You’ve might had heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Guess what? It is. This is the meal you can load up on carbs like whole wheat pancakes, toast, waffles or oatmeal for the best choice.

These complex carbs give you energy to burn throughout the day. Then, every two to three hours prior to lunch, replenish energy levels with raw nuts, fruits and vegetables. Repeat process until dinner. There are other healthy snacks. I only listed a few.

Note: It’s important to reduce carbs after breakfast to very minimal by dinner. Eating carbs into the evening will only store as fat.

Replenishing your body with quality food keeps metabolism burning all day. When you starve, your metabolism shuts down and tries to hang on to as much fat as possible. Starving also forces your body to tap into muscle tissue for energy. So, when you look at the scale and are excited that you’ve lost weight, sorry to inform you but a good percentage of that weight loss is muscle. And, if you blow your diet, you’ve put more fat on top of smaller muscle. Now you look worse than ever. That’s the destruction of fad diets.

Think about it, how did our prehistoric ancestors survive through harsh winters? The body has an amazing way of surviving. It won’t burn fat if it’s needed to live. When you skip meals, the body goes into survival mode. Make sense?

Dr. Roxanne Edrington from Friendswood said it best, “It’s like building a fire. You have to keep adding a log every hour or so to keep the fire burning.” The fire is your metabolism and the logs are food energy sources.

Remember, you’re only trying to be healthier for a better quality of life. Don’t worry about a little extra fat here and there. Just as long as you feel better and have more energy.

Strive for progress, not perfection