Our previous post touched on the number of meals to have in a 24-hour period. We now come to the second part of when to eat. In the first part, we saw that you can best adopt what the people did in Bible times in context. However, we observed that the world is getting fatter since we eat when the system says it is time to eat. Naturally, as the world becomes fatter, ill health increases. And that concerns us here because many may die before they fulfill their divine purpose. Today, we want to consider your ideal mealtime. Is there an optimal time of the day to eat your breakfast or lunch or any other meal?
Our post on how to eat generated an interesting comment from one of our more ardent readers. He agreed but opined that those who love eating may not like that post. Medical doctors have all sorts of theories about your ideal mealtime and its size. Keep in mind, this is a continuation of our Divine Health series so it is important to know what doctors say.
We can then consider it in light of God’s word, which is our golden standard. Once, my doctor counseled me to eat breakfast before 8 am and let it be like a king’s breakfast. Lunch should be around noon and it should be the size of a prince’s lunch. Dinner should be around 6 pm and should be the size of a beggar’s meal.
Your Ideal Mealtime Depends On Your Sleep Time
That advice, which could serve as your ideal mealtime, did nothing to help me. And that is because my sleep times did not tally with what gave rise to that wise counsel. It is based on regular waking and sleeping times. If you wake up before 6 am, you are hungry before 8 am. And if you had a beggar’s dinner the night before, you are starving by morning, ready to eat a huge breakfast.
Because your 8 am meal is breaking the rather long fast you had between 6 pm and 8 am, you are soon hungry. Hence the medium-sized lunch four hours later. Eating dinner early also helps to complete digestion before you go to bed. So, as far as your ideal mealtime goes, my doctor’s counsel is spot on, if you wake up and sleep at regular times.
However, if you work nights, for instance, you have to turn that advice on its head. That is because the purpose of eating a large meal is so you would have the energy for work. So, for those who work at night, your biggest meal should be dinner and not at 6 pm. You should eat that meal about 30 minutes before you start your shift. That way, the energy from it is all available for your job. And in the morning, before you go to bed, eat a light meal since you won’t be using much energy in your sleep.
In bible times, since they only ate two meals a day and worked with their hands, both meals were large. Your ideal mealtime would differ from theirs since we eat three or more times a day.
Do What Works For You
After all is said and done, find your own pattern of eating. Older people tend to eat two main meals at 10 am and 6-7 pm with a snack in between. It works well for them. Because I am a writer, I eat breakfast at 11 am since I might be working late into the night later. On that meal pattern, I maintain a healthy weight. On the other hand, when I tried to follow my doctor’s advice, I gained weight. It is not what you would regard as my or your ideal mealtime.
Observe we talk about maintaining a steady weight. That is a good goal to have a chance of living longer. And why does that concern us on our journey to heaven? It is because God created us for a purpose. It is a purpose that Apostle Paul understood and so he chose to live long on the earth. And today, we are all enjoying the works of his hands each time we read the epistles in the bible. Gauge your ideal mealtime so you too can live long and leave a good legacy whenever you go home. The assumption is that heaven is where our home is.
Maranatha!