Snacking vs 3 square meals.

6 meals or 3?

Who’s right?

How often should you eat for weight loss?

To understand this question we must consider….

Metabolism

 

^^^ In other words, all of the stuff that your body has to do to keep you alive.

The question is, does meal frequency effect the rate of your metabolism? Does your body have to work harder when you eat more often?

 

Yes and No

(Don’t you love a question that has two answers?!)

 

Yes, your metabolism will have a slight boost when you eat. This is due to the Thermic Effect of Food i.e the calories burned immediately after eating in order to help you digest your food.

As we know, the process of digestion is an active process within the body that requires energy.

 

Meal Frequency

“So…eating 6 times a day means more little boosts in metabolism which means more calories burned – obesity solved – we can all go home?!”

 

Not quite.

 

Lets assume (and we must because, science) that you’re in a lab and they give you 2 meals and then on another day they give you the same calories overall spread through 7 meals instead. And they measure your metabolism.

Same calories = same effect on metabolism.

When you eat 7 times you get a little boost in metabolic rate.

When you eat 2 times you get a slightly longer lasting boost in metabolic rate.

And then it returns to normal.

 

Conclusion:

Eating the same amount of calories in any 24hour period, will have the same effect on your metabolic rate, meal frequency doesn’t matter. 2 meals or 7 the overall effect is the same.

What if I eat LESS during 3 meals when compared to 6 meals?

 

Now, this is a more accurate question.

If your goal is weight loss, eating less will result in weight loss. We’re talking thermodynamics here rather than metabolism.

 

The holy grail of weight loss is,

to eat as much as possible while still losing weight,
stress your body as little as possible while still working out
and see results without feeling deprived.

(hint: the key is patience and you can achieve this^^^)

 

Individual Differences

 

Just like some people are morning people and some people are evening people.

Some people thrive on 3 meals a day with long gaps in-between meals.

Others prefer to eat smaller meals and snack.

 

It’s not just our physiological preferences we need to think of, we also have the psychological side of things.

 

• Do you feel deprived if you don’t eat regularly?
• Do you overeat when you eat more frequently?
• Are you likely to binge if you only eat 3 times?
• Do you have a health issue where 6 meals may be better? (IBS for example)
• Do you have a job where 3 meals works best for you?
• Do you have history of disordered eating that means a very specific pattern works for you?

 

We’re all different.

The only way to know for SURE the best way to eat for you is to test.

 

Be your own scientist. Use your body as a test subject and try different things. Be aware of how you feel, observe the changes and figure out what works for you now.

 

Annoyingly, what works for you now might change in 3 months time. (I know…right?!)

So it’s up to you to start listening to YOUR body and take everything you read in weight loss columns in magazines with a massive pinch of salt.

 

Ainzlie