The principle of the chrononutrition diet was developed in 1986 by Doctor Delabos. This is a high fat diet. This started from the observation that undernutrition in the elderly was due to the fixity of their meals, whether in terms of their schedules or their composition. He then studied the eating habits of our ancestors as well as the biological and metabolic rhythms of the human body, to conclude that it is essential to consume all foods, but only at the times of the day when they are most useful to satisfy the body’s energy needs.
Strongly criticized by nutrition professionals, it was not until the clinical research of Professor Jean-Robert Rapin in 1994 that this concept was recognized by the world of nutritionists.
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DIET
Chrono-nutrition consists of eating correctly and at the right time of day. Doctor Delabos specifies that foods do not have the same effect on the body depending on when they are ingested.
Determination of the morphotype: first step of the chrononutrition diet
The morphotype is an essential morphological evaluation tool since it determines where your body is in relation to the Galileo morphotype, which embodies desirable perfection. Your morphology can change throughout your life, and approach or move away from this “perfection”.
The morphological evaluation is done in six points:
- The size of the individual
- His weight
- The chest circumference
- wrist width
- The hip circumference
- The waist circumference
Depending on the results, 11 different morphotypes result . Defining this will allow you to adapt your diet according to your needs.
The chrononutrition diet
As we mentioned earlier, chrononutrition therefore consists of eating a bit of everything, but at specific times of the day. Four meals are considered for this diet: breakfast, lunch, snack and evening meal. Each has a certain category of food to eat , according to the biological rhythm of your body. The quantities for each meal vary according to your size and your morphology .
Also note: you have the possibility of having 2 “joker” meals per week, where you can eat what you want.
1- Breakfast: no more sugar, fat on the menu!
All nutritionists will agree, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is to be taken within an hour of waking up! Dr. Delabos recommends eating fatty foods for this first meal , in order to avoid fatigue and small cravings that often occur in the middle of the morning. You will not gain weight since the body then has the day to eliminate these fats, necessary for the proper functioning of the body.
On the breakfast menu:
- Tea or coffee is allowed, but without sugar!
- Slow sugars (wholemeal bread for example)
- Fats: cheese, butter… If you don’t like cheese when you wake up, cottage cheese will do just fine.
- Proteins: eggs, ham
2- Lunch: a dense meal but no fat
At noon, the meal must consist of a single dish , in generous quantities . No place therefore for starters, cheese, a dessert and of course no alcoholic beverage, because all of them can be too rich and difficult digestion factors.
Your lunch will therefore include:
- Protein: meat, fish or eggs
- Starches: pasta, rice, wheat… Be careful though: some body types will have to replace these starches with a portion of vegetables.
3- The snack: eat sweet!
Unlike other diets, snack time is one of the most important meals of the day, more so than the evening meal. It is advisable to wait until you are hungry to take this snack, which will consist of exclusively sweet foods . This meal will allow you to get to dinner without being very hungry, which will allow you to eat light.
Menu recommendations:
- vegetable fat: nuts, dark chocolate,
- fruits: natural fruits, dried fruits, compote…
4- Dinner: light and optional
Dinner is the least important meal of the day, since the body consumes little energy until bedtime. If you’re not hungry, you can skip this meal . Otherwise, favor light foods, with few carbohydrates and lipids and therefore easy to digest, and have dinner at least 1h30 before going to bed. Eating light in the evening will allow you to promote weight loss but also to have better sleep!
On the dinner menu:
- Fish or lean meats (chicken, turkey… without sauce!)
- Small amounts of vegetables
ADVANTAGES
The chrononutrition diet allows us to rebalance our body by being more attentive to it, while eating the right foods when needed, thus respecting our biological clock. This dietary rebalancing also improves one’s well-being by being more attentive to one’s body (better sleep, etc.). It is a diet that allows you to lose weight without ever feeling hungry, or at least very little, unlike other diets.
Chrono-nutrition may be suitable for people wishing to lose weight without depriving themselves . It’s a fairly loose diet , especially since the weekly joker meals allow some deviations from the imposed diet. By allowing us to eat a bit of everything, it does not cause nutritional deficiencies.
The diet to be followed requires time to adapt (especially for the consumption of fat at breakfast, which few of us are used to), but it is not very restrictive and you can vary your meals while staying within the recommended food categories at each time of the day.
DISADVANTAGES
As with any diet, it can be psychologically difficult to restrict yourself without being able to eat what you want at any time of the day, although the recommended menus remain quite varied.
The weight loss caused by this diet is quite low : indeed, the goal of the latter is not to lose weight, but to slim down and rebalance your figure . Even over the long term, the results can be disappointing for some.
Chrononutrition is only really effective if we extend this mode of feeding over the very long term, or even throughout our lives.
Finally, this type of diet is not suitable for everyone. The type of food recommended can lead to constipation problems in individuals who are sensitive to it. In addition, due to the high consumption of animal protein and saturated fatty acids, such a diet can lead to long-term cardiovascular and kidney problems .
ORIGINS OF THE REGIME
The concept of this diet was developed in 1986 by Doctor Alain Delabos, having worked for 7 years as a geriatrician nutritionist. Based on the metabolic and biological rhythms of the human body , alongside the eating habits of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, he developed a diet of eating everything but at specific times of the day.
In his book Losing weight to measure thanks to chrono-nutrition , he presents the details of his theory based on chronobiology and offers recipes allowing weight loss through a rebalancing of the diet according to our biological clock . Strongly criticized, it was not until the studies of Professor Jean-Robert Rapin, in 1994, that the concept of chrononutrition diet gained credit with nutritionists.
ANSES’S OPINION
The opinion of ANSES is the opinion of the French health security agency. This notice should be read with caution and is important. Beyond 20% difference compared to ANSES recommendations, the difference is on a red background, otherwise it is on a green background.
| Lemon detox diet | ANC – Reference values (women / men) | Difference (woman / man) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANSES’s opinion is taken from Request No. 2009-SA-0099 (1) | |||
| Energy (kcal/d) | 2,529 | ~2000 if sedentary. ~3000 if very active. | +26.4% / -15.7% |
| Lipids (%AET) | 42% | 35 to 40% of calorie intake (CA) | +20% / +5% |
| Fibers (g/d) | 28 | 25 / 25 | +12% / +12% |
| Iron (mg/d) | 19 | 16 / 9 | +19% / + 111 % |
| Calcium (mg/d) | 1077 | 900 / 900 | +20% / +20% |
| Magnesium (mg/d) | 249 | 360 / 420 | -31% / -41% |
| Sodium (mg/d) – Salt | 2,798 | 2522 / 3447 (INCA2) | +11% / -19% |
| Vitamin B9 (µg/d) | 348 | 300 / 330 | +16% / +5% |
| Vitamin C (mg/d) | 87 | 110 / 110 | -21% / -21% |
| Vitamin D (µg/d) | 2.3 | 5 / 5 | -54% / -54% |
REVIEW OF CALCULERSONIMC.FR
The chrononutrition diet is not a deprivation diet. Adverse health effects are reduced because you can eat anything at the right time of day. This diet is more of a food rebalancing. It requires respecting a certain rigidity, eating only certain types of food per meal.
Explanation of scoring:
» Nutrition aspect : points – 10 for the harmful effects of the diet
» Build aspect : points – 10 for the expectation of beneficial effects on long-term build
SHARE THIS FILE ON SOCIAL NETWORKS AND GIVE YOUR OPINION!
Do you want to give your opinion on this diet?
If you’ve tried this diet before and would like to email us with your feedback so it appears on this page, we’d love to! To do this, simply use the form below.