A balance has to be struck between not eating enough (and therefore not getting all the nutrients your body needs to thrive) and eating too much (which is unhealthy and will cause you to become overweight).
One of the biggest issues is time. Many people are very busy, and they don’t feel they have enough time to eat three meals a day. They skip breakfast or lunch – sometimes dinner too – and when they do eat, they grab unhealthy snacks or call for takeout because they have so much else to do. This means that you run the risk of getting sick, and your immune system might not function well, among other issues. With that in mind, here are some ideas you can put in place to ensure you eat enough during the day (even if you’re busy).
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
Batch Cook
Batch cooking is not a difficult thing to do, and it can really save you a lot of time and money when it comes to eating. If you always make extra food when you cook, you can store that extra food safely in the freezer, and when you don’t have time to cook and would otherwise skip eating altogether or grab something unhealthy on the way home, you can heat up the food and have a healthy, nutritious meal.
This will save you money because you won’t have to pay for extra food when you have good food at home, and it will ensure you don’t miss out on any essential nutrients.
Always Eat Breakfast
Breakfast might seem like the easiest meal to skip because you’re often in a hurry in the morning anyway, and you can manage until lunchtime. The problem is that if you skip breakfast, your metabolism will take longer to engage, and your body might even go into what’s known as ‘starvation mode’. When this happens, energy becomes stored as fat, which is why many people find that skipping breakfast makes them put on weight.
If you make it a rule to always have breakfast, even if you don’t have food, and instead opt for the best meal replacement shakes, you’ll also be less hungry by the time lunchtime comes around, so you’ll eat less, helping you stay healthier. Plus, when you have breakfast, you’ll be more energized and focused at work, which is a bonus.
Eat Snacks
Eating snacks might sound like terrible advice if you want to eat enough and no more or less. However, it could be that eating six smaller meals per day (which includes snacks) helps you eat less overall than if you were to stick to three larger meals. To do this, you would eat breakfast, then have a mid-morning (healthy) snack. Next is lunch, after which you’ll have a mid-afternoon snack. Then dinner, and finally, a snack before bed.
If all of these meals are smaller, you won’t overeat, and you won’t find that you’re absolutely ravenous by the time any particular meal time comes around. You’ll also have a constant flow of energy, so there will be no dips of tiredness that cause you to be unproductive.
Don’t Forget To Drink
Staying hydrated throughout the day is a big part of being healthy. Dehydration can cause confusion, mood swings, and headaches at best, and at worst, it can lead to organs shutting down – this is what will happen with chronic dehydration, for example.
What has this got to do with eating enough? The fact is that sometimes you might actually be dehydrated and not hungry. These two signals can be confused, especially if your brain is not functioning optimally due to dehydration in the first place. The best thing to do is to have a bottle of water with you at all times and constantly sip on it throughout the day. In this way, you won’t become dehydrated, and when you feel hunger pangs, you can rely on them being real rather than dehydration confusing the issue.
Another benefit to drinking water is that it can help to fill you up. If you know you have a tendency to keep eating even when you’re full, try drinking a glass of water before each meal. In this way, you’ll already be a little full, and you’ll have to eat less unless you want to be very uncomfortable. Over time, you’ll learn what portion sizes are good for you.
Make Meals A Priority
Finally, it’s important that you make meals a priority. When you’re in a hurry, it can feel as though you just eat because you have to, but this can lead to you making bad food choices. If you prioritize your food, you’ll think more carefully about it, make better decisions, and eat more mindfully, as we mentioned above.
