God created your body to respond optimally to “grazing,” which means eating smaller meals or snacks every 3-4 hours. Why? Because eating three “mini meals” and two snacks each day will:

• Boost your metabolism and help you burn more fat
• Ward off excessive hunger
• Stabilize blood sugar
• Provide consistent energy
• Train you to eat smaller portions
• Establish a habit of self-controlled eating

Optimally, we should refuel our bodies every 3-4 hours to stabilize our blood sugar. Doing this will keep us both energetic and mentally alert.

Allowing your God-given hunger response to cue you when to eat a healthy mini-meal or snack will ward off the temptation to overeat or eat the wrong foods. Never wait until you’re famished before grabbing a healthy snack. It is important to keep your blood sugar stabilized throughout the day, and wise snacking can help you do that. If you are one of the many people challenged by diabetes each year, take that into account when choosing a snack and stay away from food choices high in sugar.

The chart below will give you an idea about how many calories to eat during each meal/snack throughout the day for optimum energy and weight loss. As most of you know, you should ideally eat more calories in the morning, tapering off at night so that you utilize them most efficiently.

Note: If you need to add extra calories to meet your daily caloric requirement, make sure you add them early in the day and not at night. Or, if your weight plateaus, remove some of your calories from your dinner and add them to your breakfast or mid-morning snack.