Change is sometimes hard to accept. There I said it, but it’s true. I know I don’t have the best eating habits and know that if I want to see progress, I need to change this part of my diet. My diet for the past few years hasn’t been all that bad. I do eat vegetables and fruits and also limit certain foods I know are not the best for me. What I have a problem with is portion control and just eat too much to put it simply enough. For example: If I go out to eat, I’ll order a good size salad for dinner but then I’ll add extra dressing and order one or two sides to go with that. At the end I know I have eaten way too much because I no longer feel satisfied, I feel full. I do this with pretty much all of my meals and I don’t have  a set schedule for eating either. I sometimes skip breakfast which I know is the most important meal of the day and my lunch time varies because of my work schedule. When dinner comes around, we are pretty consistent with that time but portion control for me goes out the window. I have heard this said. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper (poor man) and there might be truth to that when it comes to my overall health. I ran across an article written by Sarah Knapton on the telegraph.co.uk that read:

“Researchers warn that modern lifestyles have led to many people dining later in the day, or at irregular intervals, which is confusing the body’s circadian rhythms and hindering digestion…. recent trials have shown that people who eat the most in the morning experience greater weight loss and improve blood sugar levels even when consuming the same amount of calories overall. Many metabolic processes such as appetite, digestion and the metabolism of fat, cholesterol and glucose follow a circadian pattern.”

If you want to read this article in its entirity, you may follow this link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/06/22/breakfast-like-a-king-lunch-like-a-prince-and-dine-like-a-pauper/

From my personal experience I know that when I eat large meals at night, I not only feel very full when I go to bed but wake up with a stomach ache, bloated and have irregular bowel movements throughout the day. This doesn’t happen all the time but more often than not, I do experience these symptoms. With that said, I think this is an area that I want to start with that I think will help me in this project. I’m going to create a meal plan for the few weeks that includes the following:

1. No skipping breakfast
2. Make breakfast my largest meal
3. Set a consistent meal schedule throughout the day
4. Have dinner earlier in the evening and plan on a smaller meal
5. Drink more water throughout the day

There are many articles and opinions on what foods are the best throughout the day and I want to incorporate eating a more wholesome diet with fruits, vegetables and protein items for energy throughout the day. I will limit or eliminate common breakfast meals that are high in fats and calories like fried foods, processed meats and pastries and instead try to include a variety of fruits, oatmeal and wholegrain foods.

I will talk about this in another blog post soon and will share my experience on how this went for me.

Until next time!