Food illiteracy is killing too many people in the world and you can’t afford to be one. No, I won’t let you. However, for both of us to do this, we need to check our food habits often. We need to ask ourselves some important questions about food.

Really, It’s not too bad to be caught in bad food habits a few times but, being cautious helps overcome these habits and do away with them. I am sure you want to go to the beach with the body you desire and live long in the best health condition.

Thus, I really hope that the  following questions and opinions will somehow help restructure your food habits. Because, food is life and life is food!

1. Do you just eat when you feel like or when you are hungry?
Did you eat cake around 10am and you are taking sausage the next minute? Well, I’ve been there as well. I eat sausage this minute and a few minutes after, I am longing for and probably eating peanuts. The crazy part of this is the fact that sometimes, my stomach would be feeling full yet, I’m throwing peanuts in my mouth. But, overtime, I’ve learned that eating when one feels like isn’t the best thing to do, It just gets your tummy boxed up.

In life, there is the need to understand and be able to differentiate between being hungry and just wishing to eat. One is about ‘need’, the other just a ‘want’. And you know, the corrupt leaders of today started by simply wanting more and more peanut. That was on a lighter note. But, you should stop eating when you only feel like. Check the time and be sure your body really needs food at that time. *winks*

The most preferred recommended food pattern remains the three meals per day regime which has been in existence for centuries and has been able to fit in to satisfy our body’s daily food need. Here is what livestrong.com says about eating thrice a day.

“One advantage of eating three meals a day is that you are spreading your calories across your day, so you don’t get too hungry between meals. Another is that you aren’t spreading your calories too thin, so you are more likely to feel satisfied after each meal. Grazing all day may cause you to loose track of calories, especially if you choose high-calorie snacks, while having fewer than three meals a day may leave you so hungry that it’s hard to make healthy food choices.” – Livestrong.com

2. Do you eat the same type of food too often?
Hmmmm, carby, carby, carby, always carby. Beware of too much of carbohydrate. A little vegatable, a little pulse can get you healthier than yesterday. Get a blend of all nutrients instead.

3. How much do you take fast foods?
You eat out all week, go to the doctor during the weekend and complain of tummy issues. Fast foods are okay to be taken once a while. Sparing some time to prepare a slow food will do the health more good, fam!

4. What time of the night do you eat?
Do you eat by 11pm at night and go to bed by 12:00? My friends used to ask me how I manage my small tummy(they stopped asking. I’m as lean as my tummy now so, it isn’t so obvious that I have a skillfully flat tummy…. LOL)  so I decided to study my eating habits and I realized that most often, I eat before 9pm. In rare cases, I take fruits or tea and this has helped me a lot. Eating late at night just gets you the big tummy you don’t want.

However, you might be a lucky late night eater. I have a friend who is one. She’s the queen of my clique, eats late in the night but somehow still has the slim tummy.

5. What works for you?

This is the last and most important question.  I understand that situation around us will influence us at some point. Work, school, family sometimes hinder us from giving ourselves the best food treat. But, regardless of the situation, knowing what works best for us is what keeps us going in life. Identify what it is that keeps you in your most preferred body condition and work with it.

I dare not take meat after 8pm, I will experience constipation the next day so, I stay away from meat recipes like asun or suya if I want to eat later than 8pm. Alternatively, I eat the meat recipe, take orange after the meal and first thing the next morning. With that, I go around the day bouncing like nothing happened last night. That is me. That is my body. It might be different from yours. You just have to identify what works for you and stick with it. Because, that’s the only thing that WORKS!