What is a "meal" to you?

Hello group!

I had a very interesting conversation with a friend of mine last night regarding the idea of a "meal". Broadly speaking, we collectively have terms for certain ideas....for example, "sky". It's only three letters, but once you hear it you instinctively picture the visual aspect of our atmosphere. Okay, think "blue sky" versus "gray sky" versus "night sky". Same sky, different shades, different mental pictures that are triggered from slightly different words.

This relates to meals and the timing of our day, too. I argue that we are environmentally conditioned to eat three meals a day in a predetermined time frame based on a combination of generations and generations of societal acceptance, media and marketing, and social cues.

Here is what I want to present to you: we all have a slightly different schedule, different activity levels, different genetics, and therefore we require different amounts of food at different times of the day. Why do we conform to having to eat three meals a day, at the general times of "morning", "afternoon", and "evening"? Is the fact that these concepts exist triggering your brain to release chemicals around those times that make you feel hungry even though you may not be? Are we overriding our innate physiological balance of food by conditioning ourselves to eat at certain times and rationalizing our portions with the fact that it is related to a "meal"?

Taking that into account, here is your challenge for this week - don't focus on the time. Take the time to listen to your body. You wake up - are you hungry? Should you be eating? Why not wait until you start to notice the physiological signs of hunger. Once you feel hunger,  be conscious of the changes in your body with every bite. You have enzymes in your mouth that start breaking food down immediately. Eat slowly and with purpose. Stop eating when you're no longer hungry -- which is much different than stopping when you're "full".

Let me give you another way to think about this concept. Imagine your body as a car - a vehicle in order to go from place to place and complete tasks. Your car requires energy, in the form of gasoline (don't groan Prius owners..). What if you grew up learning that in order to complete your day, you had to fill your car up with gas three times a day? Okay, now think about three different scenarios. Car one is sitting in the garage all day. Car two is driving around town, completing errands, but nothing too strenuous. Car three is on a massive road trip from Chicago to Florida, with non-stop driving.

How much fuel should Car 1 have? Car 2? Car 3? I'm not saying don't eat if you're not active. These are extreme examples. My point is to think about your food as fuel for your activity.

Take this week to pull back from the norm and focus on YOU. How much do you really need? Why are you eating? What are you eating, and is this the best fuel for you?