Ahhh, the holidays! I love them. Really, I do. I’m one of those listen-to-Christmas-music-during-the-year people who bugs everyone with incessant Christmas cheer.

But enough about me, let’s talk about one of my favorite topics in the world: food! More specifically, holiday food.

Now, I like eating. I like eating a LOT, actually, especially because I’m breastfeeding and can throw back about the same amount as the neighborhood donkey. But as a nutritional therapist specializing in endo, blood sugar, and gut health, I understand the importance of not just “what” one eats, but also how much and how frequently.

For today, we’re going to talk about the frequency of eating in a special holiday edition blog, since it may help avoid packing on holiday pounds, reduce bloating, minimize holiday gastro issues and getting endo flairs, and stop your from feeling kind of terrible through the season of grazing.

“Really? From eating too frequently?” Yup! This is why I have this tip:

TIP: Have Fun Eating, Just Stop Eating All The Time

Specifically, this means aiming to eat 3 square meals per day. In between meals, don’t snack or sip on beverages you have to digest (like coffee with milk, soda, or a green juice). Not a single bite, nor sip, of something other than water or herbal tea.

Really, it’s that simple? Yes, it is! Well okay… yes and no. Simple to write, more challenging to put into practice. Especially when there’s a bounty of holiday treats around all the time. So first, let’s dig into the “WHY??” Why should one with endo not snack all day long?

[Don’t care about the why? Then scroll down to the HOW]

[Want to get to the “holiday” part of this blog, go to the very very end :)]

WHY Aim For 3 Meals Per Day, No Snacking?

1) Your small intestine needs to flush:

I talk about the science behind this a lot in 2 of my books, so if you’re interested in more info, check out the Endo Belly Ebook specifically. The summary is your small intestine does a “flush” about 3 hours after you eat … as long as you haven’t eaten since then (i.e., you’re in a somewhat fasting state since you’re done digesting in the stomach). Queue a small intestine “flush,” where little waves of motion help push the partially digested food onward. This also flushes all the little particles and bacteria within the little crevices of the intestines as well. This healthy movement is called the MMC function.

If you eat constantly your MMC flush won’t happen, leaving things to get … stagnant (ever not flushed a toilet?). This is why improper MMC function is associated with unpleasant issues like SIBO, and fixing MMC function is associated with SIBO going away and staying away. This is why you should be MMCing all throughout day!!! But if you snack continuously, the MMC function may slow its stride resulting in bacterial overgrowth, bloat, and GI issues. Queue: uncomfortable bloat, or worse.

2) You will lose stubborn ENDOMETRIOSIS weight and gain energy:

If you are eating all day, keeping your blood sugar and insulin levels high, you may be contributing to insulin resistance without realizing it. This means your energy levels will be totally blah (even if you’re eating lots of caloric energy) or you can continue to gain weight (even if you’re on a calorie-restrictive diet). It also means your endo can be provoked in every which way (I write a whole chapter about this in my book).

So what does one do? While the common recommendation is to eat every 2-3 hours to prevent blood sugar drops, you really want to do so much more. Specifically, you want to resensitize your cells to insulin, so that you will use the energy you’re eating rather than storing it in your midsection. In this way you can start to lose that stubborn weight that never seems to budge AND get more energy. To do so you actually want to retrain your body to not need food every 2-3 hours, it should be “better behaved” than this and it’s up to you to help retrain it to get here comfortably.

endometriosis weight gain — When your cells turn insulin away, your body stores energy as fat rather than using it as fuel. This leads to the cycle of feeling like you need to eat more food for energy, but the energy is turned away repeatedly. The cycle becomes one of increasing hunger and increasing weight gain! The goal is to resensitize your cells to insulin by making them “hungry” again.

3) When you’re properly hungry, you will have room for nourishing food:

Ever sit down to eat and realize you ate snacks, like, an hour ago, so you’re not that hungry for all the nourishing foods in front of you? Yah, this used to happen to me all the time, and something I have to be careful of with my snack-loving kids as well. Goal: You want your cells to be hungry without being hangry. Think of it like a good healthy appetite without wanting to strangle someone for food. Now that veggie-rich chili with some liver mixed in, with a side of sourdough cornbread and fermented kraut looks a lot more appealing!

Endometriosis Diet How To: Eat 3 Meals Per Day, No Snacking?

First, know that this won’t happen overnight for all of us. Especially if you have out-of-whack blood sugar. So meet your body where it’s at, but make this a 1-2 month goal. And always…

1) Start with an ideal endometriosis supportive breakfast!:

This is the meal that will make your day or break it. Do not skip breakfast. Do not substitute it with a large butter-blended coffee, and consider it “intermittent fasting.” Please eat a wonderful, balanced breakfast that will keep you full as long as possible. This is the kicker, you want to go for the length of time. The goal is 4-5 hours so, again, start with breakfast and see how far you get the first few days.

Not making it long? Take a look at what you’re eating. You may be one of those people who have plenty of fat and protein in a smoothie, but just having the sweetness sets you off on a blood sugar rollercoaster for the day. Aim for a savory breakfast instead of a sweet one.

You may think oatmeal is a great option because it fills you up fast, but not long enough to make it more than 2 hours. Move that big bowl of starch over for a solid meal of protein and veggies. I’m a big fan of sausage and a big salad with some sweet potato or eggs with a big side of broccoli and sauerkraut. Remember, breakfast does not have to be breakfast food, especially since our society seems to love sweet things for breakfast.

Click here for many other ideas!

2) Only eat when you’re hungry

Question: Are you really hungry 2 hours after you ate, or is this habit speaking? Most of us have been snacking or sipping on beverages our whole life. That’s a long time! So if you ate brekky at 7 and it’s now 9 and you’re dying to consume, like, anything, check in: Are you actually hungry?

A great self-observation is considering if you could eat steak right now. Steak is pure protein, and you probably don’t want to snack on it for no reason. You would probably say “yes” if you’re actually in the hungry range, and “no” if you’re just plain bored (i.e. “I want chocolate and coffee, not steak”). Don’t eat steak? Sub it in with something else, like boring ‘ol tempeh or tofu or chicken breast. Think protein + boring.

If your body really is instead craving something fun, drink a full glass of filtered water instead. Now take a moment to process how it feels not to consume food all day long. Kinda weird huh?? I agree, it’s a hard habit to kick! Let the emotions flow, and then carry on. This is what it’s like for people in sobriety, allowing the craving to hit, sitting in the uncomfortability of it all, and then allowing life to move on. It gets easier, I promise :) Plus, you’ll get to eat soon anyways, you just need to hold off from bored munching a little longer.

3) Never let yourself become famished for the sake of “making it” 4 hours

Please address your hunger before you’re hangry. Hangry = blood sugar drop and you’re body is literally panicking for food. Panic = HUGE SURGE IN STRESS HORMONES! AHHHHHHH! Yeah, you never want this to happen, so make sure to get ready to eat soon-ish after you feel you’re body is ready for that protein. Time to get your lunch pulled together (since it can take a while to make or get to where you need to be), and now relax and enjoy your food slowly and thoughtfully without shoveling it in it like it’s the last meal on earth (which is what I would do if I were hangry, it’s not a pretty site!). Again, aim for a balanced lunch with protein, starch, and fiber.

If you keep this up for a few weeks, what you will start to notice is that the time between the onset of hunger and the start of hanger becomes longer. For example, when you start timing your meals you may feel a blood sugar drop come on fast and hard, but over a few weeks, you may realize you’re comfortable being hungry for a while before “famish” sets in. This means you’re resensitizing your cells to insulin! Great Job! You will also feel more comfortable being in control of your appetite, rather it controlling you.

4) Once you master this pattern, start to elongate the period of time between meals!

This is where you take your skills and apply them! Eat breakfast and drink your coffee or tea or whatever. Now, wait it out and see how far you get until you’re actually hungry. Make it 3 hours? Great! Tomorrow try to make your breakfast a little more substantial if can, and try to make it 3 hours and 5 minutes. Add 5-10 minutes a day. Baby steps are great! Over time get to 3.5 hours, then 4 or 5.

When you do eat, eat enough to get through another 4-5 hour go. For some, this means you will have to eat more than you’re used to, and again why it can take a while to get to our goal. Truth is, if you’ve been grazing or snacking for decades your body may need help in eating bigger, more solid meals. Consider digestive enzymes, really chewing, and never count calories or skimp on food. Let your body really start to learn how to crave real food, and then how to be sated.

endometriosis diet weight loss natural remedies — Work overtime to move from a life of the teal zone to that of the green zone. Three meals without any spikes or crashes. Sound crazy to you? That means you may really benefit!!

5) Back to the holidays

This tip is great for the holidays, especially since it’s that jolly time of year when there are treats EVERYWHERE. I know clients who have work parties nearly nonstop, with coworkers bringing in homemade treats or filling up candy bowls all day long. It’s very hard not to nibble when this is going on!

So here’s what you can do to have your holiday cake and eat it to: save your goodies for after lunch or dinner. Yah, sure, Caroline’s chocolate chip cookie looks great, so put it in your purse and save it for after lunch. Nice truffles at Auntie Kamaka’s? Cool, save it for after dinner. This way, you won’t feel defeated strong-arming yourself through the holidays, and the sugar won’t swamp your system so heavily when you eat it after a meal.

And, believe me, it’s so cool to watch the body transform! This “simple” (yet challenging) tip can really, really help with energy levels, bloat, endo flairs, and more. It’s so weird that something so simple can help so much.

Cheers to good health!