Meal Intervals

People often get very confused about exactly what constitutes proper eating habits. There is so much conflicting information in the media that it becomes difficult to determine what to trust. One day coffee if bad and should be avoided, the next it's touted as having great anti-oxidant properties. Then it lowers the risk of diabetes. People may disagree about the details but there are a handful of fundamental principles that everyone agrees on. These principles will be found in every good nutrition plan and over the next handful of weeks or so I'll write about each of them. The first is proper meal intervals. The days of three squares a day should be over. You should plan your meals about 3 - 4 hours apart. That means you should have 5 - 6 smaller meals per day. Don't mistaken these for snacks. These are full meals containing lean protein, dietary fats, and fruits/vegetables...just in a smaller portion. This will keep your metabolism running all day long and keep you energized. It will also prevent you from crashing after a large meal. The body can only utilize so many calories at a time...the rest it stores for later use as body fat. So if you eat small meals throughout the day your body will become more efficient at using what you put in for energy. People often say they don't have the time to eat 5 - 6 times per day. The key is preparation. Take a couple hours on a Sunday to shop for high quality meats, fruits, and veggies. Cut up the veggies and store them in containers for use that week. I typically cook up a bunch of chicken breast early in the week and put it in the refrigerator. Then I put all my veggies/fruits in containers so I can just dump them into my wok (veggies) or blender (fruits - for breakfast.) I then take no more than 10 minutes to cook up good meals throughout the week. I switched to this type of diet about 8 years ago and could not believe the results. I had no idea I had lost so much weight (I didn't know I had so much weight to lose.) But I stepped on the scale 6 months later and I was 25 pounds lighter than I thought I was. The thing is changing my meal intervals was the only change I made. I didn't change my activity level or even food quality...only meal intervals. So try making this change and see the results for yourself.

Oh, and coffee is loaded with great anti-oxidants and is healthy...just don't douse it with cream and sugar and whip cream.