Lose Weight and Never Miss a Meal

The best way to lose weight is to eat nutritious food, in sensible portions, several times a day. Eating frequent, small meals will help to keep you from overeating at any meal and from making unhealthy food choices.

Going for long periods of time without eating causes your metabolism to sort of shut down to conserve fat and energy. A slower metabolism burns less calories. When you eat three large meals per day, you will often eat more food at each meal to satisfy your hunger. If you have a slow metabolism, it will be more difficult to burn off those calories.

Large meals can make you feel tired and sleepy after eating, as your body works to digest the big meal. The idea is to keep your body satisfied with food, but not overindulge yourself which leads to weight gain.

If you are active, five meals will not only satisfy your hunger but will sustain energy longer, keeping sugar levels from falling and rising which may cause you to become hungry, tired and irritable.

A sample meal schedule might look something like this: 7 am: breakfast. 10 am: snack. 1 pm: lunch. 4 pm: snack. 7pm: dinner.

Below are some sample meals for two days. As you will see, the portion sizes are adequate and with the frequency of five meals per day —you should never feel hungry.

Breakfast:
Fresh fruit salad sprinkled with wheat germ or 1 tablespoon flaxseed

Morning Snack:
½ whole wheat pita
2 egg whites
¼ avocado
1 thin slice tomato

Lunch:
5 oz grilled salmon
½ long-grain brown rice
1 cup spinach and garlic

Afternoon Snack:
½ whole wheat pita
1 scoop humus
1 cup raw carrots

Dinner:
Italian-style turkey meatballs (small portion, baked)
Whole grain pasta with tomato sauce (small portion)
Tossed salad with balsamic vinegar

Day Two

Breakfast:
½ cup of cooked oatmeal
½ cup of blueberries or strawberries
Add flaxseed, wheat germ or bee pollen

Morning Snack:
½ cup low fat, plain yogurt
½ cup fresh fruit
1 teaspoon granola with nuts and raisins

Lunch:
Black bean burrito
1 small apple

Afternoon Snack:
Grilled chicken or turkey breast
Whole wheat wrap
Add some veggies like carrots, cucumber or tomatoes

Dinner:
Grilled or baked halibut or other small white fish filets
such as red snapper, tilapia, sea bass, or cod.
1 small sweet potato (seasoned with cinnamon)
1 cup steamed broccoli