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Honestly, eating healthy and watching portion sizes and knowing when to eat are probably the biggest struggles that we have, right? At least I know it sure is for me! So how do you know if it’s time to eat or just another symptom that you can remedy withOUT food? And how often should you eat? What should your biggest meal be? Let’s check it out!

Hungry or Bored?

Picture this… you’re sitting around watching t.v. and there’s all those commercials for popcorn, cookies, candy, soda, cakes, chips, etc and you start thinking to yourself “Hmm…. I could eat something.” So you wander to the kitchen and pop up a bag of Blast-o-Butter popcorn and sit back on the couch and mindlessly eat while you’re watching the tube.

Okay, we have ALL done this right? But were you REALLY hungry when you did this? The chances are you probably weren’t. This is eating due to boredom. Remedy: find something to keep your hands busy! Find something to do while you watch t.v. Do you have a hobby? Personally, I cross-stitch and when I’m doing that it’s MUCH harder to chow-down on something. Plus, my brain is occupied with something else so I’m not being tempted by all those commercials or even what the people on the screen are eating! If you don’t have a hobby this would be a great reason to get one!

Hungry or Thirsty?

That jerk, THIRST, sometimes likes to mask itself as hunger! Rude, huh? Well, this is another huge problem that we have to deal with. You may think you’re hungry but you’re really just leaning towards dehydration. Before you starting munching, drink a glass of water and wait a few minutes. If you’re still hungry after that- go ahead! This may be TMI so if you’re worried, stop reading this paragraph and go on to the next, but the best way to tell how much water you should drink is to check your pee. If it’s pale yellow to clear and you’re not feeling thirsty- you’re good! Otherwise… drink up!

How Often Should You Eat and When?

 This is something else that you may struggle with, so we can break it down so it’s super easy!

First, you want to make sure you eat within 30 minutes of waking up. Why? Because you’ve been “fasting” all night- hence the name breakfast.. break the fast…- and your metabolism needs a jump start right away. Whole grains, fruits, protein- these are good. Sugary cereals will cause a blood sugar spike which is not so good…. Basically, you want breakfast to be your biggest meal because you’re on the go all day burning calories and you NEED the fuel!

After breakfast, you want to be sure to eat small, balanced meals ever 2.5-3 hours. This is for a couple reasons. The first, is that it keeps your metabolism revved which means you’ll be burning more calories. This is HUGE for weight loss and maintaining weight. The other reason is because it helps you deal with hunger before it’s a problem. If you wait too long to eat you’re going to end up going on a binge with whatever you see- and that could mean fast food or just eating everything in your cabinets! If you eat more often, you’ll eat smaller meals and avoid the binge!