Eat More and Weight Less. WHAT??

2) Eat More and Weight Less

Proceed with caution: Don't get to excited readers, The Bigger the snacks, means the bigger the slacks. Nothing will ever taste better than a healthy lifestyle!

   I often thought that my good friend and Co-worker Jim Bell was a human garbage disposal.  He is almost 100 years old (wink) but has the body of a 20 year old.  After watching Jim and the amount of food he would intake daily, but still looking ripped, I began to realize allowing myself to enter starvation mode was just not the way to go anymore. As much as I work out and as many calories that I was burning daily I came to the realization that the only way to reach my ultimate goal was going to be to eat, eat, eat!

 I began to educate myself a little more on nutrition and with help from an amazing friend, and nutritionist Teri Alvarado of Austin, Texas as well as many reality checks from my fiancee William Meyer my journey finally began after many years of hunger.  Now, I inspire to use my life lesson to educate you all. For the record it was not that I was not eating healthy; it was just that I was not eating enough (which is worst).

Jim Bell of Catz, Austin

  In order to keep your body's gas tank full and maintain a high level of energy, eating every 3-4 hours will prevent your body from using muscle (protein) for energy and instead, burn fat. Additional benefits include maintaining a healthy blood sugar, prevention of overeating, and maintaining lean muscle mass. Skipping meals (going more than 4 hours without eating) causes the body to use muscle for energy which increases body fat and impairs performance. Have a plan by bringing healthy snacks to school or work and eat between meals and after a workout.   

  Everyone I know that has made the attempt to start this healthy lifestyle that involves eating every three to four hours has the same complaint: “I cannot eat that much food!” It’s very difficult for them to eat 350 calories worth of health food. They often gasp at the idea of eating another meal in just three hours’ time. It’s weird to think the same person might rather eat a 1200 calorie plate of pasta in a single meal.          

  The first steps into eating five or six meals a day often left me feeling over-stuffed; wondering if this is really some sort secret way to get us all to be over weight. Rest assured that this is not a scam, there is nothing shady going on.

Relax! You Won’t Get Fat

  From my observations, this may be truer for women than men: The worry if you eat that much food you will only make yourself fat. This reaction is probably more common for those people trying to lose weight. It feels odd to eat more food and stuff your belly with food when trying to lose weight.

Simple Equation: The more small meals you eat, the faster your metabolism= the more weight you will lose. 

Stay the Course

  After a couple days of forcing yourself to eat the 3-4 healthy balanced small portioned meals you will be able to comfortably eat the entire meal and look forward to your next feeding. Your body will quickly adapt to this new lifestyle. You only have to give it a chance. Stay the course!

Try some of the following snacks without eating away your will-power:

•Peanut Butter or Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread

•1 Scoop of Whey Protein with low fat milk

•Handful of nuts with Fresh fruit (this is sounding kinda kinky now, wink)

*Nutrition Bar (any around 200 calories with at least 10-15 grams of Protein)

•Fresh Fruit with a piece of low fat string cheese

•Lean Beef Jerky (2-3 ounces) with fresh fruit

Challenge of the Day: I know that a lot of you are busy, or have children, or can come up with a million more excuses.  I have not only heard them all, I was once making them myself.  Make this a priority. Ask yourselves how important is losing weight, or living a healthy lifestyle for you and your families?  

  Pack 5 small meals tomorrow for work, set an alarm on your phone for every three to four hours after eating a meal, eat and then re-set until completing all 5 meals.  Keep a food journal for this challenge and write down how you feel before and after every meal.  Feel free to let us all know how it goes.

 Nutrition Fact of The Day: It takes your brain about 20 minutes after you have eaten to get the full signal from your stomach.