No, not the beginning of a bar joke  but instead one of the eating strategies that I commonly recommend to my patients. The actual adage is: “Eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner.”  This means that you eat your largest meal at breakfast, a moderate meal at lunch and your smallest meal at dinner. Unfortunately, this eating strategy is in complete opposition to how most of us eat and perhaps why most of us have a disproportionate height to weight ratio – we weigh too much.

Eating our largest meal with the greatest amount of protein in the morning provides us with a sustained source of energy throughout the morning and early afternoon. Eating a moderate meal at lunch and your smallest meal at dinner allows our body to still utilize calories but in proportion to what our actual caloric needs are as the day progresses. Both lunch and dinner should emphasize fruits and vegetables with protein and grains taking a much smaller role.

For most of us eating three meals per day is what we know and how we were raised. In theory this eating strategy serves most of us very well as long as emphasize good quality foods during each meal and minimize between meal “snacks”.

For some of us a three meal per day strategy does not work and we are better served by eating multiple small meals throughout the day. This will be my next food blog topic.

So if your habit is to eat three meals daily keep this strategy in mind as you make your food selections – even if you happen to be a queen, princess or pauper  instead.

Please feel free to contact me by telephone (314.645.8805) or e-mail [email protected] if you have any food related questions.

Dr. William Madosky

Like us on Facebook and you will be the first to know when other new blog posts are available or visit my blog for many great health and wellness tips!