Cut the B.S. and Get Your Diet in Order!
But what about the many meals a day?! Well, this is another thing most people forget. Your body digests what it takes, in about 2 ½ hours. Most people eat 3 large meals a day and a few snacks, well, this will add up to around ~3,000 calories to the average person. The body, however, needs energy ALL through the day. Would you rather drive your car to E, fill up, drive your car to E, fill up, drive to E then park it, then fill it up in the morning again? Or, drive your car to ¼ tank, fill it, ¼ tank, fill it – see what I’m saying? It costs the same in the long run, but is better because at some point your fuel pump takes a beating sucking down that last little bit of gas – and this is a perfect reference, the body will go catabolic and then get a big meal and store what it left over as fat!
Breaking the ~3k cals down to 6-7 smaller meals of 4-500 calories, makes for a much more efficient body, as your metabolism stays high all day breaking down food. That, in itself, burns calories! But how do I break my meals down? That’s what gets most people …
Your food intake should consist of about 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fats. This is a pretty standard figure, but I like to manipulate this some because of some basic ways the body handles these nutrients. Think about your day, when do you expel the most energy? Morning (your didn’t eat all night, you need carbs to start your body – think, what’s recommended? Cereal, toast, fruits – all carbs). Lunchtime, usually when you go back to work and need energy to well – sustain life. Then most people, eat carbs around dinner time then proceed to workout. Great, carbs BEFORE you work out!
Then finish your workout and eat another carb rich meal, bad idea. You won’t be using much energy after 7:00PM will you? Probably not … so avoid the carbs. Chips? No way, don’t even go down that isle at the grocery store. Head over to the meat department, and get a nice lean steak. Or two, or 10 pounds worth … eat up! Get tuna, veggies to make salads, and a very light oil/vinegar dressing that’s low in overall calories and use sparingly. Fry some chicken lightly in a pan, 3-4 days worth, and keep it in the fridge to use with salads if you don’t care for tuna. Chicken and rice is a great carb/protein rich meal, and mixed vegetables are VERY low in calories (the frozen kind), and you can cook those up along with the chicken and again make a dozen or so in separate containers and have a few days worth of meals prepared in advance. Pop in microwave, some soy sauce, and have a great meal!
Mix a few raisins in with yogurt if you don’t care for protein shakes for something to eat before morning cardio. Protein is there to keep your body from breaking down muscle, and a little carbs in the mix won’t affect daily carb intakes! Little things like this, just to find ways to avoid foods that are just empty calories and won’t do you much good, make the biggest difference. Sure, you can still have a great meal every once in a while as a “cheat”, but don’t make it a regular habit. After a while, it’s a nice thing to have when you accomplish a goal – and after you see yourself changing, you will stay away from bad foods because you’ll love the new person you’re becoming.
Great information! When really fighting the hunger animal, found that electing to eat a protein snack instead of a carb allowed me to feel fuller and put the hunger animal to sleep. Eating an apple prior to my workout, drinking an electrolyte balanced water during my workout, followed by a protein after made my workouts easier, more enjoyable and staved off hunger until time for my meal. Thanks for the real life suggestions and the nutritional information behind them!
I’m glad you have found something that works for you. Something I forgot to mention is that there isnt a one size fit all diet. People need to find what works for them.
You are perfectly right. I found what works for me – have a look.
I’ve been trying to get in 6 small meals a day, and that seems to work for me pretty well. Doing it that way I’m not as hungry as often..
I’m just recently back on the weight loss and fitness bandwagon. I’ve got about 35 pounds more to go!
Thats awesome. Not that much more to go before you reach your goal.
Healthy snacks throughout the day are so important so you don’t go and drop a Hershey Bomb when you don’t need it!
Very true. Its best to make wise healthy snack choices.
Fry some chicken lightly in a pan, 3-4 days worth, and keep it in the fridge to use with salads if you don’t care for tuna. Chicken and rice is a great carb/protein rich meal, and mixed vegetables are VERY low in calories (the frozen kind)
Israel i had had trouble posting…..three times in a row! Hope this one goes through! Anyway good post. Thought that the average cals that you were saying people consume was far to high. 4500 cals is massive! I must commend you on your comments Israel. You are very supporting and it showa that you care very much about the FMU community!
Sorry about that, just saw this in the spam filter. You would be amazed what some people put in the mouths without know how many calories they have. Just a Starbucks moca-capa-whatever-it’s-called contains hundreds of wasted, empty calories. Some people have 2 to 4 a day. That’s at least a few thousands calories just from their morning and lunch coffees. Sad.
When I did the RIGHT thing and finally quite smoking, I substituted that problem with candy, snacks, French Vanilla-capa-whatever, just to get myself through the rough moments. When I stopped patting myself on the back and taking bows over the “I QUIT” accomplishment, I looked down and noticed 35 lbs that have never been there before.
I’ve joined a gym – figure it’s better to tackle this problem now than to wait and see if that number doubles in the next year!! I’ll be checking this site out for more tips. Thanks.
That alone must have been tough, but if you could do that you can do the weight loss thing too. Plus 35 lbs isnt much, you can lost that in few months.
Yeah, u have definitely identified one of the biggest mistakes with eating. So many people are conditioned to overeating in the big meals they have. Have regular small meals not only makes you feel more satisfied but also gets you used to eating less.
I would also suggest that if your stomach can take it, protein drinks can be even more effective if you drink 30-40% of the shake during your workout and then sip the remaining shake after your workout. But then again who wants to slam down a protein shake.
The food triangle has changed a bit since we were in school! Yep, eating smalle meals more often has many benefits that you have listed as well as keep your BMR at a constant level instead of the ‘roller coaster’ effect.
I find that once a person starts to increase their activity, and decrease their carelessness in what goes in their mouth, they automatically (without theme even noticing it!) start to eat more frequently!
Due to their increased metabolism.
🙂
I’m a person who falls victim to eating a few large meals as opposed to smaller ones throughout the day. I do notice, especially when I’m active, that I lack energy at times during the day. I think this can probably be attributed to not eating small amounts throughout the course of the entire day. I’m thinking that I will start to adjust and do this. Thanks for the tips.
I hate that sluggish feeling I get when I dont eat right.Yuck.
I lost the most weight doing 6 meals a day… it just takes time to prep them… I lost 30 lbs in 12 weeks… That is what I working to get back on… but not this week…
Cool, start off small man. You don’t need to do anything that will overwhelm you. One step at a time.
I’ve always been guilty of eating too much in too few meals but I think a lot of it comes down to having a family to feed as well. We enjoy set family meals and unless everybody is snacking (not possible with the kids at school) then a light evening meal leaves people hungry.
I like the idea of eating a small amount on a regular basis. For some reason, I need to have snacks available for different times of the day. I need the top up just like your message re filling up your car with gas on the ¼ mark.
The funny thing about diets and weightloss plans are their are so many and all do not work for everyone. The thing that you have to do is to keep trying different plans until you find the one that gets you the results you are looking for.
The most important thing is to keep on trying and you will find it.
If you check out enough diet sites you will find certain things that run through all of them and these generally are the things that you use to create your diet foundation.
I kept on searching until I found one that would allow me to eat whatever I wanted and still get in shape. I also shared this with some other people who thank me daily.
Keep trying and don’t stop!
Well said. Find what works for you.
I definitely agree with Diet Don because the idea of eating smaller and frequent meals comes from the bodybuilding community, and there has been no studies confirming that eating 5-6 small meals a day is better than eating 2 or 3. And looking at the enormous amount of calories bodybuilders need to consume to keep all that muscle, it’s no wonder they would eat many meals throughout the day. Can you imagine eating 5000-6000 calories in just 3 meals? Gag …
It’s totally up to the individual and what works for them. Personally, I eat no more than two big meals a day combined with protein shakes and other healthy snacks like nuts, seeds, veggies, etc., and I’ve maintained my 100+ lb. weight loss and workout 5-6 days. So, as Israel said, find what works for you, but don’t believe the hype of the day about meal frequency. For more information check out Jamie Hale, Anthony Colpo, Lyle McDonald or Alan Aragon’s books.
Thanks for the agreement Muata. The sad thing is some people try a plan and it doesn’t work then they give up thinking nothing will work, when the plan they need maybe the next one they try. Thats why its so important to keep trying. You Will Find The One For You!!
Protein Shakes,I might add, seem to be one of those things that run through weight loss sites that hold true to the foundation of a good diet plan.
It took me awhile to find the plan for me because I refused to give up the foods I loved. Take the skin off my chicken=No Way! Give up that chocolate cake=Double No Way!
I learned how and when to do it and through in a little exercise and Feel Good, Fit and Strong—–Don’t mind posing in the mirror either 🙂
That’s why I share what I did with people because I know how it feels to succeed and for those who can’t afford the ebook or just are outright over weight and frugal I started a site with lots of free videos,pictures and plans for success.
Keep Trying People-You will Get There
I really enjoyed reading this post. It has a lot of good and helpful information. Keep it up.
Thanks, it helps when I vent.