Cereal For Dinner

Thomas J. Kersting, LPC, Ph.D

What's for dinner tonight? Probably not Raisin Bran. But why not? Research shows that whole-grain cereal is an excellent source of vitamins and fiber, and is low in calories and saturated fat. So why don't we eat cereal for dinner? The problem is that cereal is not marketed as a dinner food, so we don't associate it that way. Now, what if Kelloggs came out and launched a "dinner cereal?" It's not that this "dinner cereal" would be different from any other cereal; it would just give us "permission" to steer from the norm and do things a little differently. About 7 years ago I put my theory to the test. I ate cereal for dinner 5 nights a week for about 4 months, and I can honestly say that my stomach was flatter than ever, I never felt full or bloated and I got used to it pretty quickly. In fact, I found myself driving home from work excited about what cereal I would have that night, and I looked forward to it. I felt great. Our overweight problem is largely cultural. Big, dinnertime meals are part of what we do even though research proves that consuming our largest meal at night is a big reason for our bulging waist-lines. Not long ago I read an interesting study about the timing of our eating. The researchers investigated the eating habits in some community in Scotland and compared them to ours. This community was a farming town and the people, on average, consumed the same amount of calories per day that we do, but they did not have a weight problem. The reason: Breakfast was their big meal. About two thirds of their daily calories were consumed in the morning and they ate sensible lunches and dinners. In our culture, we consume two thirds of our calories after 5:00 P.M. The body's metabolism slows down significantly after 6:00 P.M. and our bodies just aren't burning all of those calories effectively. Timing is everything. Makes sense, doesn't it? I remember what my mother used to say to me during my "cereal for dinner days." She thought I was crazy and would say things like, "that is not healthy for you." "You need "food" for dinner." I beg to differ. In our world, we do what seems normal, what everyone else is doing. A family sitting around the dinner table eating a bowl of Cheerios with sliced bananas sounds ludicrous. It just doesn't fit into our cultural schema. But obviously something has got to change in our country or we're just going to keep eating ourselves to death. Try the cereal plan for a few weeks and see if you lose weight. There is such a huge selection of good, healthy cereals, so you don't have to worry about getting board. Dare to be different. Thomas J. Kersting, LPC, Ph.D is the author of FAT PROOF: Power Programming Your Bodies Weight-Loss Computer (Harbor Press, coming in Winter 2006). Dr. Tom has helped countless people to lose weight with his power programming method. Please visit his website to receive a free copy of his Power Programming Weight-Loss CD. http://www.fatproof.net/