Food is fuel, really!

I know you have heard this before but it certainly bears repeating. Food is Fuel!

Watching the Good Eats episode on Food Network the other day, Alton Brown used the analogy of a car needing fuel, it goes something like this.

Let's say your car holds 30 gallons of gasoline. Now let's image after filling your tank to the top, you drive enough to burn 10 gallons before returning to the gas station for more. If you try to put another 30 gallons in, what happens? The gas over floweth! The tank is only so big and can only hold so much! I will add to Alton's analogy and state that it doesn't matter if you empty it out before filling it again, or stop every 10 gallons to fill up, the tank only holds so much!

Now let's talk about your body. I just had my morning Shakeology and I feel great! Because I load it up with a banana and almond butter, my shake was 300 calories today. Right after finishing that shake I sat down to type out this blog post. It will take me roughly an hour to get my thoughts out, organize them and proof read before publishing. Since while typing on my computer I burn 100 calories an hour, I am not likely to be ready to eat when I am done. But if I were to reach for 200 calories worth of almonds, I am replacing that 100 calories burned with 200 calories of food. Guess where that extra 100 calories is going to go? You guessed it, my mid and lower section where it will stay until I increase my movement to exceed my caloric intake, and burn it off.

I think for the most part how often you eat is a matter of preference. For some of us time is not on our side and so remembering to eat every few hours is hard, and so we can only eat 3 times a day. Just think about what your caloric intake is and divide it up among the times you plan to eat. So for a 1200 calorie day will you eat 4 meals at 300 calories each, or will you have 3 meals at 400 calories each? In my opinion, it doesn't matter.

Also remember that it's not just how often and how much you eat, but what you eat. Of  course.  Going back to Alton's analogy at the gas station, he continued on to say that one whole orange, gives you the same energy as one bite of a doughnut. But that orange is much bigger and therefore will help fill you up with vitamins and fiber as well. Make wise choices daily, eat when you are hungry and don't eat more than you move, and you will see results. :)