Weight Loss by Eating at Certain Times

Your car needs fuel to drive and the body needs food to function. Nutrients should be supplied consistently, so not eating enough or eating too much at the wrong time can cause your body to hold weight. If your body does not know when it will be fed, it will hold your fat stores until you feed it. Train your body when to eat, and it will begin to burn the fuel in return.

Morning

• Always eat something in the morning. Something small like a slice of wheat bread with peanut butter, a cup of milk and an apple will do. This meal supplies carbohydrates for energy, protein to satisfy hunger, milk for nutrients and calcium, and fruit for fiber.

Mid-Morning

• Eat a snack. The size of your palm will do. Choose a snack with a protein to hold you over to your next meal (e.g., cottage cheese with peaches, yogurt with 1 oz. of almonds, string cheese with an apple)

Afternoon

• If your busiest time of day is morning through late afternoon, make your lunch your heaviest meal. Heavy does not mean overload on calories, but eat the majority of your carbohydrates before or during this meal. Because carbohydrates give you energy, eat them when you're most active, not before bedtime.

Late Afternoon

• If you have more than three hours between your lunch and dinner, eat a light snack during this time. Something such as two whole-wheat crackers with a 1 tsp. of peanut butter or a piece of fruit is sufficient and will not spoil your dinner.

Evening

• Try and have your last meal at least two hours before you go to bed. Make your last meal full of vegetables and protein. Vegetables aid in cleansing the colon, and protein repairs muscle tissue. While you are sleeping, these two food groups go to work on your body to prepare and strengthen it for the next day.

More Specific Timing

• To be more specific with eating during a certain time, try eating something every three hours. If you wake up at 6 a.m., eat something at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. These meals should be no larger than the size of your hand.

  Example:
  --7 a.m.-1/2 cup oatmeal, apple, 1 cup of skim milk
  --10 a.m.-8 oz. yogurt
  --1 p.m.-1/2 turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, banana, glass of water
  --4 p.m.-the other half of your sandwich, 1 cup watermelon, glass of water
  --7 p.m. -3 oz. of salmon on salad with moderate vegetables and flavored vinegar for dressing

Benefits

• By eating at certain times, you never deprive your body of fuel. By eating fiber-rich foods and protein throughout the day, your hunger is always under control, and your metabolism will begin to pick up. Your body burns calories when digesting food. If it's constantly digesting food, you are constantly burning calories. Add an exercise program to your daily routine, and your body will be a fat-burning machine.