I bet you thought that sumo-wrestlers eat and eat and eat all day long…and that is how they gain the pounds in order to show off those fabulous fighting “uniforms.” On the contrary…what they do is they eat very small, low-calorie meals throughout the day while they train and then they eat a huge meal with most of their calories as their last meal of the day.

Wait a second…that kind of sounds like the way most of us eat.

We have a “small” breakfast, a “healthy-sized” lunch, and then dinner. But our typical dinners here in the U.S. tend to be higher-calorie meals and carbohydrate-rich…pasta, breads, potatoes/starches. Even if you’re not eating the starchy carbs, chances are, you may be overdoing your portions…even of the healthy stuff.

Whenever someone asks me why they can’t seem to lose weight, the first thing I ask them is to tell me what they eat during the day. I can almost predict it every time. And I’m not even a mind-reader.

This is how the conversation usually goes:

Flustered woman: “I have a non-fat yogurt for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and grilled chicken and vegetables for dinner.”

Me, the mind-reader: “OK, so I bet you are starving by 3pm and end up eating anything you can get your hands on…most likely chocolate, cookies, or something high-carb, right?”

Flustered woman, amazed by my mind-reading skills: “Yes! How did you know? It’s like I have no willpower in the late afternoon or when I get home when I’m making dinner. I just don’t understand it.”

Me: “Well, it’s because you didn’t eat enough earlier in the day…your body is literally starving for energy. So your body is trying to make up for it in the late afternoon and that’s why you crave carbs. Carbs equal quick energy so that is why your body wants those quick “sugar carbs” like chocolate, cookies, and chips.”

Here’s a fun way to think about how we should eat during the day…like royalty!

Eat BREAKFAST like a KING.


Eat LUNCH like a QUEEN.


Eat DINNER like a PRINCESS.

I challenge you to just try switching up your meals for a week. Eat a bigger breakfast than you typically do, eat a 150-200 calorie snack about 3 hours later, have a satisfying lunch, and start cutting back your portions later in the afternoon/evening since you’re not doing as much activity later in the day. YOU SHOULD NEVER BE HUNGRY!

I guarantee that you’ll recharge your metabolism, quit having those afternoon cravings that sabotage your plan, and those stubborn pounds might just start whittlling away.

Don’t eat like a sumo-wrestler! Sayonara!

Lindsay