Exercise is great but you can NOT out-run bad eating habits.
Part 1
If you are faithful about working out and eating “healthy” but cannot lose weight or have stalled in your weight loss than you must assess your eating habits. Take note that I am referring to eating habits not what you are eating. What you eat plays a role in weight loss and health and that will be a topic for another day. For you to maximize your ability to lose weight and to have a healthy metabolism, WHEN you eat will affect your ability to shed those stubborn pounds.
In the introduction article (click here to go to the article) I suggested you become aware of how late you are eating. I have set up a table in this article for you to record in greater detail your daily feeding window (which includes calorie dense drinks ie: juice, milk, sweetened beverages etc)
For one week keep a record of the following: Record what time you woke up, the time you take your first bite of food or beverage (excluding water), what time was your last bite of food or beverage (excluding water) and what time you went to bed. This will give you a profile of your daily feeding window. For this exercise there is NO need to document what you are eating.
Date | Woke Up | First Bite/Drink | Last Bite/Drink | Went to Bed |
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Using this chart will give you a window into your eating habits. What you are looking for is:
· How long is your eating window?
· How much time has passed between waking before your first bite of food?
· How much time has passed between your last bite of food and going to bed?
· How late into the night are you eating?
Timing plays a critical role in weight management and health. Part 2 of this series will begin to explore why and how timing effects weight loss and your health.