When you are moving through a transformation stage, it
takes a lot of energy to navigate all the changes you are
facing. Successfully managing your energy is a must in high
change situations like these.
Eating smaller meals every 3 hours boosts your energy.
Additionally, it lowers your cholesterol, keeps your blood
sugar on an even keel and increases your metabolism —
helping your lose weight.
After you eat a meal, the food is broken down into sugar
which provides you with energy. It takes about 3 hours for
this process to be complete — for your blood sugar levels to
go up and then to fall.
If you want to keep your blood sugar levels even — supplying
you with the right amount of energy throughout the day — eat
a small meal every 3 hours and you will prevent the falling
blood sugar levels, and the sagging energy that comes from
the fluctuations of blood sugar. If you eat small meals every
3 hours you keep your blood sugar levels steady. When your
blood sugar levels are steady your energy and mood stay
steady and more balanced throughout the day.
It is easy to upset the balance of blood sugar — and thus
energy and mood — by skipping meals or waiting too long to
eat. When blood sugar levels are normal, you feel good and
energized. When blood sugar levels fall, your energy and
your mood drop. Eating a healthy diet every 3 hours helps to
positively alter your brain chemistry and stabilize your
moods.
When you eat a large meal every 5-6 hours, you provide a lot
of fuel all at once in your system — and set the stage for
more dramatic blood sugar imbalances. The excess energy
does not get used up and instead gets stored as fat. But
more frequent, smaller meals delivers your body adequate,
manageable amounts of fuel spread evenly over the course
of a day.
How to do it:
You can eat six equal sized smaller meals. (The simplest
way to get started is to take your normal, well balanced
breakfast, lunch and dinner and divide each in half, eating
half at regular meal times and half 3 hours later.)
Or
You can eat three smaller meals with three snacks
In the “Eating every 3 hours plan,” sit down in a relaxed,
pleasant environment every three hours and have some
combination of protein, high fiber complex carbohydrates,
healthy fats, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Then you
stop eating for 3 hours.
Eating smaller meals every 3 hours is not the same as
“grazing” throughout the day. Grazing throughout the day —
eating small amounts almost continuously throughout the
day — can actually lead to spikes in your blood sugar and
low energy and moods.
A meal or snack is composed of some combination of the
important food groups — protein, high fiber complex
carbohydrates, healthy fats, vegetables, fruit, and whole
grains.
- The protein will help you stay alert and energized — plus help you feel full.
- The fiber will help you feel full.
- The complex carbohydrates and whole grains will digest slowly and deliver you a steady supply of energy for the next 3 hour spurt.
- The fat –which digests slowly will deliver you a burst of energy long after you have eaten it.
- The vegetables and fruit will help you feel energized and full of pep.
When eating every 3 hours you have to be mindful of portion
control — you don’t want to increase your calories. Instead,
start eating normal portions — and even splitting a normal
portion into 2 meals. Supersize portions can often be split
up into 2 or even 3 meals.
Because you will be eating so frequently, you will need to
pay attention to quality eating. It helps to plan your meals
and snacks ahead of time. You can even go so far as to get
them ready ahead of time and place them in handy
containers.
After a week or so of eating every 3 hours you will
experience so much more energy and feel so much better
that any inconvenience or fear about changing will be
transformed into eager anticipation of the day’s culinary
delights.
Healthy snack suggestions:
- Pistachios and a piece of fresh fruit
- Cheery hazel nut butter on a piece of banana
- Hard boiled egg and a spoonful of tabbouleh
- Shrimp with cocktail sauce or salsa
- Sliced turkey with veggies, grainy mustard and tortilla
- Ham wrapped around cooked asparagus spears
- Deviled egg and celery sticks
- Diced ham and canned white beans drizzled with olive oil and mustard
- Slice of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil drizzled with olive oil and red wine vinegar
- 1/ 2 cup of ricotta cheese with berries
- 1/4 cup Roasted red pepper humus on 1/2 whole wheat pita bread toasted
- Cashew butter on apple slices
- Nuts and dried fruit — trailmix
- Canned salmon drizzled with lemon on rye crackers
- Yogurt with honey and sliced almonds
- Guacamole with rice crackers or corn chips
- Sliced tomato, grainy mustard, and low fat cheddar cheese on whole grain bread, melted in the broiler
- Hard boiled egg, 2 rye crisp crackers, 8 ounces of tomato juice
- 1 cup of 1% milk or soymilk, and 1 whole grain oatmeal raisin cookie
- Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese dip with fresh veggies
Mary Ann Copson is the creator of the Evenstar Mood and Energy Management System for Women. With Master’s Degrees in Human Development and in Psychology and Counseling, Mary Ann is a Certified Licensed Nutritionist, a Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, a Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician, a Professional Life Coach and Human Development Consultant. For resources about reconnecting to your natural rhythms through better management of your physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual energy visit http://evenstaronline.com.
