Timing Your Meals Could Be Key to Unlocking
Your Weight Loss Success

They say time is of the essence, and this is especially true when it comes to eating and nutrition. Timing your meals correctly could be the key that allows you to unlock and reach your weight loss goals more effectively.

There are so many questions which surround eating and weight loss: Should you eat even when you’re not hungry? Should you eat breakfast if you don’t feel like it and should you eat before and/or after you exercise? All these questions will be answered in this article, and it is important to realize that it’s not only what you eat that counts, but when you eat it as well.

Let’s start with breakfast. Your grandma wasn’t lying when she said breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and it is. After a good couple hours of sleep, your brain has been deprived of nutrition. Your breakfast choice should be made in the attempt to awaken your brain and get your engines running.

For breakfast, you should consume a meal that has adequate carbohydrates and balance it with some protein. Orange juice is also beneficial, first thing in the morning as the glucose (or sugar) it will release into your brain is a great way to wake the brain up. An ideal breakfast meal would be scrambled egg whites (protein) on a slice of whole wheat toast (complex carbs) and a glass of orange juice (simple carbs).

A rule of thumb when choosing options for your meals is to eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner.

Eating a big meal early in the morning will give you many hours during the day to burn it off — provided you do participate in physical activity. Late at night, on the other hand, is when your meals are more likely to be stored as fat because you, more than likely, don’t have enough time to burn off the energy before bedtime.

Eating before and after exercise is also important and will depend on your individual goals. Let’s just assume your goal is to lose weight. The best time to exercise is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach; this will allow you to burn more calories. If your goal is muscle and weight gain, you should eat at least two hours before you exercise and ensure you are taking in carbohydrates via a specially formulated sports drink, which will provide your muscles with more energy that is needed to sustain intense, physical activity.

On the question of whether or not you should eat if you’re hungry? The answer is yes. You should consume five to six small, balanced meals throughout the day to keep your energy levels up and your insulin levels sustained.

Author: Dimi Ingle.
Copyright 2009: Remedium. This article may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Remedium.