Lean Habit 1 – Eat 3-4 Times Per Day

I’m about to say something that sounds crazy. Portion control does not always mean eating less food. Sometimes, it can mean making sure you’re eating enough of certain things to nourish your body and feel satisfied.

Other than times when I’ve teetered on the edge of an eating disorder, I’ve never had to make a conscious effort to eat enough. Between my hunger signals and my emotional signals, I’ve always done this naturally. The last four days, though, have shaken this up a bit.

I’ve been working my way through 14 days of habit 1 in Lean Habits by Georgie Fear. Habit 1 is Eat 3-4 Meals Per Day (Without Snacking). She gives really good science-y reasons as to why this is important, but I think I’d have to read the chapter again to really understand them.

My main concern right now is making sure I eat enough to make sure I can make it to my next meal without a snack to fall back on. I think mini meals or snacks have been my go-to because you don’t have to wait long to eat again. If I don’t eat enough, it’s not a big deal because I’ll be eating again in 2-3 hours.

I’ve been feeling good on the 3-4 meals, though. I think it’s because I am not used to feeling really satisfied other than at dinner time. It’s a nice change.

A few observations about Lean Habits so far:

• It’s hard to not read ahead, because this habit falls into place with some habits down the line (like eating just enough and adding in vegetables).

 

• The Facebook community was really helpful when I asked about treats. I’m a ridiculous rule follower, so I wanted to know if I could just eat dessert as a part of my meal or how else to keep my sweet tooth from rising up a mutiny again my new routine.

 

• I like that the book encourages scaling habits so that they’re attainable. So, you can make the habits your own and either keep them that way or work to up your game when you have the easier version of the habit down. In the case of my desserts question, many people eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an evening treat. Sounds like me kind of people.

 

• Habit tracking is a big part of the process, so I have to keep in mind how many habits I would be willing to track forever.