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“You want me to eat WHAT?”
Over the years, it has been quite the commonality that clients who come to me for help all have very similar struggles and questions when it comes to understanding nutrition, food and its real purpose. Many don’t get what to eat, when and why we need it.
For the most part it is pretty basic.
Some individuals may have particular needs or health issues that they are dealing with, so for them this article may not apply. For the rest of us, here is a basic rundown.
Think of a small infant for a moment. How many times per day does that infant eat? Every couple of hours, right?
When your metabolism is working at its finest, you will be hungry and your body will need to be “fueled” every couple of hours.
One of the biggest and most detrimental mistakes people commonly make is only eating once or twice per day. Many people think this is actually going to help them in their weight or body fat loss because they aren't consuming too many calories on a daily basis.
The bad news with this: the real truth of this choice is you are messing with your body’s functions, your blood sugar and your metabolism. You will have “highs” and “lows” throughout the day due to low blood sugar levels, and then most likely you will over eat when you do have your one or two meals.
The good news is you can do something about this.
EAT! Eat again, and then eat some more.
Obviously, I don’t mean stuff yourself with junk and highly processed foods. You need to make a conscious effort to plan your meals, prepare them and have them with you each day so you can have well balanced, healthy meals and snacks every two to three hours.
If this is new to you, don't be surprised if you feel overly stuffed for the first couple of weeks. Inevitably your metabolism will begin to adjust and work properly, and you will start to find you are now getting hungry throughout the days, as you should.
Remember this; when you fuel your body consistently, you are allowing it to run, process and work the way it is designed to. If you are not often hungry, chances are pretty good that your metabolism is not working the way it should, so eat up and enjoy the healthy feelings and changes that become of a well-functioning metabolism.
TEASER:¿Check for next week’s column for the scoop on what to eat, how much to eat and the real deal about calories.
Jenny Lewis lives in Stanford, owns Straight Up Fitness personal training and is a pro-figure athlete and national fitness model. For more information, visit www.straightupfitness.net or email sufquestions@gmail.com.