Common diet mistakes: Getting healthy "Not-to-do's"

Yes, you read it right…eat more often!  I would tend to say the majority of my clients that I see are not eating often enough.  Spreading your calories throughout the day has been shown to be more beneficial when it comes to weight loss and overall health than eating three large meals a day.  I see clients that range from people who haven’t worked out in months (or years) to elite athletes and I have to emphasize the same thing with all of them… spread your calories throughout the day!

The basic concept behind it is that your body needs the energy throughout the day to work at its maximum efficiency.  In general, a meal should last 3-4 hours and a snack should last 1-2 hours.  This means you should ideally be eating every 2-4 hours. (Check these tips for healthy snacks.)

Great Snack on the Run

A lot of it goes back to my previous post about snacking.  You have to plan and be prepared in order to assure that you are going to be able to eat frequently enough.  This means packing snacks if you are going to be away from home for an extended length of time.  If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have anything with you, stop at a convenience store.  Most of them these days have fresh options such as fruit and nuts, cheese and crackers, even sandwiches and vegetables with dip.

Spreading your calories throughout the day will also help in reducing night-time snacking (a problem I see in a lot of clients).  If you are not getting enough calories in throughout the day, you will be tempted to snack more at night and make poor choices.  Physiologically your body is making up for calories that were lacking during the day.  Again, it all goes back to planning and being prepared, but if you make the effort you will feel better and if weight loss is a goal, it will aid in that as well!