Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Eat those calories early!

Ok, I've said it before but "Bob" from Biggest Loser said it again tonight and I decided I'd try to remind myself and the rest of you too!

There is a GOOD reason why there are points for stopping eating 2 hours before bedtime. Eating more of your calories earlier in the day gives you more time to actually use them as energy throughout the day. The calories that you eat at night are less likely to be used up as energy and more likely to convert into fat.

If you skip meals, or eat skimpy meals throughout the day and then pack in the calories in the evening those calories don't have the opportunity to be used by your body when they are needed during the day. EVEN IF YOU ARE IN YOUR "CALORIE RANGE." If you don't have enough food during the day you may also feel light headed, sluggish, and down right exhausted. I've even had the shakes....

It's important to eat enough calories too! I'm talking good calories ladies, not empty calories. Everyone NEEDS a certain amount of calories a day to sustain their bodies BASIC functions. That is usually around 1500-2000 calories for most ladies. Of course that depends on size and your metabolism. That's a ballpark figure....probably why the USDA bases everything on a 2000 calories diet. It's all over the labels on our food!

So, that's why there is all the hype about eating breakfast. It's NOT HYPE! You need the energy to get you going through the day. Oh, yeah...don't forget lunch. You can't be too busy for lunch....it's a pitfall. YOUR BODY NEEDS ENERGY! Fruits, Vegetables and WHOLE grains contain the nutrients your body needs to do what it has to do...and FIBER which is in all of those things help keep you satisfied and feeling fuller longer....and PROTEIN does that too!!!! BALANCED DIET!!!

So for today I'm saying eat good calories starting early in the day and taper off in the evening....

I'll talk more about the food pyramid later. I'll step off my soap box now!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

6 comments:

  1. Love this post! When I was younger I could never figure out why we ate dinner so early. Now I realize why. I am grateful that my parents established that habit in our family life. To this day we still eat dinner between 5 and 5:30pm.

    Great reminders about eating a healthy breakfast and lunch as well.

    I am sure I am speaking for all the ladies when I say that WE LOVE YOU TOO!

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  2. I'm glad we're supposed to eat more early because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.

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  3. I've never understood why people don't eat breakfast. Apis is right, breakfast is the best meal of the day. You have to fuel if you want to rule!

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  4. Thanks for the great post! It is such a good reminder.

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  5. Light dinners always seem so fresh and yummy to me. Unfortunately, I have a Hubby with a killer metabolism who pretty much eats from the time he gets home until he goes to bed. I will definitely be checking my portion sizes at dinner - even if it is healthy.

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  6. Audrey, I love your soap boxes and I can't wait for the next one. They are just the pep talk I need.

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