It's all in the timing - eating, that is.

Are you a good eater? Do you eat the foods you’re supposed to eat? Do you eat when you are supposed to eat? Surprisingly, many people who think that they eat well may be sabotaging their efforts by not eating at the right times.

Full disclosure: I am not a good eater. I love good food, I love healthy food, but I’m not picky about if it’s healthy or not. If it’s good, I want to eat it. Now, on to more interesting things.

We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it’s true. If you haven’t eaten all night, your body needs the nutrients in order to kick start it for the day. Did you know that an apple is supposed to do a better job of waking you up and getting you ready for the day than is a cup of coffee? Somehow, the image of sleepy person, leaning over a kitchen table with a paper and an apple in hand doesn’t quite come across as well as a steaming hot cup of coffee.

But, that’s ok, because recent studies have said that drinking coffee can prevent gout. So, you won’t be as awake as you would with an apple, but you might not have gout. :-)

Ok, now that you’ve eaten a healthy breakfast – one with fruits, dairy and bread, not donuts and coffee – you’re ready to start your day. You know the munchy, hungry feeling you get mid-morning? Don’t ignore it, but don’t feed it the candy bar that’s hidden in your drawer. If you haven’t eaten that apple at breakfast, now is the perfect time for it.

And, the rest of the meal times and snack times, you know about. The healthier you eat, the better off you’ll be. Like we’ve never heard that before.

But what if, you decided to eat several small meals a day instead of three large ones? You’d be eating more frequently, but you would be eating in a more healthy way. Smaller meals more often, healthy ones, don’t allow your body to get into a state of intense hunger. There’s always fuel available for it and you should find that you have more energy. Many nutritionists and dieticians also say that this is the best way to lose weight.

I tried that once. When I worked for a client for three months on-site, I had a lot of healthy food and munched all day long. It got to the point that people were asking me if I ever stopped eating. It might have had something to do with the well-worn path between my desk and the kitchen.

Now that I’m home again most of the time, I’m back to my erratic eating patterns. I blame the years of working as a nurse. When you work shift work, there’s no way you can train your body to eat regularly. What might be breakfast time for you on Monday may be bed time for you on Friday. Anyway, that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it.

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