A friend of mine who is having weight-related health problems had just gotten back from a meeting with their dietitian.  “They want me to eat 5 to 6 meals a day instead of just 3!  How is that supposed to help me lose weight???”

In fact, do a quick search on the Internet and you’ll see a lot of people (including myself) recommending eating 5 to 6 meals per day.  What gives?  How does increasing the number of meals you eat result in weight LOSS?  Won’t eating more often increase your caloric intake and result in weight GAIN?

What do you think? …

First, Let’s Define a “Meal”

Before we go any further, it’s critical that we define exactly what is meant by a “meal.”  When nutrition experts say eat 5 to 6 “meals” per day, we don’t mean the mega-sized, 1500-calorie-all-you-can-stuff-yourself-with type of meal that most of us have 2 to 3 times a day.

Take a look at the picture that’s part of this post.  THAT’s what we mean when we talk about a “meal.”  Each meal should be around 200-300 calories.  That’s it.  Your mid-morning meal can be as simple as an apple in between breakfast and lunch.  It can be a celery stick with a little peanut butter in between lunch and dinner.  A piece of fruit, a cup of cottage cheese or a couple of whole wheat crackers with peanut butter are other examples.

The idea is not to eat more food during the day, but to eat the same amount of food (or actually less) spread out over 5 to 6 meals instead of 2 or 3 times a day.

Why This Works

Here’s why eating more frequently actually works.  If you eat breakfast around 6:30 am or so and lunch around noon, that’s around 5 hours between meals.  Since most food takes between 2 to 4 hours to be digested and leave your stomach (depending on the type of food), that’s way too long to go without eating.

The reason is that after your body finishes digesting your breakfast, your blood sugar levels (your glucose levels) begin to drop significantly and around 10:00 am or so (2 to 4 hours later), you’re going to start feeling really hungry.  By the time it’s time for lunch, you’re STARVING!  We all know what happens next – you’re so hungry that you order one of everything on the menu – with extra butter and gravy!  Your blood sugar levels are so low and your body is craving so much food that you tend to overeat in response.  You then feel sluggish and sleepy the rest of the afternoon.  Sound familiar?

On the other hand, if you have a small meal – say an apple – around 10:00 or so, it will kick your blood sugar back up and you won’t feel so hungry.  That way when lunch rolls around, you’re much more likely to be satisfied with the soup-and-salad combo instead of the chicken-fried-steak-with-potatoes-and-extra-gravy.

Eating a small meal every 3 hours or so helps keep your blood sugar levels more or less constant.  That means you won’t go from “I’m starving” to “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” and back again every couple of hours.  This puts YOU back in control enabling you to make better food choices instead of simply responding to your body screaming “FEED ME!!”

Maintain your blood sugar levels at a more or less consistent level by eating more frequently and you’ll control your appetite.  Control your appetite and you’ll actually be satisfied or feel “full” with less food, especially if you make healthier food choices.  Consume less food during the day and you’ll lose weight.  It’s that simple.

Remember, Total Calories are Still Total Calories

Once again, I’m not suggesting that you eat full, regular meals 6 times a day.  Remember that weight loss is still a matter of reducing the total number of calories that you consume in a day.  Eating more frequently will not increase your total number of calories as long as you keep the meals small.  I know I already said that but it’s important.  No matter what you do, weight loss is still the difference between calories in and calories out.

Putting it All Together

So let me summarize with the following points:

1. Prevent your body from going into “starvation mode” by eating something every 3 hours or so.  This equates to around 5 to 6 times per day.
2. Slightly reduce the size of your normal breakfast, lunch, and dinner and insert smaller, 200-300 calorie “meals” in between your regular meals.  So you’ll basically eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, a mid afternoon snack, dinner, and then maybe an evening snack 2-3 hours before going to bed.
3. Remember that the idea is not to eat more food, but just to eat more frequently.  In order to lose weight, you still have to reduce the total number of calories you eat during the day.
4. Make better food choices.  Have a piece of fruit instead of a glazed donut, for example.  Remember that refined carbohydrates (like the donut) will actually cause your blood sugar to spike – followed by a crash about an hour later that leaves you starved again.  Instead, choose whole foods, not processed ones.  Whole foods, especially those with fiber (like fruit) take longer to digest meaning that you’ll feel “full” longer.
5. In addition to reducing the number of calories you eat, you can speed the weight loss process by increasing the number of calories you burn during the day.  Take a walk during lunch or take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Find ways to become more active more throughout the day.
6. Listen to your body and do what works for you.  If you normally feel starved just before lunch, then just add a mid-morning snack.  If you don’t normally feel starved before dinner, that’s OK.  Notice what your body is telling you and make the changes that are right for you.

Although it’s counter intuitive, eating more frequently (about every 3 hours or so) actually allows your body to be satisfied with less food overall.  Give it try and see for yourself!

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach (NESTA)

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