Eat on schedule... that sounds simple, right? Maybe not. Sometimes days are busy or something unexpected comes up, or you just forgot to take something out of the freezer. Any number of things can prevent you from eating when you should. But the fact is, eating on a schedule can be one of your biggest tools to staying on track.
Why is it important, anyway? First, when you eat on schedule, you are less likely to feel really hungry. Feeling hungry is a top reason for overeating and making poor dietary choices. Second, when you eat sporadically, it does a number on your blood sugar. You get unhealthy, uncontrolled dips and spikes. This can affect your mood, your energy, and your overall health.
Following a schedule will allow you to be more in control of your diet and make it easier for you to make healthy choices. It will enable you to keep your energy up throughout the day, and help prevent you from feeling hungry.
What is a good schedule to follow? I like to aim for eating three meals and three snacks. I find that eating every 2-3 hours works well. Anything less than 2 hours is just too often, and if I go beyond 3 hours, I just get hungry. Most often I stay between 2 1/2 and 3 hours.
So, it would look something like this (simply adjust the time, depending on what time you wake up.):
7:30am Breakfast
10:00am Snack
12:30pm Lunch
3:30pm Snack
6:30pm Dinner
9:00pm Snack
Not too difficult, right?
You might like to keep a food log or diary with the times you eat, and what you eat. I find this very helpful (especially later on, when we will get into tracking certain foods).
Good Luck!
