Snack Late in the Day to Lose Fat

Have you ever been at a party with a buffet for several hours,nibbling lightly as the time passed, never feeling quite full or hungry? That's the ideal situation for your body, which, with the exception of sleeping (when energy needs drop significantly) and post-workout calorie replenishment needs (where the calorie requirements peak), uses energy at a pretty consistent pace throughout the day.

That's why most authoritative weight loss sources advocate eating small amounts frequently throughout the day, rather than loading up just a few times as we've cultured ourselves to do for convenience and social reasons. The thing is, most people find this one of the hardest habits to cultivate if they're used to three or fewer meals each day. So let me give you a great place to start: Breakfast. It doesn't have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as a hard boiled egg, a hand full of grapes and some dry cereal in a baggie on your way out the door. I'll be giving you lots of ideas for quick, convenient and healthy breakfasts in future posts.

But let's assume you already eat breakfast. The most likely area you have to improve is that block of time between lunch and dinner when you can get busy and go several hours without eating. Guess what happens as a result? You end up eating more at supper than you need and craving high calorie foods because the message you're sending your body is that the energy supply is going to be unpredictable - so it had better store for the future. And you know where that gets stored, right?

Here's the solution:

Create a calorie shortfall by eating a very light dinner of mostly veggies and a little lean protein. How can you do that and possibly be satisfied. You have to eat light enough at lunch so that you're hungry between 3:30pm and 5:00pm. Somewhere around that time, eat a snack of fruit or veggies with cheese or nuts. That way you get, in a healthy package, the three elements that hold your blood sugar stable for longer: fat, protein and fiber. And that, in turn, will blunt your appetite for dinner. And now the dinner I described above will actually do it for you.

See?

Give it a try - it works. And watch the scale start to tell you happy stories...