Tip #12 - Add a second lunch

It may sound counterintuitive, but consuming two 500-calorie lunches four hours apart can actually help you cut your overall calorie intake for the day. Try having one at noon and another at 4pm. "The purpose of this second lunch is to ruin your appetite so you're not very hungry at night," explains nancy Clark, MS RD, a sports nutritionist in private practice at Healthworks Fitness Center in Chestnut Hill, MA. "This way, you do the majority of your eating during the day when you're most active, and allow yourself to lose weight at night when you're sleeping."


Well, we all know this one isn't correct -- it's 3 hours, not 4. And since when does a calorie know what time it is? Research has shown that it really doesn't have much of an impact whether or not you eat later at night -- the total number of calories in a day and every 3 hours so your body stays fueled are what's important.

Although, I will say that perhaps it woud help to fend off the mindless eating when I get home from work and dinner isn't even planned, let alone cooked! Hmmmm, maybe I should switch and have the second lunch and then a snack when I get home? More thoughts to ponder......


Sharon

What a great suggestion! I am usually famished around 4:00 and that's when snacking can get out of control. If I just planned on eating at that time, I wouldn't snack when I got home from work and then I'd eat my normal dinner (probably without sneaking tastes while preparing it!!!).

Why couldn't you have a mini lunch? Maybe 1/2 a sandwich with meat, chesse, lettuce and tomato, that type of thing and it still wouldn't be that many calories especially if lite bread is used. But I agree, every three hours...that mindless eating in the afternoon is my bigget problem too.

Phyllis