Image by: Justin Pickard
By Jake Bradshaw

You can’t go anywhere without hearing from nutritionists and personal trainers about eating more to lose weight. But is all the hype true? Since the beginning of the diet book, health nuts have told us we need to limit our foods, watch our eating habits, and consume in moderation.

But this is all old-school knowledge. We now know much more about human digestion than we ever have before. As long as you have the right kinds of food, you can eat as much as you want and still lose weight. Don’t believe me? Don’t take my word for it, hear from the studies themselves.

How Does Eating More Help Me Lose Weight? 

Simple. It keeps our digestion working, which empowers our metabolism to burn more fat. Picture the human body like a car. If you keep your car running all day, it will burn much more gas – taking it out for drive will burn even more (i.e. exercise). It’s the same idea with our bodies. When we eat more food, our body has more energy to keep burning.

The more we eat, the faster our metabolic rate is throughout the day. If we aren’t constantly giving our bodies something to burn, our metabolism will slow down. By always having food in our bellies, our body has more fuel to use. This is why clean foods are the key to losing weight. Clean foods burn faster then the alternative.

When your food has man-made chemicals in it, our organs don’t know what to do with them, so they store it in inappropriate areas – like our fat cells. Clean & organic foods in high quantities throughout the day will always build a happy metabolism.

*Note: It takes more than eating food to lose weight. It’s eating the right kinds of foods. Changing your eating habits is necessary to see results.

Food & The Brain

In a February 2013 study by the British Journal of Nutrition, scientists have found groundbreaking discoveries in our relationship with food. A diet high in saturated fat and carbohydrates creates a chain reaction of “metabolic dsyfunction,” involving the hormones leptin and ghrelin. Leptin’s purpose is to suppresses our appetite, while ghrelin’s is to increase it.

Over time, consuming too many fats, sugars, and bad carbohydrates will damage the nerves which translate these signals. When this happens our brain doesn’t register how much fat is stored, and we can no longer trust it. Our brains, in a sense, become our worst enemy. It will lie to us and say we’re hungry, full, or unsatisfied. Damage like this is infectious.

Our brain is the command & control center to every organ in our body. Any interference will ultimately affect other areas, like our emotions and worst of all, our metabolism and digestive process. The more clean foods we eat, the more we allow our body to function the way it’s ought to.

What Are Easy Things I Can Do To Get Started? 

Take a look at your current eating habits. How often do you eat throughout the day? Include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and small snacks in between. Chances are, you have some pretty lengthy spaces between each meal.

#1) Create a new schedule – Start big and have it decrease throughout the day. Think of it like a campfire. Start it in the morning, get it nice a big, then all you have to do is keep it fueled – little by little – as the day goes on. The machine is already working, burning, and has plenty of fuel. Your job is to not let it diminish.

#2) Have a big breakfast – 30% – 35% of our daily calorie count should come from breakfast. It jump starts your metabolism. If you don’t have the appetite for breakfast, force yourself to have two small ones – perhaps a nutri-grain bar, then a yogurt and fruit twenty minutes later.

For those who absolutely hate breakfast, try drinking a glass of Almond milk or organic fruit juice – this at least doesn’t deprive your body of burning something in the morning.

*Note: Implement protein-rich foods in your breakfast. They trigger muscle growth. Every time you eat 10 – 15 grams, you stimulate protein synthesis. 30 grams will prolong this process for up to three hours. 

#3) Never go 2 hours without food – After a big breakfast, it’s important to maintain your metabolic rate by fueling yourself little by little. Start by having a power bar at your side, or a fast quick snack (like organic hummus) at your desk, followed by a small lunch and even smaller dinner. Never give your digestion time to rest. It must always be working.

#4) Eat More Fruit & Veggies – A study at UCLA found that normal-weight people consumed two servings of fruit a day, while overweight people only ate one. In a separate study, researchers found eating fruit at the beginning of a meal will reduce calorie intake by 15%. Include fruits and veggies in every meal, and try eating them first before you dig into bigger things.