I.M.120 Helping you to BE YOUR BEST SELF

Feeding time. Think of that as a concept to be incorporated into our lives on a daily basis.

Think about it, If you owned a prized Thoroughbred you would be diligent in adhering to proper feeding times. You would not wait for your prized steed to be bucking in the stall to remind you to feed it. Such a negligent pattern would lead to stress for the animal, compromising his good health and performance. Now think about how much more valuable you are than a horse, And yet we often treat ourselves in a negligent manner.

Hunger induces stress. Stress drives up our appetite, erodes our willpower, and creates the tendency for us to over eat in a reckless manner. Waiting for hunger to prompt food intake will make you less likely to succeed in achieving your healthiest body weight.

By the time your body is experiencing hunger, you have already started to break down muscle and reduce your physical and mental capacity.

It is far better to know your rhythm and plan your feeding times based on the clock rather than a growling stomach. This fits into our principle of "premeditated discipline." By having the feeding times already scheduled, you can avoid impulsive eating and you can prevent stress to your body and mind. Hunger should not be your prompt for feeding time, It should be set by the clock.

If you pay attention to your hunger impulses for several days, you will likely notice a pattern emerge. The most important principle in establishing your pattern is to be certain to start with a high protein, low carbohydrate breakfast. If you skip your breakfast, you may experience a suppressed hunger throughout the day only to have it come roaring back later with a corresponding rapid fat accumulation.

Once the times are established, you can premeditate the type and amount of food to be eaten.

Once again we can learn from our champion steed. At feeding time, he is not given an unlimited supply of food but rather what the trainer determines to be the ideal amount of food. Too much food can damage our steed, just as certainly as too much food can damage us.

Plan your feeding time, then stick to it! Be sure to eat at the appropriate time. Do not expect hunger to be your trigger. Hunger is a fat inducing stress to be avoided.

Well team, I see by the clock on the wall that it is time for me to take a break tend to my own feeding.

Wishing you a lean and healthy life,
-Dr. Stephen Petteruti