One of the biggest complaints I hear from my clients is ”I do not have time to eat right”. I realize how difficult it is to find the time to plan healthy meals when you are constantly on the run. However, if you want to lose weight and optimize your health,  you will need to make eating right a priority. Make sure your apartment is stocked with healthy foods that can be made into quick meals or snacks. Treat your meals almost like medications and make sure you eat something (mini meal or snack) every few hours. Once you get low blood sugar, it is likely that you will be looking for something sweet or starchy to eat versus the apple you originally planned to eat for a snack.

Sue is one of my new clients who was interesting losing 15 pounds as well as increasing her energy levels. She is a stay at home mom with a hectic schedule. Being the mother of 3 children, she is always on the go. Dropping kids off, picking them up, feeding them, helping with homework, doing housework, she rarely makes time to make herself meals. As a result, Sue does not eat a real lunch and ends up picking at her kids lunch or just snacking during the day. Sue did not think she was eating that much and could not understand why she could not lose weight. I had Sue keep a detailed food record which included what she ate as well as the time she ate. It revealed her diet was very low in protein and veggies and high in processed carbs (ie. pretzels, sugar free cookies). It also showed she often went more than 6 hours between meals.

Here were her problems:

1. She was not eating a balanced lunch that contained protein, fat and carbs. Balanced meals help keep the blood sugar more level. This will improve energy levels as well as help control the urge to snack. In addition, balanced meals will improve the nutritional content of the diet. What you eat for lunch is especially important as it will carry you through the rest of the afternoon. Afternoon is a particularly dangerous time for many “snackers”.

2. She was going too long without eating. This contributed towards low energy levels and a decreased willpower to avoid her kids snacks.

3. The calories from snacks ended up being over 600 calories. This is more calories than a real lunch would be. In addition, most of her snacks were from processed foods (i.e pretzels, cookies)

My suggestions:

1. Plan a balanced lunch that contains adequate protein, fat and carbs. For example, make a sandwich on whole grain bread, open a can of lentil soup, pick up a take-out salad with grilled chicken, veggies and kidney beans.

2. Eat lunch by 1:30. Waiting too long to eat will cause excessive hunger and will likely result in inappropriate food choices later in the afternoon.

3. Stock up on healthy foods that can be made into a quick lunch.

4. Be aware of healthy take-out choices in the neighborhood or on the way home from errands. Healthy take-out can be a good option if you do not have the time or right foods available to make lunch. More on take-out food later….

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