The Royal Diet

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Simple wins every time, and sometimes simple can be pretty easy. Years ago, I heard of a really simple, effective diet, which was referred to as the "royal diet". And I'm not talking about how Kate Middleton slimmed down in preparation for her big wedding day... In reality, it's not all that hard to live out the royal diet; it just takes a little discipline and a shift in the daily flow of meals.

Here's the concept: at breakfast, eat like a king (or queen); at lunch eat like a prince (or princess); at supper eat like a pauper. It's so easy to remember and execute, I don't know why more folks don't try it. As it turns out, when we do try it, it really works. Our bodies are designed to handle extensive proteins and carbohydrates really well when eaten early in the day. And if we have enough discipline to eat more sparingly at lunch and even more-so at supper, our bodies reward us by shedding pounds and better utilizing the calories we consume.

Let's say we're looking at a 2000 calorie/day goal. When translated to the royal diet, it might look like this:

• 1000 calories for breakfast, heavy on proteins (eggs, nuts, lean meats), carbs (whole grains), and even a little bit of regular old sweets (empty sugar calories)
• 700 calories for lunch, heavy on fruits and veggies, maybe a little bit of lean meat and healthy carbs
• 300 calories for dinner, again, heavy on fruits and veggies, a little lean meat and healthy carbs (which doesn't go really far for only 300 calories)

By the time you wake up the next day, you're ready for a big breakfast! So the structure of the diet is self-perpetuating in a good way. The fact is, our bodies metabolize calories into useful energy over about a four hour time frame (some calories turn into instant energy, and others take hours...). It only makes sense that eating light at lunch and lighter still at supper would appropriately scale down the energy we're offering our bodies as the day winds down. By doing this, we leave less reason for spare calories to be turned from usable glucose into stored fat.

If you're interested in getting to your ideal weight, consider the royal diet. Begin indulging at breakfast, followed by discipline at lunch and a lot of discipline at supper. You're body will thank you, and I think you'll be pleased with the results.

By the Way

You can check out a little more on big-breakfast diets at these sites:
WebMD - The Big Breakfast Diet
LiveSTRONG - Benefits of a Bigger Breakfast
Dr. Oz - Your Weight-Loss Ally