I have no real plan for the blogs I’ve written, I just tend to write about whatever I think is entertaining or interesting at the time. So a lot of the important information I think you need to know about yourself in order to lose weight is scattered over the three blogs. (One day, when I write my book, I’ll be able to organize it all better. (The book will be based on this post and called Jizzercise.)) For instance, I think it’s important to have a list of the low-calorie foods that you naturally enjoy and the high-calorie foods that you would never be able to give up. Easy access to the former and learning to eat the latter in moderation is, I think, the huge key to losing weight. I also think you need to find the physical activities that you naturally enjoy doing and then find ways to increase your participation in them. There are other facts about yourself that I think are important to figure out if you’re trying to lose weight and a big one is what your eating rhythm is. And what I mean by that is, if you are on a 1500 calorie diet, what is the best way to disperse them throughout your day?
You could have 5 300-calorie “meals.” Or you could have 3 500-calorie meals. Or you could not eat anything all day and then have a Carl’s Jr. Double Six-Dollar Burger. A nutritionist might not recommend it, but hell, I don’t care what you do.
I’ve found that my rhythm is to have a small breakfast, a small lunch, and then a good sized dinner. I don’t generally eat any snacks. And yes, I’m usually pretty hungry come dinner time but I also tend to fill up pretty quick.
I know you’re thinking, “But don’t I have to eat a big breakfast and then many small meals throughout the day to keep my metabolism up?” No. It’s true that eating raises your metabolism, but by that logic, why not just eat a plate of nachos every hour to keep your metabolism up? Just because something increases your metabolism doesn’t mean it will be a net benefit to you in losing weight. (Beating an orphan with a tree branch will raise your metabolism as well, but you don’t have to start the day with it.) If I were to eat a 500 rather than a 200 calorie breakfast, my metabolism may increase, but it wouldn’t increase enough to overcome the 300 extra calories.
When I first started watching what I was eating, I would usually eat three meals of about the same size. I found myself eating much more in the morning than I wanted to and not nearly enough at night. But once I switched around when I at the calories, I found myself a lot more satisfied, despite the fact that the total number of calories hadn’t changed.
I’m not saying that three meals that are small, small, large, is the way to go. I’m saying that’s what I found worked. The key is to find your own rhythm. It’s not just to determine the number of calories you want to eat each day, but also to find the distribution of calories that leaves you feeling most satisfied and least likely to break the diet.
