By Nadia Marshall

Well, maybe it isn’t THE secret, but it is definitely one of them....

We are always looking for ‘tricks’ or ‘secrets’ to lose weight and get happy and healthy.... but we often overlook the simple stuff. One of the biggest tricks in Ayurveda for losing weight, improving digestion, stabilising blood sugar levels, reducing cravings and becoming more mentally stable is....

drumroll...

TO EAT YOUR MAIN MEAL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.

Yep, if you just did that a whole lot more than you do right now, life would be better.

Why? because our digestive fires or Agni are strongest in the middle of the day (a reflection of the sun being highest in the sky) so we are better able to digest a heavier meal at this time. As a result we get more goodies out of our food which better nourishes our body/mind. And our Agni stays more balanced so we’re better able to digest all of our meals.

If we then have a lighter meal or supper in the evenings, our Agni isn’t busy digesting a big meal overnight so instead the Agni within our minds is better able to digest our sensory impressions or experiences from our day. We sleep better, produce less undigested food wastes or toxins (Ama) and wake up feeling lighter (physically and emotionally) and more energetic! Makes sense yeah?!

According to explorer, educator and new york times best-selling author on longevity, Dan Buettner, the longest lived, happiest people on the planet tend to eat their main meal at midday. Now you know why!

I know it is difficult to do. But is it really more difficult than spending the rest of our lives searching, searching, searching for another answer to our health and happiness problems? Reading more articles... watching more videos on youtube... getting distracted by more sponsored diet ads on Facebook? I don’t think so.

So give it a go. Not just for a day... not just for a week.. but for a whole month! Then another! If you don’t get it right all the time, don’t worry, just do your best. It can be more difficult with kids but if you’re looking for advice on that front, give Dr John Douillard’s “Perfect Health for Kids” a read - it has some great ideas!

Of course the nature of your main meal is pretty important too! If you don’t know what to eat, use our “WARMTH” or “Ayurvedic Kitchen” cookbooks. They are both specifically designed to feed you heavier meals at lunch and lighter meals in the evening that are tridoshic (good for all constitutions) and will help enkindle a balanced digestive fire.

Let me know how you go!

Love

Nadia xxx