Jeff and I talk a lot about what NOT to do. The reason for this is that there are so many other plans and programs that have you focusing on insignificant and ineffective details that we’re afraid many of you are wasting time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere – like on exercise or a hobby or having sex. This is especially true with eating patterns, so I thought it might be nice for you to see a few sample eating patterns that fit into SPEED. I want you to see that the frequency of the meals can vary greatly and WILL NOT affect the outcome much, if at all, which means it becomes a matter of personal preference and you get to decide it for yourself. Scary, isn’t it? Having to make that decision all on your own without an “expert” doing it for you? It’s okay, you can always change your mind later.
Here are a few examples. I’m not going to give quantities or other specifics because those would be different for the 105 lbs female and the 250 lbs male reading this. Plus, that’s not the point of the exercise. Each day will have a comment after it to give you an idea of the point I’m trying to make.
Example 1
Day 1
Meal 1, 12:00pm
steak, mixed veggies
Meal 2, 6:30pm
chicken breast, baked potato w/ butter, broccoli
Two simple meals, lots of good food. No, your metabolism will not slow down because you only ate two meals.
Day 2
Meal 1, 12:00pm
steak, mixed veggies
Meal 2, 6:30pm
chicken breast, baked potato w/butter, broccoli
What’s wrong with repeating this same pattern again? Nothing at all! You could buy and prepare these foods in bulk and have them ready for multiple days. You may even choose to eat an entire week like this and that’s just fine. You will eventually want to make some changes both for your own sanity and for nutritional needs.
Example 2
Day 1
No food. Water only
This is a fasting day where you will only drink non-calorie beverages
Day 2
Meal 1, 8:00am
Eggs, toast (Toast??!!! The horror, the horror!) – 10 points if you know where “the horror, the horror” actually comes from.
Meal 2, 12:00pm
chili
Meal 3, 4:00pm
smoothie
Meal 4, 7:30pm
chicken breast, baked potato w/butter, broccoli
We’re eating a hefty amount of food today, but not so much as to compensate fully for yesterday’s fast. This is an easy way to create a calorie deficit and imagine how much free time you’ll have on fasting days. Let’s assume our total daily energy expenditure is 2,000 calories. We ate 0 on Day 1 and let’s say Day 2 totals 3,000 calories. We’re still in a 1,000 calorie deficit for this two-day period. The best part is we probably wouldn’t even need to calculate all this if we keep the food pretty clean, as it would be hard for a person with a 2,000 daily expenditure to eat more than 3,000 calories of good quality food in one day.
Example 3
Day 1
Meal 1, 7:00am
Egg omelet w/mushrooms, onions, peppers
Meal 2, 10:00am
Yogurt w/ blueberries
Meal 3, 1:00pm
salad w/chicken, oil and vinegar dressing
Meal 4, 4:00pm
protein shake
Meal 5, 7:00pm
pork chop, baked potato, veggies
Meal 6, 9:00pm
dark chocolate
What we’ve got here is the old-school eat every 3 hours kind of plan. This is not necessary, but you may enjoy this type of eating pattern due to its variety of foods. This type of eating will require much more preparation and planning, since you’ll need to make sure you have your food with you everywhere you go.
Okay, I think that’s good for now. I hope you’re able to see the flexibility that is available to you regarding eating patterns. It really just comes down to personal preference as long as total quantity and quality of the food are kept in check. Fit your eating into your life and start eating to live. Now, go have sex or something.