I know I’m supposed to eat more often, but I’m not hungry during the day. What should I do?

It is important to remember that eating six small meals a day isn’t for everyone. Still many of us misinterpret our hunger signals, wait too long in between meals and then end up over eating. For many of us hunger isn’t your stomach growling. It can show up as a slight change in mood (not quite hungry but a little more easily frustrated or things just seem a little harder), trouble concentrating, lack of motivation or fatigue. Next time you are experiencing one of these symptoms try having a small, healthy snack and see if your body was telling you it was hungry in a way you weren’t expecting.

Do I need to eat differently on days that I exercise and days that I don’t?

Elite athletes or people at the end stages of training for an endurance event need to eat differently on long training days vs. rest days. However, the average exerciser benefits from consistency rather than eating more on days that they exercise and less on days that they don’t.

I have high cholesterol, should I stop eating meat?

Dietary cholesterol is not the leading factor in body cholesterol. What that means is that the cholesterol in your food does not go into your body and automatically stick to your arteries. Instead of cutting out all dietary cholesterol, focus on adding fibre. If you shoot for 35g of fibre per day from beans, legumes, vegetables and whole grains, you should see a reduction in your cholesterol.

I can lose weight but it’s the maintenance that I struggle with. How do I maintain my weight loss?

One of the biggest misconceptions of weight loss is that there is a “weight loss zone” and a “maintenance zone.” In other words, you use one strategy to lose weight and another to maintain. The fact of the matter is that there is no end date when it comes to healthy eating and exercise. If you use one technique to lose weight and then plan on using another to maintain you will most likely gain all of your weight back (and then some). When you are considering implementing new habits, it is important to consider if you can do this long term. As you consistently add in these healthy habits you will lose weight, and when your body is at its healthiest spot, it will stop.