Meal and Snack Timing

For some, but not all of us, the timing and portions of meals can make a big difference. I was talking to a patient who went on a trip to the East Coast. While there (even though it was a stressful trip) she lost 4 pounds. I asked her what the difference was. There probably were multiple reasons, but the major one was that the family ate their big meal at lunch and ate a very small 'supper'. For whatever reason this seemed also to lead to less night snacking.

Most of us have jobs during which we have not much interest in food or time to eat, and when we come home, we relax and have too big of a meal. One thing we could try is having a larger lunch and smaller dinner. I realize this is not easy to do, because traditionally supper has been our major meal. During the winter months however, we are much less active in the evening and it might be worth looking at having a very small dinner.

I wax and wane about promoting breakfast. Some researchers believe that a higher protein breakfast will increase metabolism. Yet I watch so many people eat large dinners that are then followed by evening snacks, that I believe it's reasonable on occasion to skip breakfast and wait for lunch to be the first 'meal'.

As I've said before in many posts, most of us are eating way more than we need to. When you look at references to basal metabolic rate that say we need 1200 or 1800 calories just for daily maintenance, these are false. Some of us need more, most need less. We have huge amount of fat stores just waiting anxiously to provide us with any amount of energy, yet we keep filling the tank.

This leads us back to the age old question of "Am I really hungry?" Also, "do I need to eat to a feeling of fullness, or just to being satisfied?" If you are truly physically hungry, then eat, but eat just enough to satisfy you. When we go to a restaurant and those massive portions are put in front of us, do we really need to finish the plate? We certainly aren't running a marathon the next day, and most of us will spend most of the next day sitting down. Those calories will simply be stored as fat.

Each of us is searching for what works for them. Don't be afraid to change things up and see if some slight change begins to produce results.

For me, right now I'm working on decreasing supper portions, and if I'm really not physically hungry in the morning, I skip breakfast and wait till I truly get a hunger signal. Whether this makes any impact I don't know, but I do know my body does not respond the way it did 20 years ago so I'm on a search to find out what works at this stage of my life.

Lastly, don't forget that food may not be the problem. It could be lack of sleep, stress, zero activity, medications we might be taking, the time of year and on it goes.

Hence; just keep trying and don't ever ever give up!

Dr. Doug