Less meat and sleep quality. Between International Meatless Day on March 20th and World Sleep Day on March 17th, I couldn’t let these two crucial topics in nutrition, weight loss, and overall well-being go unnoticed.

As we welcome the arrival of spring and beautiful weather, it’s time to detoxify our bodies from the toxins accumulated during the winter when we spend less time outdoors and don’t get enough oxygen, consume more fat and salt, and reduce our hydration and physical activity.

Let’s take advantage of this new season to make healthier choices and embrace a cleaner, more vibrant lifestyle.

So, what can you do? The idea isn’t to become a vegan overnight if you don’t want to, but to test the positive effects of reducing your meat consumption on your body and weight. Try it out for three days, as in my detox plan, which you can repeat every season change to boost your energy!

What can you replace meat with?

• Wild-caught fish
• Two organic eggs (sunny side up, boiled, scrambled, soft-boiled, omelet, poached…)
• Tofu or equivalent soy steak
• A grain (rice, quinoa, buckwheat…) + a legume (chickpeas, dried beans, fava beans, edamame…) Accompany your dish with unlimited vegetables, seeds (chia, pumpkin…) and nuts (almonds, walnuts…) and fruits for truly complete and balanced meals.

Meat is not essential! You can find protein (amino acids) in 100% plant-based products.

Here are some menu ideas:

• Salmon pouches (buckwheat pancake, salmon fillet, and fennel)
• Watercress salad with pink grapefruit quarters and nuts + garlic vinaigrette
• Creamy cumin and coconut milk coral lentil soup
• Fruit skewers with 2 squares of melted dark chocolate and hazelnut crumbs
• Zucchini and fava bean tagliatelle with red pesto (sun-dried tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, and rapeseed oil)
• Buckwheat and almond red fruit crumble Now let’s talk about sleep!

Studies show that we are sleeping less and less. However, lack of sleep has been linked to:

• Difficulty losing weight
• Increased likelihood of gaining weight

Why? In simple terms, during sleep, when the body regenerates, two hormones are produced: leptin (produced while we sleep and regulates appetite) and ghrelin (stimulates appetite and increases when we lack sleep).

Lack of sleep leads to an “artificial” increase in appetite. And if you think that a weekend is enough to fix the damage caused by a week of short nights, think again. In fact, a study conducted by the University of Chicago showed that after two days of sleep deprivation, subjects saw an increase in their appetite of over 45%! And far from being attracted to foods like green salad and apples, their appetite pushed them towards high-energy density foods (calorie-dense).

The conclusion is simple: the less we sleep, the more we eat!

The solution? Sleep better (not longer).

Start tonight, and consciously decide to go to bed earlier as soon as your body demands it, no matter if your TV program isn’t finished. Keep electronic devices (turned off) away from your bedroom as much as possible. On weekends, allow yourself to sleep an extra hour to not “break” your rhythm and take a restorative 20-minute nap.

And if we combine both topics, eating less meat and sleeping better, it’s clear that avoiding fatty meats (or any high-fat foods) in the evening will improve the quality of your sleep.

ps : read further on sleep with “10 techniques to sleep better“

Good night!

Valerie Orsoni
Your LeBootCamp Weight Loss & Wellness Coach
Creator of the eco-responsible brand LiliWarrior