Frequent Eating
With Nani’s rapid rise to stardom, and the shocking admission that she actually ate more to lose weight, there is suddenly a lot of talk about the merits of frequent eating. Most of this talk centers around logistics – what do you eat, how much do you eat and when do you eat it?
Frequent eating is a good plan for most people but vital for athletes at the Ice Chamber (that’s you, people). Besides revving up your metabolism, eating 5 – 6 meals/day will help you maintain your energy levels and build muscle – critical for getting the most out of your workout and your day.
While we’ve touched on lunch and dinner in the past, we haven’t addressed one of the most important elements of frequent eating – snacks. Snacking can mean different things to different people. People who are new to eating many times a day often want guidance on what to eat for a snack.
Because I have a tendency to eat 3 larger main meals, I prepare small snacks to eat between those meals. Other people choose to eat 5 or 6 medium smallish sized meals. The important thing to remember is that you want to AVOID eating 5 or 6 large meals because, after all, a calorie is still a calorie.
For me, a meal isn’t satisfying unless it contains some lean protein, unrefined carbs and good fats. So, some standard snacks for this vegetarian are:
• Lowfat cottage cheese, ¼ cantaloupe, sprinkling of sunflower seeds
• Couple of tofurkey slices, handful baby carrots dipped in ¼ of a mashed avocado
• Couple slices of baked tofu, big handful snap peas, a few almonds
• Slice of lowfat swiss cheese, apple, a few almonds
Like Nani, I usually prepare a few snacks at the beginning of the week and store them in the fridge in either ziploc baggies or small containers. Then, in the morning, I just pop one or two snacks into my backpack or purse and off I go.
If you ascribe to 5 – 6 meals a day, what kinds of snacks do you eat? Do you eat 3 big meals and 2 – 3 snacks? Or are all of your meals roughly the same size?
If you are not eating smaller, more frequent meals, but have questions about this method, please let us know. We’re here to help!
