as I have a satisfying healthy meal that I'm not craving sugar as much as before either. Drink plenty of water to avoid constipation (I used to eat fruits in the morning but since cutting them out have become sluggish) and for the last couple of days have lost that foggy headed feeling (could it be sugar causing that, don't know but I'm going to stick it out for a few months and see how it goes). Each time I Google Chrononutrition I find slight differences in what's allowed and what's not but the above is working very nicely for us.

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