The headlines make it clear that Americans eat too much. Yet in my practice, I often find that people don't eat enough - at the right times. Sometime it's just habit and sometimes it's an attempt to lose weight: skipping meals or eating small meals seems like an obvious way to cut calories. It sounds logical but it doesn't work. In an ironic twist, eating too little can ultimately lead to eating too much.
Larry came to see me because of high blood sugar. I found out that he skipped breakfast, was inconsistent with lunch, and ate a big dinner. He wasn't hungry in the morning, so he saw no reason to eat. He had lunch when his schedule allowed, but often it just didn't fit in and he wasn't very hungry anyway. He'd finally get hungry in the late afternoon, and then he would eat. He figured he was saving calories all day, so he could afford big portions at dinner and snacks in the evening.
Larry has several things going on here. He doesn't feel hungry until he's ravenous. His one-large-meal-a-day habit lowers his metabolic rate, and it places big demands on his body to metabolize it all at once. Then he ends up overeating. All of these affect both his weight and his blood sugar.
It is wise to eat breakfast whether you are hungry or not. Breaking the fast keeps up our metabolism; we are hardwired to conserve calories and fat if there is a risk of starvation. Missing an occasional meal probably doesn't make much difference, but missing meals regularly can slow down the rate at which you burn energy.
Eating your day's worth of calories all at once swamps body systems. When we space out calories in three meals, it makes it easier to produce the hormones and enzymes that are part of the digestive process. Large meals require extra insulin -which over time can wear out the pancreas, reduce the effectiveness of insulin and cause insulin resistance. No wonder Larry's blood sugars were rising. His body was no longer able to produce enough insulin to keep up with his eating pattern and food choices.
Another problem with meal-skipping is the tendency to overeat later. I initially noticed this effect in my own home. When my husband Bill worked late and ate dinner at 9:00 pm, he ate twice as much as when he ate at 6:00. To his credit, he stopped overeating once I pointed it out to him - which is surprising since it is hard to stop eating once we reach that intensity of hunger. At that point our biology takes over and our cells are screaming "eat"! When it happens to me, I can watch myself eat too much, knowing what I am doing, and still do it anyway.
While Larry also needed to make some adjustments in the types of food he was choosing, just developing a three-meal-a-day habit made a big difference. This practical way of eating supports body functions. Spreading out calories throughout the day allowed Larry to eat less overall and to manage his blood sugar better.
Betty provides another example of not eating enough. Betty ate three meals every day, made healthy food choices, and yet she still overate late in the day. Her most challenging food time was the period right before dinner; once she started eating she couldn't stop. She described herself as starting off well each morning with good intentions, and then falling apart by the end of the day.
While there can be other reasons, most often this pattern is triggered by hunger. My guess was that Betty didn't eat enough at breakfast or lunch, so that by dinner time she was starving. By the time she realized she was hungry it was already taking over her good intentions.
It turned out that Betty's breakfast worked well for her - she was satisfied until lunch. Lunch was the problem. The salads or low calorie frozen entrée that she ate satisfied her at the time, but by dinner she was out of fuel. They just didn't have enough calories to last. Once she was over-hungry, it was hard to make wise food choices and to stop eating when she was full; biology takes over will power.
Because Betty was so hungry, she snacked while she fixed dinner. By time dinner was ready she was no longer hungry, but she ate it anyway. Then, feeling angry with herself for eating so much, she'd keep on snacking through the evening. Once she started it felt like there was no stopping.
We were able to shift Betty's eating pattern by adding food to her lunch that kept her full for longer and a planned snack earlier in the afternoon. Now Betty is only mildly hungry while she prepares dinner. Because she isn't eating right before dinner, she enjoys her meal more and finds it easier to keep her portion sizes reasonable. She rarely is hungry in the evening, but we came up with a planned snack for the occasional times when she is.
Before the healthy habits remake, Betty thought the problem was that she craved carbohydrates. She was amazed that just by eating enough at lunch, most of her cravings went away. Eating enough at the right time allowed her to eat less overall.
Do you get enough to eat - at the right times? It seems counter-intuitive, but eating enough at your meals can prevent overeating later in the day or excessive snacking. Experiment to find the right size for your meals: not too big, but not too small either. You'll be surprised at the difference it can make.
Kathy Nichols is the Healthy Habits Coach. As a registered dietitian and certified life coach, Kathy helps people who are tired of diets and feeling guilty find a way of eating that is sustainable, healthy and enjoyable.
website: http://healthyhabitscoach.com
blog: http://healthyhabitscoach.wordpress.com
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