Ask a Dietitian

As seen on BCTV Noon News

Look at last week’s food log. 

How often did you eat?  Are there big gaps in your day where you didn’t eat anything?  Did you eat breakfast?  Did you skip lunch and have a really big dinner?  How much did you eat after dinner? 

Your goal is to eat more at the beginning of the day and less at the end.  You need fuel for your daily activities, not to sleep. 

Frequency of feedings makes a difference too.  If you want to gain weight you shouldn’t graze, you should eat 3-4 large meals per day.  If you want to lose weight it is the opposite.  The more often you eat the higher your metabolism and the more weight you will lose. 

Aim to eat every 2-3 hours during the day.  Alternate meals and snacks.  Start with breakfast within 2 hours of waking and eat again 2-3 hours later.  If you are not hungry for your next meal or snack you likely ate too much at your last meal.  Remember this and reduce your portions next time.  Your goal is to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full, not stuffed.

Add snacks where there are big gaps in your day.  Choose foods from Canada’s food guide for snacks, don’t add extras.  Try a yogurt, a fruit smoothie or raw vegetables and dip.

Try not to eat after dinner.  If you stay up late working after dinner or have a workout after dinner you may want to have a healthy snack, but don’t let this become your opportunity to snack on junk foods with little nutritional value.  Try to have dinner at least 2-3 hours before bed.

Canadians say that one of the major barriers to healthy eating is not having enough time to cook nutritious meals. 

Tip:  Get organized.  Start packing your lunch the night before so you have it at the office or at home in the fridge ready to go.  This way you don’t need to cook again mid day.  Keep snack foods such as dried fruit, cereal bars, and water bottles in the car for emergency snacking.   

For the next week keep another food log and continue to reduce your extras while also paying attention to timing.  Don’t skip your meals or snacks!

Go to www.dietitians.ca/eatwell and do the EATracker.  Here you can enter in all the food you eat for a day and get feedback on calories and servings based on your activity level, height and weight.