Friday 18 March 2011

How Eating Regularly And Frequently Can Help You Lose Weight

When it comes to our eating habits it is not only what we eat that is important but when we eat and how often. Our body is a machine, and like many machines it likes to run on a schedule. As a result, eating regularly or on a schedule will actually help your body keep your metabolism up, and digest your food more effectively.

As I said before, our body is a machine, and our digestive system is a complex system that is regulated via hormones, neurotransmitters, and messenger molecules called cytokines. These components not only tell our brain and body when we're hungry but what our bodies are craving. Therefore if these components becomes misaligned in anyway, our entire digestive system is affected, and we will start craving more food, especially food that isn't good for us.

Eating regularly give us the ability to keep the machine that is our digestive system and food craving system functioning properly. As our body gets acclimated to the continuous food schedule, it will actually start producing insulin and other digestive enzymes in anticipation of the food your body knows is coming. As a result you will have less food cravings, and will be able to eat less, maintaining greater portion control as you eat.

It is not only important to eat regularly but eating more frequently keeps your metabolism up. By frequently I mean eating three meals and two snacks between your meals. Eating often allows your metabolism to get a continuous workout throughout the day, so it doesn't have time to slow down and store fat. In addition you are providing your body with a continuous supply of energy it can use. As a result, one of the pleasant side effects people often notice right away when they start eating better meals more frequently, is that they have more energy. Think about how much you would be able to accomplish if you didn't hit the mid-afternoon hump that often sends many people back to the coffee machine or sodas.

So if you're constantly hungry or craving food that you know is not good for you like processed carbohydrates and sugar, try to take back control of your body by eating regularly and frequently, more complete and balanced meals and snacks. Not only will you notice your cravings start to abate, but you will see that you will eat less and maintain more energy throughout your day.
Catherine E.P. Gray is the President & Founder of Inside-Out Beauty, LLC a full service image consulting company based in New York City that enables clients to achieve their personal and/or professional image goals by addressing all the interrelated aspects of one's image.