I found that all you have to do to lose weight and then maintain your new weight is eat half as much as you normally would, but twice as often.
While you may have heard of a similar concept (small, frequent meals), what may be new to most people is adjusting the proportions each time you eat.
Notice I say “every time you eat” instead of “food.” I think the word “food” is too associated with a lot of food! From now on, the food on your plate will be referred to as “mealtime.”
Instead of 3 meals a day, do 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! Okay, so we all learned from standard American health classes and the dietary pyramid that “meals” should basically be 1/3 starch, 1/3 vegetable/fruit, and 1/3 protein. The problem, as I see it, is that BOTH starches (bread, pasta, potatoes, rice) and vegetables/fruits contain carbohydrates (and very little protein/fat).
With so many carbohydrates in each “meal”, three times a day, it’s only a matter of time before a person’s insulin kicks in and doors open for health problems like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, weight gain , 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 (vegetables/fruits and gluten-free grains). .
Note that I completely omitted dairy and gluten, which I consider to be the biggest instigators of overall health problems.
So “half eating” means eating half protein-based foods and half carbohydrate-based foods.
It also means “eat half” at each sitting. Instead of eating everything on one big 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 load 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 want our bodies to burn excess around the waist, or perhaps a little in the rear, that’s simply impossible, I’m sorry to say. Our bodies ONLY know how to use muscle for fuel.
So save your muscles, for crying out loud, and feed every 3-4 hours. At first it may seem like a babysitting job, but hey, if you don’t feed yourself, who will?
I suggest setting an alarm on your cell phone every 3 hours throughout the day. At first you may have no idea what to eat, but you’ll soon become familiar with the game and make sure you have something close by so you can go into the next 3 hour interval nourished, energized and feeling clear and level. -headed.
That’s how it is! Eating something every 3-4 hours ensures that your blood sugar and mood are balanced.
Which means you’ll be more productive while fueling up and feeling great!
Eat half (half protein, half carbs) and eat half, twice as often!
Think of it this way, you’re not eating more or less. You’re just distributing it differently throughout the day, in a way that works for your body.
