Spreading calories throughout the day.........

Hi all.

I am 5.5 ft tall, and 33 years old,

I now weigh approx 13 stone 1 pound, having lost 9 lbs in the last 4ish weeks.

My question is about calorie distribution throughout the day, and whether or not it is important to overall weight loss?

I do not eat breakfast, I never have for years since I was at school. I'm just not hungry in the mornings, and I feel a bit nauseated if I try to eat.

I'm having a 200-300 cal lunch, then saving the rest of my cals for one big dinner that fills me up (about 1200 cals).

I'm not really a snacker, I prefer the satisfaction of having a big main meal where I am full, then I'm fine for the rest of the evening and don't snack at all.

Is this acceptable?

I know what people say about breakfast being the most important meal of the day but is there any truth to this?

If I'm losing weight at a rate of approx 2lbs a week, I presume I'm doing ok?

Many thanks

Louise

x

Losing weight isn't the final arbiter as to whether a behaviour is healthy or not... otherwise heroin abuse would be a real winner!  

It's about balance.  Irregular eating habits are generally not advisable.  Reason being that if you feed your body next to nothing from going to bed at night to suppertime the next day all that happens is that your blood-sugars drop, your body rather goes 'slowish'... and then when you get to suppertime you're quite likely to overeat and whatever you do eat will have a bigger effect on your weight.  If you hit 13 stone on effectively 2 meals a day... QED.

You can have a very light breakfast... yoghurt, juice, smoothie... that's better than nothing.  Follow up with something mid-morning, perhaps to keep the motor running.  A light lunch, fair enough. When you get to suppertime, OK you'll have a few hundred calories less to play with but it'll still be a filling meal if you fill your plate with lots of low-cal veggies... 

Good luck

Skipping breakfast can actually make you gain weight, because your metabolism slows down.  You need something to keep your blood sugar up.  If you haven't eaten since dinner, say at 6pm, and you don't eat until lunch, say noonish, the next day, that's 18 hours that your body hasn't had any nutrients.  Your blood sugar drops, your metabolism slows, and you're likely to binge.  Either way, your body slows and tries to store everything you eat.

Even a glass of skim milk in the morning would help - whatever you can manage.

I've heard a few people say that they only eat once or twice a day, but I don't think it's very healthy.  There are so many ups and downs with your blood sugar that it can really mess with your appetite and metabolism.  Smaller balanced meals keep all of that stable and more controllable.

Hi Louise-

I've had the same problem as you: eating really early can make me a bit nauseous, but I'm slowly weaning myself onto breakfast, and I think it's one reason I'm feeling so much healthier in general. I usually just have a small cup of yogurt or piece of fruit before I go to work, and then have something else small on our 11am coffee break (a granola bar, or some dried cranberries usually).

I'm in the middle of reading Mastering Your Metabolism (by Jillian Michaels). It talks about how your body releases different hormones at different times of the day, and if you get 7-9 hours of sleep, and then have even just a small breakfast, it sets you up to balance your blood sugar better all day, which keeps you from having cravings even if you're eating low cal.

I know it's hard to change, but for me it's been worth it. I'd say you should try it for a week or two, and if you don't like it, just go back. Whatever you decide, best of luck!

Stephanie

Many thanks for all the replies.

I will have a go at cutting out 100 cals from my evening meal and keeping it for breakfast, maybe try a yogurt or a small banana or something for a week and see how I get on.

I know what you say does make sense about controlling blood sugar and keeping your metabolism running. It will just take a lot of adjusting for someone who has never eaten breakfast for years!

Thanks

Louise

x

Hi

I do the same thing as you and never thought anything about it..so Im glad you posted this question.

I have heard my mother in law say she lost weight by eating five small meals a day..

something wasn't adding up with me eating two meals a day.. lunch and dinner.. so now it makes sense why i always felt so low on energy and still was to heavy for my height but wasn't losing weight even though i worked hard each day..

looks like i'll be eating breakfast followed by a few small meals a day..

For the non-breakfast-eaters... Try getting up twenty minutes earlier than normal since being in a rush can often stress your digestion and not make you feel like eating.   Have a hot drink on rising.... hot water with a slice of lemon, a cup of tea or coffee.... because this rather 'wakes up' your digestion.   Leave it about half an hour from rising before eating..... again, so that you're not in a rush and your digestion has had chance to get started.  Sit at a table and eat slowly... eating on the hoof or eating too fast can cause gas and acid indigestion.

Give yourself a fighting chance!

I find that working WITH the body is wise. It's not for nothing that some people wake up with a positive DISTASTE for food and forcing food in because somebody long ago once said "breakfast is your most important meal" (Probably Kelloggs...or egg producers)

It's hard enough to not eat too much WHEN hungry without forcing food when one is not because the clock happens to read a certain number.

Personally I find my weight easier to control with two meals a day then with a regimented 3. My lifestyle is such that I do both methods  depending on whether I am alone at breakfasttime or not.  Even WITH breakfast it must be at least 2 hours after arising. In those first 2 hours anything besides coffee is nauseating.