Metabolic Habit #4

August, 2009

by Morella Devost

I hope you have been following our series on metabolic habits and choosing to take at least one action each week to help you gradually cultivate these habits. Today's article brings the fourth habit:

Habit #4: Keep a consistent schedule of meals but wait to be hungry.

The schedule part of this habit might be tough for many. After all, it seems like our lives are run by meetings, classes, traffic, soccer practice, conference calls, gardening chores, walking the dog, etc. Trying to eat dinner at the same time every night sounds like just one more stress you don't need!

Now, this should be common sense, but the natural flow of human life has been incredibly distorted by our modern lifestyle. Returning to a more natural flow is a powerful and fundamental tool for achieving and maintaining optimal health, weight and longevity.

Why is that, and how can you learn, or rather, remember what is your natural flow?

Like all animals in nature, our physiological rhythm is aligned with the rhythm of the earth. We know that babies and kids do best when their meals take place at about the same time every day. But as we become responsible for our own meals we allow school, work and social life to determine our mealtimes, not health and energy.

How do we re-learn then, our natural rhythm for eating? The most important thing is to pay attention, but here are a few guidelines:

In resting state, our metabolic rate will rise and fall with the sun, and will typically be highest around mid-day. Therefore, eating your largest meals of the day in the morning and at noon will work best with this natural metabolic flow.
Only eat when you're hungry. This strengthens your body's communication systems. If you eat when you're not hungry you short-circuit one of your most basic survival responses. This begins a cascade of "short-circuits" affecting your hormones and energy utilization.
When you wait for hunger you can easily assess whether you are eating the right meals for your metabolic type. Finding yourself hungry in between meals, or experiencing cravings, is a good indicator of not eating the right combination of protein, vegetables and fat for your metabolic type. You may need to shift your meals around for a bit until you find the right combination for you.

What is your action for this week then? Don't try to change too many things at once. Just pick one action that you can easily shift. Then move onto another.

Remember it's mostly common sense and paying attention. However, if you try to implement these habits and you find that you need more support we are always happy to provide it. It is especially beneficial to get support if:

You find yourself constantly thinking about food
It's nearly impossible for you to go 4-5 hours without food
You absolutely must eat dessert or have a late night snack
Rarely experience real hunger
You have diabetes, metabolic syndrome or hypoglycemia