Monday, September 28, 2009

Lose Weight With 5 Meals A Day

The concept behind losing weight by eating 5 meals a day is to eat smaller meals more frequently and to curb hunger pangs as they happen. The main trick to losing weight this way is to eat low-calorie meals and to be sure to exercise each day. Each meal should consist of something different, and you should make sure you are consuming a well-balanced diet.


Instructions








1. Eat fiber at breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for people who are trying to lose weight. You should consume something that includes fiber at this time to get your body moving. Good sources of breakfast fiber are whole grain oat toast and fruit like pears. Also, eating breakfast within 1 hour of waking rids your body of the initial morning hunger and excites your metabolism.


2. Grab something the next time you feel hungry after breakfast that you enjoy eating but doesn't add many calories to your diet. A good example would be a piece of fresh fruit or a small bag of cut carrots and celery. Without a doubt, a few hours after breakfast you will start feeling hungry. This is a critical point of your morning diet. If you are used to indulging yourself with high-calorie foods, you will need some will power. This second meal should be something small but healthy that will tide you over until lunch.


3. Make each of the 5 meals something healthy. Stick to one food item or two small items. The goal with the 5 meals a day should be to eat something from every food group at least once. The food groups include breads, meat and poultry, dairy, fruits and vegetables.








4. Munch on a salad with low-calorie dressing or vinegar as dressing for lunch. This kind lunch provides you with the vegetable nutrients you need to get through your afternoon. Have your fourth meal mid to late afternoon, and your fifth meal at about the dinner hour. Again, do not have large meals. Your last meal of the day, in fact, should be the smallest meal.


5. Count your calories. Any caloric reduction for someone used to a high-calorie diet will cause weight loss. A good calorie count for most individuals ranges from 1,200 to 1,600 calories per day to lose weight. This is a reduction of at least 20 percent of the normal 2,000 calories an average person ingests during an average day. If you plan out each of your 5 meals a day and count the calories in each, they can add up to a great reduction in calories and provide you with the added metabolism boosts you need at different points throughout your day. You may make some meals include more calories than others.

Tags: after breakfast, lose weight, losing weight, meal should, should something, your body