When I was on Paleo (not anymore), I pounded back the largest most nutritious packed salads in the biggest Tupperware containers I could find. I always heard comments like — you’re not going to be able to finish that, or you’re going to gain not lose weight eating THAT much food. When in reality I was quickly transforming my body into a fat-burning machine. Why? How?
Eating 5-7 times a day benefits you:
- By giving yourself more energy
- You reduce your food cravings since you’re already full all the time.
- Eating frequently (and healthy) reduces body fat
- It maintains and increases muscle mass
- Controls your blood sugar levels
- You’re less hungry
Sure it takes a lot of preparation and planning, and a crazy amount of self control to get into the habit of eating this frequently. I sure don’t follow it to a tee. But to keep it simple I just make extra foods in the evening. Instead of cooking for just the Boyf and I, I cook for 4-6 people so we have tons of leftovers for a day or two for lunch.
To make things easier, I designate a day on the weekend to cut up and prep meals for the following week. I make sure that there is protein or fiber in every snack or meal. Eating a reasonable portion — I use my hands to measure the portion size.
Easy way to measure portion sizes. Let your hands guide you (source: Canadian Living)
Here’s how to estimate the amount you should eat.
- The palm of your hand: one serving (75 g/2.5 oz) of chicken, meat, fishor seafood
- A closed fist: one serving (1 cup/250 mL) of salad
- A cupped hand: one serving (1/2 cup/125 mL) of vegetables or grains, such as pasta or rice
- A thumb tip: 1 tsp (5 mL) of added fat, such as oil, butter or margarine
- An entire thumb: 1 tbsp (15 mL) of salad dressing
 Wash all of your veg and fruit before hand. So it’s easy to grab in the fridge when you’re looking for a snack.
I chop up all of my celery, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli and cauliflower and store them in airtight containers with some water. That way it’s easy to grab and throw in a frying pan for a stir fry or muck-up of some sort.
You’ll see some amazing changes in yourself if you get into the habit of prepping your meals in advance and eating healthy food every few hours.
- Skipping meals is hard on your body.
- Your metabolism slows down.
- Feeling cranky or light headed? It’s because your blood sugar dropped.
- Plus, you over eat at your next meal, trying to compensate for the dip in blood sugar.
Do I eat this way all the time? Heck no, it’s most definitely time consuiming and takes a lot of prep work. It definitely helps me in the long run through the week days when I do take time to manage everything. I really need to get back on track. Because if I don’t plan ahead, I make the not so nutritious meals for us.
What are some of your favorite foods?
How often do you eat?
Do you prep your meals ahead of time?
5 Comments
I too, eat multiple times each day. Definitely helps with blood sugars and that ‘spacey’ feeling!
But I find that I have to be super careful about the size of my ‘mini-meals’. So easy to eat too many calories at snack time, then continue on with my usual meal sizes. Portion control is really key for me!
Tamara recently posted..Exercise plus nutrition plus natural supplements: the menopause relief trifecta?
TOTALLY what works for my bod too—intuitively.
the husband? not so much.
three times a day NO SNACKS.
we are all so so different huh?
MIZ recently posted..MizBirkenstock! (*tosses shoe-shaped confetti*)
@MIZ: I’d be sooo hungry without snacks. I live for snack time, hahaha!!!
Nancy recently posted..OOTWW
@Tamara: I hear ya, sometimes it’s easy to overeat … especially snack time. Gimmie all the raw nuts… handfuls of them! lol :/
Nancy recently posted..OOTWW
I feel like I’m constantly eating/snacking. Trick is to make sure it’s healthy!! Eating this way and drinking water makes me not need coffee/caffeine. The box of KD I had today… fail.