Why Eat Regularly?
Disorganization can be a major problem when it comes to eating. Trying to eat regularly in our hectic lives can be tough, but it is necessary if we want to control our weight. There are many theories of why this should be, but I was intrigued as I reread a chapter in Dr. Lance Levy's book titled "Conquering Obesity.” It makes sense that if we don't give ourselves enough "fuel” during the day, it can lead to excessive eating at supper, and likely during the evening hours right up to bedtime.
A recent article by Patricia Chuey in the Ottawa Citizen stated that many of us wake up in the morning, grab a coffee and charge on with our day. Noon comes and we have had nothing to eat. This creates conditions for Night Eating Syndrome in which we end up eating most of our calories between dinner & bedtime. Chuey goes on to say: "eating at night has less to do with lack of willpower and more to do with pure physiology of having not met the fuel needs of our body when the energy is required.”
Realize that at breakfast time you are running low on energy, and you should be reversing a calorie debt that has built up during the night. As an example, if you eat dinner at 7pm and finish any additional food intake by 9pm, the food eaten will be used to sustain body function overnight. Even while we are sleeping, our bodies' metabolic processes continue to burn up calories. A sleeping person will burn calories at a basal metabolic rate that is 80-85% of that used when lying quietly awake. For an average-weight, 5'4” 30-year-old woman, approximately 55 calories per hour are burned while sleeping. By the time she wakes up at 7am, she will have used up almost 550 calories of energy during the night. By the time she is up, dressed and on her way to work, her energy expenditure will have risen to 80 calories per hour. By noon she has used up another 400 calories, so that her total energy expenditure since the night before is almost 1000 calories. At this point, if she hasn't eaten, there are changes in brain biochemistry due to the lack of nutrients, and her appetite centre is beginning to set her up for disorganized eating later in the day.
Running a large deficit of calories (especially protein) during the day leads to a growing preoccupation with food and over-eating when food becomes readily available. Because of our genetic make-up we are programmed for weight gain in preference to weight maintenance after food deprivation. It is almost inevitable that a person who misses meals, especially breakfast, will have poor appetite control later in the day. Also important are the types of calories we should consume to keep blood sugars regulated, and thus, hunger regulated through the day. By having protein at each meal (ESPECIALLY a high-protein breakfast) and small snacks in between, we will keep ourselves satisfied and set ourselves up for a better day metabolically.
So, don't skimp on breakfast or lunch. Even on weekends, when you have a party to go to, it is essential to eat throughout the day in order to prevent excess eating in the evening. Don't "save” calories – your metabolism isn't set up to work that way, and if you try to "save” calories you will simply overeat at a time when metabolism is going down (i.e. at night).
No matter what, don't give up on your efforts! Always get back on track. You can and WILL succeed!
Dr. Doug