Step Three: Consistent 5X-a-day Eating Schedule

by Susan on May 3, 2010

Ok, I never got my Week 2 summary in last week as the power kept going off and I was extra busy with a fussy baby. Week 2 was not my best, I’m afraid. I missed 3 workouts due to not feeling well and taking care of my fussy little girl, who was having some stomach issues. I’m determined to do better this week! So here’s Step Three from the Beachbody Nutrition Guide: A Consistent 5 Times-a-day Eating Schedule

“To succeed, it is very important to follow a consistent eating schedule. Consistency will actually give you a profound sense of control over your world, and it will also assure two things:

You won’t get over-hungry, and thus overeat at the next meal, and
You will encourage an increase in your metabolism (that’s the Holy Grail!)

A sample schedule could be:

Breakfast (within an hour of waking up) 7:00 AM
Snack (2-3 hours after breakfast) 9:00 – 10:00 AM
Lunch (2-3 hours after snack) 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Snack (2-3 hours after lunch) 3:00 – 4:00 PM
Dinner (finished at least 3 hours before bed) 7:00 – 8:00 PM

The most important aspects of this eating schedule are that you DO eat breakfast, and that you DO stop eating 3 hours BEFORE bedtime. (You might start to get hungry before bedtime, but you will enjoy 8 hours of solid fat burning if you can control yourself.) By allowing your body to sleep in “fasting mode” – meaning you are not in the midst of digesting a meal – your body will access stored fat for energy. What better time to be slightly hungry anyway than while you sleep? You wake up hungry, and you eat breakfast on schedule!”