If you’re like me, when you get overly hungry all you want to do is put something in your mouth as fast as you can. Then you can hardly stop eating because it takes awhile for your brain to catch up with your belly to know there’s actually food in there.
When you wait too long to eat, your blood sugar drops and the brain sends hunger signals to your body. These hunger signals get stronger until you’re ravenous. When you do start eating, the digestion of food and release of sugar into the blood stream takes a little time. So it makes overeating very likely.
Not only might you be tempted to overeat, but you will probably be tempted to eat the easiest and fastest food. This could mean a handful of chips, a candy bar, a drive-thru meal, etc. Healthy food usually takes a little time to prepare – and who can wait when you’re starving!
To avoid this whole scenario, eat every 2-3 hours. Ideally, you should have three meals and three snacks a day. Here’s an example:
Breakfast 7:30 – egg white omelet, veggies, low fat cheese, whole grain wrap
Snack 10:00 – raw almonds, lite yogurt, apple
Lunch 1:00 – chicken breast, salad, low fat dressing, rice cake
Snack 3:30 – cottage cheese, berries
Dinner 6:00 – fish, brown rice, broccoli
Snack 8:30 – protein shake
Eating frequently will help you have better control over your food choices. It will help you keep a steady state of energy. And it will help you lose weight.
