Weekend Lessons on Your Eating Habits>>

These tips should get you through the weekend and beyond. They work!

Eat 5-6 Smaller Meals Per Day

Instead of eating three medium to large-sized meals per day, you should be eating five smaller meals. You can even treat yourself at the end of the day with a small dessert.

You should also always eat breakfast within one hour of rising. This is because your metabolism has slowed down during the night and breakfast will kick-start it up again.

A lot of people think it's OK to skip breakfast because that means fewer fat and calories and one less meal for the day. But when you skip breakfast, hunger begins to kick in and that actually slows down your metabolism even more.

The key to health is not to eat less, but to actually eat more sensible meals.

Eating more frequent, smaller meals will prevent you from feeling hungry throughout the day. And if you're eating fiber and proteins and drinking enough water, you'll actually feel fuller for longer periods of time and will not have the urge to snack so often.

Here's my eating schedule if interested:

1. 7:00 a.m. - Eat breakfast
2. 10:00 a.m. - Eat a light snack
3. 12:00 p.m. - Eat lunch
4. 4:00 p.m. - Eat a another snack
5. 7:00 p.m. - Eat a small dinner with a treat

Eating More Boosts Your Metabolism

Sounds funny but it's true. The actual process of breaking down food burns up calories. So if you eat several meals throughout the day, you'll burn up more calories through the digestion process.

Now of course this doesn't mean eat more of the "bad stuff" - this would be foods high in fat and calories. When I say "eat more" that means meals that consist of sensible foods high in fiber and protein. It's okay to treat yourself every now and then, just don't overdo it.

Stop Eating 3 Hours Before Bedtime

You've probably seen the suggestion of not eating anything after 7 p.m. Well this generally assumes you go to bed around 9 or 10 at night.

If you are a night owl, you may retire a little later so it may seem unrealistic to not eat anything after 7 if you don't go to bed until 12 a.m.

Generally, the rule of the thumb is to not eat anything within 3 hours of your bedtime. So if you do usually go to sleep at 1 a.m. this would mean no food intake after 10 p.m.

The reason you don't want to eat late at night is because your food may not properly digest. This can cause morning gas and stomach cramps.

Some people who complain about bloating never realize that it's from the gas and food particles left over from improper digestion. This can be avoided if you cut down the late night snacking.

Eating late at night also forces your body to use its energy on digestion,. One of the primary functions of sleep is to help you recuperate from the day. You want your body to be as relaxed as possible so you can wake up energized.

Now we all know we have to cheat at some points. It's just not realistic to believe you can refrain from eating late at night every single night. So if you must cheat, then eat something healthy like a piece of fruit or a very small handful of nuts.