Regulate calories by eating more meals

I'll be the first to admit it: I love food.

I'll also be the first to admit that because I love food, I eat unhealthy foods from time to time; I have cheat (or lazy) days.

For me, it's always hard sticking to healthy food regimes especially when my friends have replaced the word "eat" with "crush."

Just recently, the Hopkins debate tournament left the team with enormous trays of unopened lasagna, garlic bread, eggplant parmesan and cannolis.

A few plates of all that food for lunch and dinner and you're well on your way to a 10,000 calorie day.

It's no question that on a daily basis, fried foods, oil-drenched pasta, and sugary treats tempt our eyes and eventually our taste buds.

For those of us who like to eat, 3 meals a day just don't seem enough.

Breakfast at 8 a.m., lunch at noon, and dinner at 6 p.m.?

Don't kid yourself. It's just not feasible.

We all eat snacks, we all munch throughout the day and if not, it's likely we'll overdose on the next meal after a few hours of starvation.

As obtuse as it sounds, eating more meals throughout the day can actually help regulate caloric intake and help lose weight.

Along with hundreds of nutritionists, sports coaches and fitness trainers, I recommend five or six meals a day and if you're looking to lose weight, the "grazing" method.

A very simple rule to follow is "eat until you're not hungry, not full."

Eating every two to three hours helps regulate blood sugar, reduce hunger and help keep you light and energized.

It ultimately curbs the starvation feeling that leads to overeating and avoid the food coma that ensues.

Whether you're a dieter or a fitness guru, you know that hunger is the worst feeling in the world and it can and will regress your efforts to get in shape.

When the body experiences hunger for prolonged amounts of time, it goes into starvation mode, expecting consistent hunger periods in the future.

Food is more easily converted into fat for energy storage and after long-term food denial, metabolism will slow down in order to not waste the energy from eating.

In addition, you will just plain eat more if you're hungry.

If you're likely to binge in general, think about what you'd do after being hungry all afternoon.

If you don't plan out your meals carefully and exercise portion control, eating more meals a day could end up being a disaster.

Normal young adults need anywhere between 1600-2300 calories a day without exercise.

Divided among six meals with some leeway for snacks, this turns out to about 250-400 calories/meal.

While it's important to have a general idea of your caloric intake, it's equally important to balance your meals with portion control within the portions.

Obviously, 6 meals a day doesn't work so well if you're eating a loaf of bread every 3 hours.

Some nutrients you should be sure to include in most of your meals should be lean protein, fiber and healthy fats.  

Lean meats, fruits, veggies and whole grains should be included in at least four of your six meals.

Here are some sample mini-meals to include in your day:

· Granola bar with peanut butter and banana

· 1 cup of Greek yogurt with apple

· Grilled turkey breast sandwich with steamed veggies on the side

· Whole-grain crackers and hummus

· 1 scoop of whey protein in a shake made with yogurt, milk, frozen/fresh fruits

· Cottage cheese and whole-wheat toast with jam

· 2-4 boiled eggs and half a grapefruit

· 1 cup of rice, steamed broccoli, 7 oz lean meat

· Salad with beans, nuts and sliced eggs

· Lean ground meat sandwich with avocado

· 2-3 pieces of grilled tofu with half a grapefruit

· 1 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon, banana and peanut butter

· 1 cup of cream of wheat/grits and 1 cup of grapes

 

No matter which of these above choices you pick, the important thing is to stay on task.

Eating one of these healthy servings does not cancel out a "Gotta Have It" from Cold Stone.

At the same time, eating 10 of these meals a day also defeats the purpose.

The goal here is to reduce overall calorie intake and introduce more nutritious foods into your diet.

Suppressing your hunger with a well-balanced portion every 3 hours will hopefully eliminate any urge to binge during any meal.

The mini-meals themselves are designed to not only be your meals but also be the snacks between your meals so that you resist munching on a bag of chips throughout the day.

Perhaps one of the hardest rules to follow about dieting is not eating before bed—more specifically the three hours before you go to bed.

If your only goal is to pack on 20 pounds of muscle, then sure, drink a giant protein shake before you go to bed.

You can even wake up in the middle of the night to eat a chicken sandwich.

However, for the majority of dieters, try to stop all food intake two to three hours before bed; if it's still too hard, at least try for one.

As long as most of your week is healthy, weekly cheat days one1 or two) are perfectly acceptable. And by cheat, I mean a Big Daddy Pub Burger from CVP, whole pizzas from Hop Deli, Gyro and Chicken and Fries from Uni Mini or just a box of 30 chewy peanut butter cookies.

Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay admits his favorite food is the Big Mac and that he eats food from McDonalds every Sunday.

Whatever satisfies your deepest taste buds' desires, go for it.

Just make sure you're in control when a new week starts or that voice within may get the best of you.