Jenn J

Day 13: Oops, I forgot to eat!

It's been a crazy day. You've attended meetings, answered numerous telephone calls and e-mails, and then pushed to meet the deadline on a major project. Suddenly, you look up at the clock and realize you completely missed lunch.

Now you're famished, so you eat whatever you can get your hands on quickly. Often that ends up being a candy bar or a small handful of nuts from your desk drawer. So much for getting quality fuel!

Skipping meals might sound like an easy way to lose weight. But it rarely works because your body outsmarts your plan. Whenever you go long periods without fuel, your body protects itself by hoarding some of the calories for later use. You also risk getting a late-day energy slump, which leads to even more eating struggles.

Saving up calories

Whenever Susan knows she's having a big dinner at night, she avoids eating all day. In her mind, she's saving up the calories so she'll have lots of room for her favorite foods. Unfortunately, this pattern tends to do the opposite of what Susan intended. In reality, our bodies know how to manage fuel sources very efficiently. When you under eat during the day, your body believes it may not get enough food, so it conserves what does come in. Even if Susan eats the same total number of calories as usual, her body will store a portion of that large evening meal, causing her to gain weight.

In the same way, if you routinely follow a one-meal-a-day plan, your body will train itself to get by on a small amount of food. Eventually, it adapts so well to the low-calorie level that it refuses to lose weight.

You have no choice

During the years when I was working in hospitals, I knew a diabetic nurse named Ellen. While the rest of us complained that we couldn't stop for lunch, Ellen always found time to eat her meals and snacks. She said, "I don't have a choice. If I don't eat, I'll pass out and I won't be any help at all."

You don't have to be diabetic to use this strategy. Just make it a habit to tell yourself, "I have no choice." By convincing yourself that skipping meals is not an option, you'll work a lot harder to routinely take care of your fuel needs.


TODAY'S TASKS

Write down the times of the day when you plan to eat your meals and snacks.

Make an effort to eat within 30 minutes of these scheduled times. At the end of the day, review your eating patterns to see how well you did.

If you tend to skip meals or forget to eat, set an alarm to remind yourself when it's time for fuel.