Timing Is Everything
If you’re changing up your food and exercise routines and you still can’t get yourself out of your diet rut, it could be because you’re eating meals at less-than-ideal times of the day, thereby hindering your metabolism. Because our hormone levels fluctuate throughout the day, many nutrition experts believe that it’s best to consume calories when our bodies are at their most active—and that doesn’t always mean right after we exercise. While eating right after working out can certainly facilitate your weight-loss efforts, morning is the time of day when you’ll do your body the most good by eating, so having breakfast is essential. This may seem like counterintuitive advice—after all, eating an extra meal means consuming more calories, right? Wrong. When we’re asleep, we receive no nutritional input for hours on end, so when we refuel in the morning, our bodies are primed to maximize their use of incoming calories. Protein is particularly important at breakfast time, since our bodies deplete their reserves of it to regenerate our muscles, hair, skin, and nails while we sleep. And digesting protein-rich foods actually burns more calories than digesting the same amount of carbohydrates or fats does, because our bodies have to work harder to metabolize protein.
Because we produce most of our energy in the daytime and begin to slow down at night, the quantities of food we eat at specific times of the day should reflect that decline. If you make breakfast your largest meal, eat a medium-size lunch, and limit yourself to a small, light dinner, you’ll do your metabolism a huge favor. You should also avoid consuming starchy carbohydrates (such as pasta, rice, and potatoes) in the evening; carbs cause your insulin levels to spike and impede your body’s ability to burn fat, whereas lean proteins and low-sugar vegetables keep your insulin levels balanced and encourage fat burning all night. Finally, plan to stop eating a few hours before bedtime to accommodate your slowing digestive system. Because you’re about to enter your least active phrase of the day, burning off a big dinner will be difficult for your body.
Dig Deep
There is a light at the end of the weight-loss tunnel, no matter how inaccessible it seems when you’re in the midst of a diet plateau. But if you make a commitment to diversifying your meals, your workouts, and your eating schedule, there’s a good chance that this bleak time will soon be a distant memory—not to mention that switching things up will make your day-to-day routine a lot less monotonous. And if you still want that banana split now, cheating once won’t kill you—but just remember to top it with a handful of protein-packed peanuts.
