All Articles, Food & Nutrition, Holiday Weight Loss Challenge

(#9) Eating Downhill

Print This Post

December 16, 2009
	Dr. Gary Huber : Head Medical Ego

I have a quick hit for you today. Eat downhill. That means the number of calories you consume should be high in the morning and decrease as the day goes on. Often I see people skipping breakfast, have a smallish lunch and then pack it in at dinner time. Then they add evening snacks to boot. Studies have shown that people who eat this way tend to gain unwanted weight and increase their risk of obesity. They are increasing their calorie ingestion as the day goes on. Do the opposite. Start with a big breakfast. This does several things. It fuels the body’s metabolism and increases energy output. It also stops the inevitable muscle breakdown that comes from your normal sleep cycle as you are fasting for 7 to 8 hours.

You are sleeping for 7 to 8 hours aren’t you? If not then we need to talk.

So eat a big breakfast loaded with protein.  A piece of toast or a Pop Tart just won’t do. 

Eat a mid morning snack of nuts or fruit if your hungry and then get a good size lunch that includes 20 grams of protein. A big salad is optimal as you get several servings of vegetables and can put chicken or beef on it for the protein. 

At dinner time, keep it smallish and avoid the rice, potato, bread, and pasta carbs. A clean piece of protein and some veggies or a small salad. Eating this way will promote good lean muscle mass and assist weight loss.

We discussed evening snacks in post #8, so review that if you need assistance at night.

Look at your protein consumption as well. Make sure that most of your meals have at least 15 to 20 grams of protein. Typical requirements for protein are between 0.5 to 0.8 grams per pound of body weight. The more exercise and resistance training you do then the greater your protein requirement. 

A palm sized serving of meat/chicken/fish is usually around 4 ounces and has 30 grams of protein. Protein is a thermogenic food meaning that the very digestion and utilization of it burns calories. Approximately 30% of the calories in high protein foods are utilized in the digestive process. If you happen to be vegetarian then you need to be more vigilant to monitor your protein intake as plant foods offer less protein in general and many vegetarians don’t get adequate protein intake to meet their needs. 

I’ll talk tomorrow about the importance of protein at breakfast. In this country it seems that if it isn’t covered in sugar then it isn’t breakfast food. Donuts, waffles, pancakes, Pop Tarts, French toast, cereal, etc are great ways to gain weight but not the direction you want to go.

Personally I had a great weekend with two very intense workouts and no cookies. Can you believe it? I have some credit in the cookie bank and I’m on the prowl for those Buskin Bakery treats. Don’t tell me I have to go buy them myself. Where’s the fun in that? And how could I face you if you caught me walking out of the bakery with a bag in my hand? 

I walked into a friend’s office today and there were cookies and candies on a tray sitting out for patients. I looked them over but was not convinced they were worth a withdrawal from my bank so I’m holding out.

Patience, patience . . .

Note: In case you missed one, all of Dr. Huber’s posts for the Holiday Weight Loss Challenge are featured in the Holiday Weight Loss Challenge Section of our website.