While it's a major triumph to wean yourself off snacking, don't get carried away and try to skip meals to lose weight.
It won't work.
You'll most likely find yourself hungry and then go back to snacking -- usually not on something nutritious.
Or, you might lose some weight, but this isn't a healthy way of losing.
Because the weight can come roaring back when your body goes into "starvation" mode.
Some people aren't so hungry in the morning, and so they skip breakfast, thinking this might be a handy way to lose weight.
But it's not so handy.
According to a study conducted in 2005, which was printed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, skipping breakfast can actually lead to weight gain.
In the study, those who skipped breakfast ate more throughout the day than those who didn't.
A study of Northern Italian children in the same year showed higher rates of obesity in those who skipped breakfast.
Apparently, eating a little something in the morning is better than nothing at all.
Don't skip lunch, either, otherwise you might succumb to late afternoon munchies that will ruin your appetite for a healthy and satisfying dinner.
And if you don't eat dinner, you may find yourself raiding the freezer later for not one, but two bowls of delicious but hardly nutritious ice cream.
Plus, you're also screwing up your food monitor or contributing to what I sometimes refer to as a "bad picker.
" When you suffer from a bad picker, it means you don't know how to pick your foods.
Instead of choosing the right things to eat, you dive for the foods of easy virtue.
No, a banana split isn't the same thing as a meal, even if the calories approximate one another's.
The nutrition isn't there.
And because of its high sugar content, the ice cream can make you feel even hungrier later, leading to more bad food choices.
You get caught in a vicious circle.
Simply commit to eating well at meals.
Have a healthy blend of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Over time, eating well and eating slowly will tame your hunger -- unless there's an underlying emotional, environmental or physical issue that isn't being addressed.
For example, if you're eating out of stress or anxiety, if the ingredients in processed foods are having a bad effect on you, or if you're suffering from some undetected problem like candida overgrowth.
But that's another story that I'll deal with in another article.
For now, let's stick to making a commitment to eating nutritious food at regular mealtimes.
It won't work.
You'll most likely find yourself hungry and then go back to snacking -- usually not on something nutritious.
Or, you might lose some weight, but this isn't a healthy way of losing.
Because the weight can come roaring back when your body goes into "starvation" mode.
Some people aren't so hungry in the morning, and so they skip breakfast, thinking this might be a handy way to lose weight.
But it's not so handy.
According to a study conducted in 2005, which was printed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, skipping breakfast can actually lead to weight gain.
In the study, those who skipped breakfast ate more throughout the day than those who didn't.
A study of Northern Italian children in the same year showed higher rates of obesity in those who skipped breakfast.
Apparently, eating a little something in the morning is better than nothing at all.
Don't skip lunch, either, otherwise you might succumb to late afternoon munchies that will ruin your appetite for a healthy and satisfying dinner.
And if you don't eat dinner, you may find yourself raiding the freezer later for not one, but two bowls of delicious but hardly nutritious ice cream.
Plus, you're also screwing up your food monitor or contributing to what I sometimes refer to as a "bad picker.
" When you suffer from a bad picker, it means you don't know how to pick your foods.
Instead of choosing the right things to eat, you dive for the foods of easy virtue.
No, a banana split isn't the same thing as a meal, even if the calories approximate one another's.
The nutrition isn't there.
And because of its high sugar content, the ice cream can make you feel even hungrier later, leading to more bad food choices.
You get caught in a vicious circle.
Simply commit to eating well at meals.
Have a healthy blend of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Over time, eating well and eating slowly will tame your hunger -- unless there's an underlying emotional, environmental or physical issue that isn't being addressed.
For example, if you're eating out of stress or anxiety, if the ingredients in processed foods are having a bad effect on you, or if you're suffering from some undetected problem like candida overgrowth.
But that's another story that I'll deal with in another article.
For now, let's stick to making a commitment to eating nutritious food at regular mealtimes.