I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard people recommend eating every 2-3 hours to keep one’s blood sugar balanced and therefore helping one to lose weight.

Here’s why I don’t agree.

First off, I used to eat that way. And you know how I felt? Tired, sluggish, and bloated.

Um, no thank you.

The reasons I felt that way included two biggies:

1. I wasn’t giving my digestive system enough time and space to properly digest, break down, and process my previous food… leading to gas buildup, bloating, and less than ideal digestion overall.
2. I was constantly triggering the release of insulin, which is secreted by our pancreas every time we eat carbs or protein (with the strongest effect coming from the former). This excess of insulin put me into fat storing mode most of the time, and prevented me from entering fat burning mode, which, (hello!), is where I’d like to be, thank you very much.

So, for proper digestion and blood sugar balancing, I believe it’s best to space your meals out enough to give your body time to process and use those nutrients from each one.

Yes, of course if our meals aren’t satisfying enough and we feel hungry, we DO need to snack. And when we do snack, we should be reaching for foods that are higher in protein and fat, and lower in carbs. Think a boiled egg, handful of nuts and/or seeds, or a scoop of almond butter.

But, the goal is to have enough protein and fat in our meals to keep us satisfied for a longer period of time so we don’t have to snack, simply because we’re not hungry.

You see, when we have enough of that protein and fat, which take longer to digest, they help to slow down the digestion and release of each meal, keeping our blood sugar level more steady and balanced throughout the day. This means the carbs that are in our meal are more slow-release, rather than creating a sugar rush.

What has all of this meant for me?

Since my blood sugar is more steady and I’m giving my body the time required to properly digest my food and absorb the nutrients from it, I feel a heck of a lot more energized. My mood is more balanced because I’m avoiding the blood sugar dips, and hey, less bloating = one happy girl.

The Specifics

• Eat 3 meals per day.
• Aim for 4-5 hours between meals without the need to snack (i.e. without feeling hungry).
• If you do feel hungry, you need to snack. Choose higher protein and fat foods that have lower carbs. Some examples (I know I’m repeating myself on some of these): a boiled egg; a handful of nuts and/or seeds; a scoop of almond butter; 1/2 an avocado; 1/2 a piece of leftover meat; a handful or two of veggies with hummus, bean dip, or guacamole; or 1/2 a smoothie.
• Also if you do feel hungry, ask yourself why that is. Perhaps your previous meal didn’t have enough protein or fat in it to keep you steady long enough. Maybe you needed to add a scoop of protein powder and a tablespoon of flax or coconut oil to your smoothie (an excellent idea), or maybe you needed to add a protein source to your salad (some examples: chicken, fish, boiled eggs, chickpeas, beans, raw cheese) (this is a must if the salad IS your meal, which it often is for me!).
• Write a comment below to let me know how it goes for you. Any questions or feedback? I’d love to hear!