3 Magic Meals

I’m trying something new, and even writing these words I am rolling my eyes because this is my MO. I'm praying this one will last more than a week.

My newest plan: eating three meals a day, with absolutely no snacks allowed. When I finish eating my meal, I know I cannot let anything else – except water and seltzer, coffee and tea (hold the milk) pass my lips.

This idea was first suggested by my wellness coach, Heather Pierce. And although I did give it a try, I lasted a few hours because I had convinced myself I was hungry. Heather had explained that by eating snacks, you never allow your body to fully digest the food from each meal. It made perfect sense to me, but at the time, I could not put it into action.

A few weeks ago, I ordered some inspirational meditations from Tricia Greaves, founder of HealMyHunger.com. I love to meditate, and I thought some meditations geared to calming my overactive mind might actually help me lose some weight. Another CD came with this package – 3 Magic Meals – which I just got around to listening to a few days ago. I thought it would uncover the three magic meals that I could eat to lose weight NOW. Not a chance,

In it, Greaves makes the case for eating three meals with no snacks. The CD was actually pretty painful to listen to, a reality check about how I have been eating for too many decades, and all the hurts I have been feeding. But one of the points Greaves made hit home – that eating three meals a day is freeing, because once you finish a meal, you’re not thinking about what you are going to eat next, exactly one of my main problems with Weight Watchers, or any diet for that matter. As soon as I finish one meal, I am thinking about my snack, and about when I can eat it.

I’m not saying this is bad, but by doing this only three times a day, and then not thinking about snacks, has freed my mind to think about other things.

I am in my third day of eating no snacks, and so far so good. I plan my meals, and yes, I am counting WW Points, but for quite a few hours the last two days I have not given food a second thought. A few times I have said to myself, “I’m starving,” which I quickly dismissed because there is no way I am starving. In fact, when my inner devil was encouraging me to eat, I told her to go back to sleep, made myself a cup of tea, and got back to work. My “starving” episode passed without a single calorie entering my body.

Like everything else I do, let's see how long this lasts. Right now, I'm liking it. A lot.