2 Hour Diet

Question
QUESTION: Someone suggested to speed up my metabolism again I should eat something every 2 hours. Is there a program out there that could help me determine what food items I should eat every 2 hours, and in what proportions? Also what are the symptoms of a Vitamin C overdose? I have gummy vitamin Cs that offer 300% daily required, and sometimes I take more than the suggested number of them, and I think that might be what is causing stomach queasiness.

ANSWER: Hi James,

Yes, studies show that the more often a person eats during the day (as long as the calorie level stays the same) the more calories they burn! It's really amazing.  All you have to do is split every meal up a bit: save a piece of toast and 4 oz juice from breakfast and have it at 10 am; save 1/2 sandwich from lunch and have it at 2-3 pm; save a bit of dinner and have it in the evening. The problem is trying not to eat MORE when you eat MORE OFTEN.
And it doesn't have to be every 2 hours--every 3 is just fine.
You could also have a snack between meals; good snacks are 1 oz cheese and 6 crackers; a small bowl of cereal; 1 tbsp peanut butter and 2-3 graham crackers; or a handful of nuts like almonds. Just make sure you eat accordingly less at each meal when you start to include between meal snacks!

As for the vitamin C the daily value is about 80 mg and the upper tolerable limit is about 2000 mg. so you're probably not over-dosing, but just taking those gummy pills could also effect your stomach!

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QUESTION: How about two bowls of multigrain Cheerios for breakfast and a 6" turkey sub no cheese with mustard for dinner, and only maybe 6 grapes every 2 hours between those official meals? Would that be effective, because it would be tough to plan out 8 meals a day or so even if they were small portions.

ANSWER: Nope! Having a handful of grapes won't rev up your metabolism because these are a very light carbohydrate to digest so your body will barely notice.

How about a bowl of cheerios for breakfast and another midmorning? You still need to have a lunch, but your dinner selection sounds like a nice and low-cal selection.

If you don't want to plan and prepare meals there are a lot of good prepackaged choices; things like a granola bar, nutrigrain bar, or package of cheese and peanut butter crackers all have under 200 calories but still have some protein and will serve the purpose of giving your body fuel to use!  You just have to be sure and reduce your regular meals by 200 calories or you'll defeat the purpose :)

Feel free to ask any follow-up questions, no charge ;)

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QUESTION: I don't know how many calories my sub and cereal would be, and dinner is often something someone else makes so it can vary a lot. I just want to know the good choices for the inbetween meals. 3 regular meals and maybe 3 exactly between all of them. So breakfast, brunch, lunch, second lunch, pre-dinner, and dinner? lol. And maybe a nutrigrain bar for all those unregular ones? Or would a banana or apple work better?

Answer
James,

You don't have to count calories: you just have to be sure to eat a bit less at your meals than you usually would (skip the roll or skip the dessert; don't take seconds; perhaps smaller portions, just to reduce your intake by as much as you'll be eating at the next snack).

Good choices between meals are those I have named: cheese and crackers, peanut butter and cheese crackers, a granola bar (less than 200 cal--it will say on the label), a small handful of nuts.  Fruit will not have the same effect because it's pure carbohydrate and is quick for the body to absorb. The other snacks I have mentioned contain more complex carbohydrates as well as protein and a bit of fat.

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