Here are some common eating patterns that people tend to follow. For each of these scenarios, I will give you a way to adjust your lifestyle instead of choosing a yo-yo diet!
Here goes nothing.
Do you spend the day skipping breakfast, missing almost every meal; you end up fasting all day because your workload is busy… But end your day starving and overeat in one sitting?
Do you eat consistently throughout the day but then end your day with an alcoholic beverage?
Or do you simply eat all day but not pay particular attention to your portion sizes and intuitively know that you may be eating too much of the wrong thing?
So here is my advice:
Scenario #1
You should always want to start your day with breakfast. Nutritionists have said this since the beginning of time. It has been beyond proven to start up your metabolism and get your body going. Thereafter, a good way to keep track of your meals throughout the day would be to have prepped food brought along with you. This way, by the end of the day you won’t be starving and possibly overeat. Pick one day a week to cook food and schedule around that day just like it’s an appointment. You wouldn’t just not show up for the doctor, so don’t just not show up for your own food prep night.
Scenario #2
I’m not saying that nobody should drink alcohol. However, if you have body composition goals, here are a few things to note. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram and these calories are completely lacking nutrition. Alcohol is the first fuel to be used in competition with fat, carbs and protein. So the fat burning process will be placed on hold, and fat storage will increase. Not to mention, if you track your food, any food log app will not register the macros for alcohol. So five drinks would put you approximately 500 cal over your daily food intake! My advice, moderate your alcohol and log it in your apps as a full sugar pop.
Scenario #3
If you’re the type of person who eats throughout the day, you are well aware if you are eating the wrong things. A few clues? You feel like 💩. At the end of the day, yes, you are overfull and yes, you intuitively know why. In this case, I would suggest being mindful of when you are or are not hungry. Being bored doesn’t mean you are hungry, just like being busy doesn’t mean that you’re not hungry. Download a food app and start scanning barcodes. You will soon realize where and what is costing you all your daily calories
Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, I am a fitness trainer that is well educated in science-based nutrition evidence.
