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Timing is Everything
(Excerpted from Stop Aging, Start Training)
So often in life, we realize that timing is critical – whether with investments, business opportunities or social encounters. However, many people fail to realize that the timing of meals is a critical variable in the area of health, whether for fat loss, physical energy or mental focus.
Whenever we put ourselves into starvation mode (not eating for over four or five hours), we end up dramatically slowing down our metabolism – our ability to burn calories. Also, to keep the body functioning, the body begins to break down muscle tissue for energy. You might think the trade-off between the short-term weight you lose is worth the long-run downside, but this will ultimately slow down your metabolism permanently, since muscle tissue is what keeps it elevated. This will lead to an excess accumulation of fat tissue, over time.
Another problem with infrequent meals is that our blood sugar levels drop when too many hours lapse between meals. Consequently, cravings for unwholesome foods become stronger and our brain functions become weaker. Most times, when people claim that their bodies “need junk food,” it’s actually due to their blood sugar dropping.
The traditional “three square meals” approach to eating is as unhealthy as is the habit of skipping meals. It was set up at a time when this country was primarily an agrarian culture, with farmers only able to eat in the morning, at night, and once during the day when they had to stop working to fuel up. Instead, we should all be eating a minimum of four, preferably five to six times a day. I’m not suggesting that you eat more calories. I’m saying that it is better to eat the same amount of calories over more meals. (Or, if you have excess body fat, eat fewer calories over more meals.)
For example, if you typically eat breakfast at 7:00 a.m., lunch at 12:00 p.m. and dinner at 7:00 p.m., you can eat less (say 100 or 200 fewer calories) at lunch and dinner, and add two snacks in between the main meals. In other words, have breakfast at 7:00 a.m., snack at 10:00 a.m., lunch at 1:00 p.m., snack at 4:00 p.m. and dinner at 7:00 p.m. Of course, when I say “snack,” I don’t mean candy, cookies, cake or ice cream. I’m talking about fruit or organic, whole-grain cereal, or wholegrain toast (such as spelt or quinoa – pronounced Keenwa), leftover lunch salad or a baked yam.
To burn fat, to avoid unhealthful cravings, and to keep your mind sharper, eat more frequently. Having been in the health industry since 1987, interacting with hundreds of people every week, it has become apparent that the leanest, shapeliest, most energized and focused people are the ones who eat four or more times a day. On the other hand, the people who are heavier, more sluggish, and have clouded mental functioning tend to skip meals or simply eat only twice a day.
I can’t stress enough the need to avoid falling into the trap of skipping meals, particularly when it comes to breakfast. Our metabolism for the day is greatly influenced by how soon we eat after waking up in the morning. Although it may sound counterintuitive, eat more meals to be slimmer, more energized, and more focused.
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