I realized that all you have to do to lose weight and then maintain your new weight is eat half of what you normally would, but twice as often.
While you may have heard of a similar concept (frequent small meals) before, what may be new to most people is adjusting the proportions each time you eat.
Notice that I say “every time I eat” instead of “food”. I think the word “food” is too much associated with a lot of food! So from now on, the food on your plate will be referred to as “mealtime.”
Instead of 3 meals a day, eat it 6 times a day. Instead of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I say “first breakfast, second breakfast, first lunch, second lunch, etc.”
Back to proportions! Well, we all learned from standard US health classes and the diet pyramid that “meals” should be basically 1/3 starch, 1/3 vegetables / fruits, and 1/3 protein. The problem, as I see it, is that BOTH starch (bread, pasta, potatoes, rice) and vegetables / fruits contain carbohydrates (and very little protein / fat).
With that amount of carbohydrates in each “meal”, three times a day, it is only a matter of time before a person’s insulin stops working and the doors open for health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, surge weight, etc.
I recommend changing the percentages to 50:50. That’s 50% protein-based foods (meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts, eggs), which also contain healthy fats, and 50% carbohydrate-based foods (gluten-free vegetables / fruits and grains).
Note that I completely gave up dairy and gluten, which I consider to be the biggest instigators of health problems.
So, “eat half” means to eat half a protein-based meal and half a carbohydrate-based meal.
It also means “eat half” in each session. Instead of eating everything from a large plate, draw a line down the middle and eat half. (Or use a smaller plate!) Save the other half for 3-4 hours later, when your body needs another dose of nutrients and calories.
Why 3-4 hours later? When you go more than 3-4 hours without eating, your body goes into stress mode, also known as starvation. While we may wish our bodies to burn excess around our middle, or maybe a little bit in the back, that’s just impossible, sorry to say. Our bodies ONLY know how to use muscle for fuel.
So save your muscle, for God’s sake, and feed yourself every 3-4 hours. It may seem like a babysitting job at first, but hey, if you don’t feed yourself, who will?
I suggest setting an alarm on your cell phone every 3 hours during the day. At first, you may find that you have no idea what to eat, but you’ll soon catch up and make sure you have something close by so you can move on to the next 3-hour interval nourished, energetic, and feeling clear and balanced. -headed.
That’s how it is! Eating something every 3-4 hours ensures that your blood sugar level and your mood will be balanced.
Which means you’ll be more productive while nourishing and feeling great!
Eat half (half protein, half carbohydrates) and eat half, twice as often!
Think of it this way, you are not eating more or less. You are simply distributing it differently throughout the day, in a way that works for your body.