Dear Ladies..Please Stop Skipping Meals

I've had quite a few people lately tell me that they are trudging to lose weight. The first questions I ask is, "Well, how often are you eating"? Five women this week have all replied, "Well that's just the thing, I'm only eating once a day"! So I figured I'd share some thoughts on this. Your body has no idea that this is 2014- your body is functioning the same way as it would have if you were born 2,000 years ago. We are very primal beings and our body has some pretty basic functions and concepts that regulate it. 

First, you have to eat within two hours of waking up. 
If you are one of many people who are not hungry in the morning, you figure you'll save the calories by skipping breakfast altogether. Actually what you are doing is telling your metabolism that you are still sleeping. You are basically saying to you body is "stay asleep, don't increase my metabolism, don't burn any calories". So that is what your body does and throughout your day you burn minimal calories. By eating first thing in the morning you say, "HEY WAKE UP and burn some calories! That initial meal jump starts everything for your whole day. 
Breakfast doesn't have to be big or well thought out. During the week I am a huge fan of hard boiled adds, oatmeal, and Greek yogurt. It can be something small- but make it something high protein. 

Second, you have to eat often. 
Skipping meals sound like a great way to save calories and be more of the productive super woman you are. However, by skipping meals your body goes back to those caveman instincts and thinks you might be starving. Your body has no idea when you will eat again and therefore it cannot afford to burn frivolous calories. SO- you body slows it's metabolism and the next time you DO eat- your body will hoard every calorie and ounce of fat! This is a basic fear concept- "I have no idea when our next meal is coming so I am going to conserve EVERYTHING so we don't die. By eating every 4-5 hours your body is assured that you are not starving, that it can freely burn calories and fat. Eat!
Now please don't take this as me saying eat a high meals every 4-5 hours- no. Ideally your meals will be around 400 calories and 1-2 snacks of 150 calories. Again, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, high protein. 

Lastly, find out what works for you.
Experiment with foods. See how long you can stay full by eating eggs for breakfast, then the next day see how long you are satisfied with oatmeal, etc, etc. You will find that your body works better and more efficiently with certain foods over others.