I sometimes wonder how we got such strict notions about when to eat food?

Where did the "rules" of eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner come from? And why is it odd if someone skips some of those meals?  LOTS of people skip breakfast and for most of my lifetime, we were chastised for not eating properly for skipping that meal. Some people skip lunch as they eat a hearty breakfast, but what about those who prefer to eat most of their calories in one meal? How and why does that seem wrong or odd?

Right now I consume about 275 calories during the day - and the rest at dinner and I LOVE IT.  I have something in the morning. My metabolism is starting, I eat something midday to keep the hunger pangs away, and then I eat a most glorious, full dinner. Oh my goodness it's lovely. I don't have to worry about overeating (especially since I cook at home). I can just enjoy (while eating wholesome, low carb foods). I don't feel deprived at all. And, as dinner is the social meal in our home, it works well. I can eat and be part of the family dinner completely.

Doing this also keeps my blood sugars low throughout the day. I don't feel overly tired or worn out as I'm getting enough energy from food, but I find it so much easier and seem to suffer less deprivity with eating this way, than with eating three smallish meals a day.

Yet, everything states you should eat at regular intervals throughout the day - many saying 5-6 small meals being better than 3 larger meals. Yet, when I do that, I feel hungrier and that makes sense as it gets the insulin flowing.

It can be tricky with lunch meetings, etc, but then I can switch WHEN my main meal is for the day, or, make this my special occasion meals and then just eat a smaller dinner (if needed) later. Yet, when you mention fasting for the most part for most of the day, most people are aghast and spout how terrible it is for my health to eat this way.

But is it really? If it means I can get within a normal weight range? What is worse? And WHY is more meals better than less meals? Research on that for Type 2 diabetics is changing too.

Ironically, I used to pshaw this approach to eating, but man... now I simply love it! Like last night I ate two farm made sage sausages, a bit of egg noodles (trying to limit carbs), several roasted mini peppers, and a bunch of broccoli. About 700 calories for the meal.

The other night, I had three (medium) sized eggs, over easy, with two pieces of buttered toast, and a salad of pepper, tomato, avocado with olive oil and vinegar for 800 calories.  The night before that I had a stir fry of chicken breast, cashews, peanut oil, and tons of variety of veggies for 800 calories. And the day before that I had 10 ozs. of steak and a bunch of roasted peppers for 700 calories.

I eat and feel satisfied. Before that, I was eating a small breakfast, a morning snack, a small lunch, an afternoon snack, and then a small dinner. I never, ever ate and felt satisfied. I ate enough to "get by" but it added up to more calories than fasting throughout the day and feasting at night.

I still keep it "lowish" carb and get most of my calories from proteins and fat, but I enjoy those foods and I FEEL FULL! Not STUFFED, but satisfyingly full.

A quick look just told me that it's the "new thing" in dieting, so I guess it is gaining in popularity, but it's still rare from what I see, but I think it's my now forever diet and I'm so happy to have found it thanks to JohnP (wherever you have landed John!)

Here are some articles - not saying it's "proven". It's not. NONE of the diet things are proven, but it works for me and works really well in making me feel less deprived.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-intermittent-fasting-might-help-you-live-longer-healthier-life/

http://www.today.com/health/should-you-really-be-fasting-3-diet-myths-get-busted-t21316

http://news.islandcrisis.net/2015/05/stay-younger-by-fasting-intermittently/

Weight gain from the heat - don't sweat it!

When I was losing weight three years ago, I noticed an uptick on the scale that made no sense at first. I was eating right. I was exercising right. What was going on? Then it dawned on me. I could see that my rings were tighter (after getting too loose) and that my sandal straps sometimes left dents on the top of my feet. Ah... water retention.

I looked it up and yes, in the summer heat our bodies ups the water level a wee bit - it can be several pounds just in water for the body to use to self-regulate its temperature better. It's completely normal and  we shouldn't try to "undo" what the body is trying to do. Just realize that if you are trying to lose weight that for a month in summer you might see a slow down month for no apparent reason.  In the fall when the temps come down, you will have an unexpected water weight loss and will have a bigger loss for the month than would be expected. So, don't sweat it... It's OK. Drink plenty of fluids and just mentally adjust.

And that is where I'm at right now. The heat has gone up, up, up and my ring is tighter and the scale is up 3 pounds for several days now despite being 100% on plan. We don't over air condition our home and we still do a lot of things outside, so my body is coping with it the way it's designed to do - which is good actually! Yay for a body working right! I'll just have to be a bit more patient with the weight loss and not get frustrated.

Here's an article for you, explaining it more, from Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-body-wieght-ambient-temperature/

Other than that, life is good. I'm sleeping well. I am busy with the end of school year stuff, but in general, I have nothing to complain about.