HEALTHY LIVING: Fueling Your Body

It takes a lot of energy to transform your body. Successfully managing your energy level is a must when dealing with high change situations in life. Eating smaller meals every three hours boosts energy. This keeps blood sugar normal and increases metabolism to help lose weight. It’s easy to upset the balance of blood sugar by skipping meals or waiting too long to eat. When blood sugar levels are normal, you feel good and energized. When they fall, energy and mood drop. Eating a healthy diet every three hours helps to positively alter your brain chemistry and stabilize your moods.

Eating these smaller meals is not the same as “grazing”. Grazing is eating small amounts almost continuously throughout the day. It can actually lead to spikes in your blood sugar, which can cause low energy and bad 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 is stored as fat. Smaller, more frequent meals deliver your body adequate, manageable amounts of fuel spread evenly through the course of a day.

A meal or snack needs to be composed of a combination of important food groups: protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, vegetables, fruit and whole grains. Protein will help you build muscle, increases satiety, curb hunger and make you feel satisfied. Fiber will also help you feel satisfied. Complex carbohydrates and whole grains digest slowly and deliver a steady supply of energy for the next three-hour spurt. Fat delivers you a burst of energy long after you have eaten it.

Vegetables and fruit help you feel energized. Be mindful of portion control and be careful that you’re not increasing calories. Eat normal portions or split a normal portion into two meals. Plan meals and snacks ahead of time. After a week or so of eating every three hours you will have more energy and feel better, too. Any inconvenience or fear about changing will be trans- formed into eager anticipation!