Continuing on with the struggles of weight loss, we are answering five questions to help you understand the challenges you face in attaining a healthy weight.
Last week we addressed the question of "Why?" This week we are discussing "When?"
So, when do you eat?
Are you eating 3 sensible meals a day, drinking lots of water and eating sensible snacks in between each meal?
Or do you skip breakfast, eat at your desk for lunch or skip that too and then eat a huge meal for dinner?
If you are the first person, great! If you are the latter, you are shocking and ultimately slowing down your metabolism. YES, that’s right! You NEED to eat throughout the day in order to keep your metabolism awake and working.
Drinking lots of water is also essential because your body often doesn’t know the difference between hunger and thirst. Therefore, if you feel you are hungry all the time, stop and think about how much water you’ve had to drink. You need at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day, more if you are overweight. In fact, in order facilitate weight loss, every day you should consume between 0.5 and 0.64 ounces of water per pound of lean body weight (Lean Body Mass X 0.64 ounces = Optimal Intake in Ounces). A person that has 200 pounds of lean body mass should drink 128 ounces or 1 gallon of water. This equals eight 16 ounce glasses of water.
Having said that, most of us eat in response to environmental triggers instead of responding to true biological hunger. It’s something we are unintentionally taught early on in life; to eat everything on the plate instead of struggle with Mom or Dad, or to suffer through a plate of broccoli so we can have dessert. We learn to eat because food smells good or it's "lunch time" or because we are bored. As a result, we ignore our own body signals and eat whether we are truly hungry or not.
So do you know what your biological signals for hunger are?
Is it a mild stomach growling, an empty feeling inside, or something else?
Take some time to identify what your body's first signs of hunger are. Use the following hunger-rating chart to assess when you usually start eating and when you stop.
10- Thanksgiving stuffed
9 - so full it hurts
8 - feeling quite full
7 - starting to feel uncomfortable
6 - slightly ate too much
5 - just right, you feel comfortable
4 - first signs it’s time to eat
3 - strong signs that it's time to eat
2 - very hungry, cranky
1 - extremely hungry, dizzy and weak
If you start eating at level 5 or higher, you are eating for external reasons and not because you are biologically hungry. On the other hand, if you wait too long to eat and you start eating at level 1 or 2, you were overly hungry and most likely will end up overeating. Starting to eat at level 3 or 4 is perfect. At this level, your body is telling you that it's time for some nourishment but not to overeat.
If you stop at level 6 or above, you are overeating (when we eat because of external reasons, we tend to overeat). It's also important to remember that if you overeat even healthy foods, those extra calories will be converted to fat and stored in your body. You should aim to stop eating at level 5, when you are feeling perfectly comfortable. At this level, you have taken in the right amount of food to nourish your body, but not too much so that it will be stored as fat. Keep in mind that if you eat your meal too fast, the signals will not transmit to your brain that you feel comfortable until you no longer feel comfortable with the amount you’ve eaten.
Stay tuned to next week's blog when we address the answers to the question "What?"
I’d like to close with the following quote which I hope will inspire you to get to your healthy weight!:
"There comes a moment when you have to stop revving up the car and shove it into gear." David Mahoney Executive and Philanthropist
To your health,
Nadia
Your weight loss partner
1-877-405-4471
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