11 Feb
Fasting Vs. Grazing
For my entire adult life I have believed that Catholics were required to fast on Fridays during Lent. I found out this weekend that I was wrong. As you can imagine this was quite a shock.
In my mid 20’s when I was really eating bad, I used to go out at midnight on Fridays during lent so I could eat, because I had such bad cravings during the day. Turns out all that self-sacrifice was for nothing.
This revelation brought up an interesting discussion between my mother and I this weekend.
My mom is a grazer. She eats a little something pretty much every 2 hours all day long.
I am a faster. I eat three meals a day with very few snacks in between.
My mom feels, as do many experts, that eating small meals all day long is a great way to keep your appetite and cravings in check, along with keeping your metabolism up.
I used to be a grazer. Problem was I couldn’t limit myself to a few small snacks. Every time I ate I had to over do it. Instead of a fun size snickers or a handful of grapes, I needed two king size candy bars and an ice cream sandwich.
That is why I have settled into my fasting. By avoiding most snacking, I have eliminated the “over doing it” impulse…for the most part.
I’m curious about the rest of you. Are you Fasters or Grazers or somewhere in between?
And does anybody have a personal strategy that works for cutting down on the “over doing it” with snacks?
Posted by Summer on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
I’m grazer and a points counter, so fitting a snack (or two) in each day becomes a numbers game for me. I also journal/blog everything that I eat so I always know where I stand for the day at any given moment. That way I know whether I can splurge on a sweet afternoon snack or go for the apple.
I don’t think I could eat breakfast at 8 a.m. and then not touch another thing until noon if you paid me!!!
Posted by John T on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
I must confess, I am like the guy you described (the old you). I am a grazer, but I was grazing on ice cream, cookies, a SUPER SIZED meal, etc. Then I would look victimized and say, “but I eat small meals through the day”!
One of the tips that has worked for me is drinking water. I read that your body interprets feelings of thirst and hunger the same way. When you body is telling you that you are hungry, drink a BIG glass of water. Works almost every time.
Excuse me… I have to go to the bathroom… LOL
Posted by Charles on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
I’m kinda in between because it’s fasting during the week with occasional snacks during the day at work. However, on the weekends, it’s every man, woman, child for him/herself. Actually, not that bad, but I do tend to snack whenever I feel like it.
I’ve noticed that, in my case, the snacking occurs more because of boredom than hunger (though I did hear my stomach growl today before lunch as I was way too busy to snack).
Posted by rev. todd on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
honestly, being a faster is one of my biggest obstacles. When I eat, I eat poorly and too much and I don’t eat often enough. These two things are definitely connected. I am very busy and I get focused on what I am doing and think about nothing else. Working out or eating take a back seat till i’m done with whatever I am doing. I need to be more disciplined in being more of a grazer just to change some of these habits. This is one of the biggest things that is standing in my way to being healthy. I don’t take the time to eat or work out because I don’t require myself to be that disciplined. Thanks for the post!!!
Posted by Cynthia on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
I USED to be a faster… as in big time. I often skipped breakfast, skipped lunch and then, around about 5 PM, had a HUGE enormous meal. It didn’t work for me. I got to 262 pounds doing that.
So, I’m in the process of changing my ways to being a grazer. The trick is, I’m not grazing on junk. Each of my 5-6 meals consist of lean protein, a healthy fat portion, and veggies and/or fruit. If I’ve worked out, I have some carbs. So far, so good.
What I’m noticing is that this keeps hunger and cravings way down for me, and I also feel very good for energy.
It does take some planning and prep, but that gets easier over time as you do it. So count me as a grazer now!
Posted by Tim on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
I’m transitioning to a grazer pretty well. I have a problem with portion sizes at meals, so focusing on eating 200-300 calories every 3 hours has worked out well for me. I even use an online journal that has the flexibility to let me define my own meal periods, instead of just B-L-D. Works for me, anyway.
Posted by Tony on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
Tim,
What online journal do you use?
Posted by Tim on 11.02.08 at 10:31 am
myfitnesspal.com
The food database doesn’t seem as robust as fitday, but most of what I eat is there. It’s the ability to define meal periods that I like.