Health and Fitness Tips: Lose Weight By Eating More Often!

Seem counterintuitive?

Probably, since most of us have been conditioned to associate weightloss with starving, or at least with eating as little as possible.

Surprise! The perfect diet for weight loss and maintenance is based on 5 or 6 sensible meals.

Women in particular have been socialized to believe that eating less is the only way to achieve weight loss. Do you struggle to “be good” by starving throughout the day only to lose control and binge at night? This overwhelming hunger is actually an inevitable reaction that has nothing to do with a lack of willpower. In fact, depriving yourself of food all day in the hopes of controlling your weight will always be a losing battle.

Carryover From The Cave

When you skip meals, your body reacts like it did way back when we were living like the Flintstones.

Your body gets this signal when you don’t feed it often enough: “Uh Oh! That lazy-ass Caveman Clod didn’t hunt down any grub today – we’re gonna starve!”

Your body is infinitely intelligent - it reacts to what it senses is an imminent famine by slowing down your metabolism so that it can hang on to its existing fat stores and essentially go into hibernation, so that it burns as few calories as possible.

Today, we have no problem getting quick calories. One drive-thru burger, fries and shake at Carl’s Junior is all it takes to meet our entire daily caloric requirements. However, our bodies retain this ancient, protective reaction and it can really hamper weight loss if we try to circumvent our own wiring.

Eating More Frequently Protects Lean Muscle Mass

Another reason it is imperative to eat frequently is that when we do not eat often enough the body runs out of fuel to burn and then turns to muscle as a fuel source. If this catabolic state sounds a little like cannibalism it’s because that’s essentially what it is!

We know that the more lean muscle we have, the higher our metabolism and the more calories we burn. Don’t skip meals! Don’t sacrifice your muscle!

Several Small Meals Help You Reach Weight Loss Goals

Eating 5-6 sensible, smaller meals a day accords with our genetic programming and is crucial to maintaining energy levels and boosting metabolism.

But don’t go getting your Nabisco “snack packs” all lined up in a row quite yet. I am talking about several PROPER (in both content and portion) meals and snacks - combinations of protein, healthy fats (olive oil, peanut butter, avocado) and complex carbohydrates.

For example, a perfect snack is a small apple, a slice of whole grain bread with a tablespoon or two of all-natural peanut butter.

Eat Up!

Now ladies I don’t want to hear you whine, “Oh, but I couldn’t POSSIBLY eat that many times a day!” Sister, get real.

First of all, I’d bet that if you were to write down everything you eat in a day , and I mean EVERYTHING, all snacking ,noshing, munching, “cleaning up”, whatever you want to call it, you’d find yourself already mindlessly eating 4 or 5 times a day, if not more.

Second, we all know it is fun to eat so don’t give me that Southern Belle “I couldn’t eat another morsel” crap. Get over your delicate nature and EAT UP!

Eating More Often Is Easy!

Now here comes the next excuse, guys and gals looove to give me this one –“But, I don’t have the TIME to prepare so much food!” Friends, I am not talking about 5 or 6 portions of Zagat-worthy fare here. Here’s a few tips for getting in 5 or 6 small meals and snacks:

1. Prepare: Make a grocery list (one that requires a pencil, this isn’t the time to train for the Mental Olympics), and do a big grocery run on your day off.

2. Make a Lotta: Cook big batches all in one shot. For example, bake 10 chicken breasts, a pot of brown rice or whole wheat spaghetti in just one kitchen frenzy. You can freeze extras.

3. Think Simple: Meals composed of just a few natural ingredients are usually the easiest and the healthiest. You don’t need to don a chef’s hat in order to grill a turkey burger or piece of fish for dinner and snacks can be as easy as a handful of almonds and a pear or a bowl of instant oatmeal with lowfat milk and some raisins.

4. Spice It Up: Even the most blase chicken breast is tasty when you dip it in a great mustard, salsa, guacamole or hummus.

Don’t Wait!

Remember to space meals and snacks evenly – try not to go more than 3 hours before eating again. For example, I usually eat breakfast at 6am, then snack at 9:30, lunch at 1, a snack at 3:30, another snack at 6, a light dinner at 8:30 and another snack before bed. Work with your schedule – this is about YOUR body.

You’re Gonna Like This Weightloss Plan

I am telling you to give this plan a try because it works and because it feels good to eat! Our bodies are programmed to be fed on a regular basis- our caveperson ancestry can’t be denied no matter how many pairs of Manolo Blahniks we’ve got in the closet.

Go with what your body needs and you’ll experience a boost in your energy level, a signal that your metabolism is cranking up. Then, look forward to arriving at your perfect weight a courtesy of your faster metabolism.

As a woman, I know it may initially feel like you are “being bad” or “cheating” by eating more frequently. I grew up beseiged by the same myths as you – ladies eat like birds, women don’t eat as much as men.symptoms of depression