The 4th essential ingredient to a healthy lifestyle is “when you eat”. There was a recent study that showed that eating all your calories in the evening caused weight gain whereas eating the same amount of calories just in the morning caused weight loss. 

Sumo wrestlers understand the importance of this.  They intentionally eat a heavy diet later in the day because this is what packs on the fat around their middle. Our North American pattern of eating, unfortunately, is very similar and creating the same results.  

Skipping breakfast or eating a breakfast that spikes your blood sugar tells your body that it is in a famine. This causes you to produce too much cortisol, a hormone that tells your body to store fat and burn muscle. Cortisol also increases your appetite. When you don’t eat sufficient calories earlier in the day, you end up “starving” by later afternoon. This BIG appetite causes you to eat too much later in the day and sets you up to sleep poorly. 

Always make sure to eat a healthy, low glycemic breakfast. If possible, eat your biggest meal at lunch and don’t eat within a few hours of bedtime. Getting enough calories early in the day is an important key to controlling your appetite in the evening. Avoid eating heavy later in the day and, as much as possible, eat nothing within two hours of bedtime. 

The road to success is not a path you find, but a road you blaze.  
~Robert Brault

Check-In:

1. Have your shake at breakfast and for one other meal.
2. Avoid eating heavy late in the day and don’t eat after 8:00 PM.
3. If you are too hungry in the evening, make sure you are having enough to eat during the day.  Follow the low-glycemic guidelines on this.
4. Don't forget to maintain an active lifestyle and continue to find ways to 'move' more.