Time Crunch

Time crunch is what we're all experiencing - lots to do and time seems scant. The idea of healthy eating can feel like an added time-consuming burden. In fact - it's the opposite.

It's intuitive to seek the best quality of life. This means it's intuitive to make things easy when it comes to eating and maintaining a desirable weight. Breakfast is the time to get a solid foundation of energy to seize the day. Eating a fortifying breakfast means you won't want or need a mid-morning snack and you won't gorge at lunchtime. When we eat a solid breakfast, it creates more time in our day because there is no urgency to 'grab a quick bite' or to make lunch a big deal. Importantly, when we eat a solid breakfast, we discover that lunch and dinner are not as important, so eating less is easier.

Here's some help to beat the time crunch and be kind to your body for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• Breakfast:  
• No-cook overnight oatmeal is easy to make in advance and is ready to eat in the morning. It is fortifying and having this for breakfast will mean that a salad for lunch is all you want. If you have the time, enjoy some orange juice with this to make it into even more of a power breakfast. 
• Lunch:
• If you skimp on breakfast and are 'starved' for lunch, then take a few deep breaths to remember that hunger comes from your body, not your mind. Next, have a protein packed sandwich. It can be cheese, steak, fish, tofu or any kind of burger. Now, take just one bite and put it down on the plate. Chew, swallow and take a drink of water. Often, when we're 'starving', our body is really thirsty. Water has zero calories and it's what your body wants. Do this with every bite and you will have eaten a quick and satisfying, hearty lunch.
• If you had that yummy oatmeal and are having a salad for lunch, remember to take the dressing on the side. Dressing often makes salads high calorie, so be stingy with it. Once you add any dressing, toss your salad before you eat it. You will be amazed at how little is required to get the 'taste.' Even with a salad, your body needs water. Water helps us burn calories by lubricating our metabolism.
• Dinner
• Don't let a time crunch cause you to down your dinner without tasting it. What you choose to eat should be balanced and visually appealing.The point of eating is to enjoy the taste and give your body fuel. If you have no time, then cut your portions in half.  Then, follow the same process as outlined for lunch- take a bite, put your fork down and take a swallow of water. Eating less means less calories and drinking some water between bites means you are less likely to have indigestion. 

Intuitive eating is a way of being kind to yourself. We do this by giving ourselves a chance to succeed. To succeed at being your healthy weight, take a healthy approach. Learn to enjoy having water when you eat because it has no calories, helps us feel full, and our body genuinely needs it.  Nourish your heart and your body by taking your time when you eat.

"Getting my lifelong weight struggle under control has come from a process of treating myself as well as I treat others in every way."   Oprah Winfry