How to Structure Your Eating for Better Energy & Performance

Many people know what to eat…

But fewer know when to eat.

Some people experiment with intermittent fasting to simplify their routines — and it can work for the right person.

But for many, structure beats restriction.

Over the years there have been lots of ideas and fads surrounding the topic of when is the best time to eat.  And like most everything in the Wellness space, the optimal timing will vary wildly from person to person.  The key to figuring out what works best, like I've mentioned before, is the awareness of what you're currently doing and paying attention to the signals your body and mind are already sending you.  If you think that meal timing might be a challenge for you, the key things to pay attention are your hunger cues, energy levels, and mental acuity.  Based on that information, you can start to piece together where sliding a meal might help, or adding in an additional meal or snack would curb the cravings and eliminate energy crashes.  The goal of meal timing is to stabilize and even out not only your hunger but also keep your energy levels consistent such that you don't have any of those dreaded nose dives.

What does this look like in application?  Typically for most people this ends up as 3 spaced meals with some sort of an afternoon snack mixed in there, or possibly a fourth meal.  Of course, this will all vary based on training loads and work schedules but that is the general pattern that seems to benefit most people.    Having a loose structure like this during that day not only stabilizes hunger and energy, but it also keeps insulin levels more consistent and helps limit over-eating.  This also allows for more consistently hitting macro targets, especially protein, as you're not struggling to catch up late in the day. You'll also want to adjust this based not only your logistical schedule but any sort of training needs and can vary on a daily basis.

One concept that comes up frequently with meal timing is centered around not eating too late in the evening, or too close to going to sleep. For most people, this is a pretty decent guideline to follow - but like everything, there are possible exceptions. The main idea is that digesting food while trying to sleep doesn't lead to as productive sleep, however there is some variance here. So, if your schedule lines up or seems to work out that you're eating late - pay attention to how you sleep and feel, and try running your own test to see what differences you notice when you do or don't eat late. Personally, eating late does not bother me, but I know others that it can absolutely tank their sleep.

Another frequent comment I hear from people is that they struggle to eat breakfast or aren't hungry until later in the day. This is usually a more involved conversation but typically I do recommend people having something close to when they first wake up in the morning. A couple options if you really struggle eating in the mornings would be to include some protein powder with your morning coffee, or sliding your meals such that your snack comes during the typical breakfast time. I will do a complete post on this as I do feel strongly that breakfast is very helpful and also has more nuance then I can cover in a paragraph.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is another common trend these days and many swear by it as a way to lose weight. IF centers around the idea of only eating during certain periods of the day, and if you think about it almost all of us naturally do this due to our sleep patterns. The main benefit of IF is that it is a simple way to reduce caloric intake, and that is the main driver with any sort of weight loss. However, as with all restrictive habits, it can lead to over eating as well as creating a more adversarial relationship with food, as opposed to eating to support and nourish your body. IF can be a useful tool, but should be used sparingly and with consistent awareness to best understand how your body is responding to the changes.

Meal timing doesn’t have to be complicated.

Build consistency. Fuel earlier. Match intake to your day.

IF can be a tool — but the real goal is finding a rhythm that supports how you live, train, and perform.

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