The alarm goes off. You jump out of bed. Oh no! You're late again and today you have an important meeting at work. You get the kids up, feed the dog, prepare breakfast and lunch for the family, put a load of laundry in the wash, kiss your husband goodbye, grab a cup of coffee and you're out the door. No time to eat, you'll just grab something after you drop the kids off at school.
You arrive at the office a few minutes late, when you realize you forgot to get something to eat. Oh, well, those pastries and bagels sure look good.
Is this a typical morning for you?Julia Ross, author of "The Diet Cure" states that for optimal metabolic rate, 25% of your daily calories should come at breakfast Between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. cortisol levels are at their highest, elevating your metabolism so you can get ready for the day. This is the time where your body needs as much fuel as possible.
Finally lunch time arrives and you are famished. That bagel didn't quite cut it. You order a Chef Salad and a diet soda. While you're waiting, you munch on a few buttered rolls, why not? Everybody else is.
Later that afternoon you find yourself starting to fade, so you take a trip down to visit the vending machine for a quick pick-me-up. You finally leave the office at 5:30, pick up the dry cleaning, get the kids at soccer practice and arrive home. There you have a cocktail with your husband and some chips, nibbling here and there while you're making dinner. Dinner consists of pasta, sausage, salad and more bread.
After 12:00, cortisol levels drop and so does your metabolism. Melatonin levels rise preparing the body for sleep. Doesn't it make sense to eat most of your calories during the day when you are active?
After doing homework with the kids, putting laundry away, tucking the kids into bed, you collapse onto the couch. But not before having a slice of pie with a side of ice cream. It's 11:00 and you fall into bed, ready to do it all over again the next day.
Starting your day off with a smallor no breakfast, followed by a medium sized lunch, and a snack, only to go home and pig out at dinner leaves your body looking like your meal strategy. Small on top, a little bigger in the middle and big on the bottom.
Change the shape of your body, by changing your meal strategy. Here are some tips to get you off to a good start:
- Elevate your metabolism by drinking 16 ounces of water before breakfast
- Have a large breakfast consisting of a carbohydrate, fat & protein
- Always eat right for your Metabolic Type*
- Have a medium sized lunch consisting of a carb, fat & protein
- Eat a snack in between meals if needed
- Have a small dinner consisting of a carb, fat & protein
- Never skip a meal
You have the power to changeyour eating habits and the shape of your body. Begin this journey by always eating breakfast. Breakfast doesn't have to be at 7:00 a.m., for some it may be later in the morning. Always remember that you hold the key to achieving the shape you desire.
References:
Ross, Julia. The Diet Cure New York: Viking Press 1999Wolcott, WIlliam, Fahey, Trish, The Metabolic Typing Diet Doubleday, 2000
