meals and snacks

An email I received last week started me thinking about meals and snack. So this week that's what we are going to think about.

To keep your blood sugars level and your metabolism up you need to eat three meals a day with healthy snacks in between. Each meal and snack need to have protein in them. The ratio should be like: 20 to 35 percent lean protein, 40 to 60 percent complex carbohydrates, and 20 to 25 percent healthy fat. This will keep up your energy and your fat burning.

Too many of us go too long between meals and then eat, eat eat. or we let ourselves get too hungry and snack on the wrong food choices. Like snacks that are easy to grab, cookies, chips, soda etc. It is bad on our metabolism to have big gaps between eating. This signals the body to slow down the metabolism and store the food as fat.

This week eat every two to three hours. Starting with a healthy breakfast (see first posting) keep your meals around 600 calories and snacks at 300 calories. I'm not big on counting calories but I do check how many calories food items have and I really try to stay away from high calorie foods. If you are here to lose weight I suggest a food dairy and really watching your calorie intake. I would also write in that dairy, if you have any drops or spikes in energy. Then compare that to what you have eaten. (another blog post.)

Also after each snack or meal do some moving around, like walking or my favorite lifting arm weights or do the dishes just don't stay sedentary.

You should be eating your three meals and 4 snacks. Snack between breakfast and lunch, a early afternoon snack, a per-dinner snack and a before bed snack between eight and nine o'clock. That fourth snack is a new one for me. But I have really been trying to eat before six in the evening and around 600 calories and by eight o'clock I am getting hungry. I use to be a firm believer in no food after dinner. So we shall see how this works. As I have said in the past you still have to think of calories in and calories burned, but as I see my own metabolism slowing down I now am more conscious of what I do to slow and speed up my metabolism. Like not eating frequently enough or being sedentary for longer than thirty minutes at a time and how certain food make me feel after I eat them. Like sugar.

Snack suggestions:

1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese or plain yogurt topped with fresh fruit or 2 T. whole oat granola. Limited your dried fruit... which I love, dried fruit still has the sugar but no fiber to help feel you up, so we tend to eat too much of it.

One reduced fat mozzarella cheese stick and a small handful of dried blue berries or fresh fruit.

An apple or other fruit and peanut butter or almond butter. Remember don't pile on the peanut butter. I've only tried apples.

Small handful of nuts or seeds with a fruit.

1/2 C. raw vegetables with either the cheese stick or homemade hummus, or a few nuts. Check store bought hummus for preservatives. (another blog)

1/2 a protein bar made with whey protein... check the carbs. and fats.

This should give you some ideas on portions and the protein, carbs. and fat ratios.

So this week really watch when and what you eat.
Keep up with your cardio. either go back to what you were doing two weeks ago or if you like the 20 mins. of intensity then stay with that. Disclaimer: "always check with your health provider on starting a new program."

Keep hydrated by drinking your 8 to 10 glasses of water.
Give up soda... it has no health benefit.

Good luck till next weekend.

Aloha,
Roxie