6 small meals vs 3 meals a day?

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  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    Sometimes I graze all day.
    Sometimes I eat 3 square meals a day.
    Sometimes I eat sod all all day and then have a huge 2000 calorie dinner complete with a dessert full of awesomeness.

    None of these have affected my weight loss or my metabolism. Eat when best suits you.
  • aldale
    aldale Posts: 118 Member
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    I tried for years to lose weight on lots of diets. I kept gaining unfortunately. After being diagnosed with hypertension, I went to a nutritionist. She advised me to eat 2 small meals, 2 snacks, and one larger but not huge meal. This works for me and keeps me from overindulging. I love sweets so I can incorporate one sugary snack a day. I will agree that you have to do what works for you. And it is calories in/calories out. I just feel better, and I am not starving when I eat throughout the day. I am also losing now which makes me happy!
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
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    Sometimes I graze all day.
    Sometimes I eat 3 square meals a day.
    Sometimes I eat sod all all day and then have a huge 2000 calorie dinner complete with a dessert full of awesomeness.

    None of these have affected my weight loss or my metabolism. Eat when best suits you

    I completely agree. It all comes down to being in a deficit.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    I did a food management course a couple of years ago and this was specifically covered. It is all down to the metabolism. Once you eat your metabolism starts to work burning it. This is why breakfast is so important, it starts your body working, so the earlier in the day the better. Around mid-morning you will have used up the breakfast "fuel" and your metabolism will be starting to slow or stop again, so kick start it with a small snack. Give it a good top up with lunch, again a small snack mid-afternoon and then the evening meal. The secret is to keep your metabolism working for as much of the day as you can without exceeding your daily calories.

    So, in short, 3 meals, 2 or 3 snacks. Hope this helps!

    Just no.

    Your metabolism does not ever "stop working" until you are dead. The Thermic Effect of Food is dependent on HOW MUCH you eat, not WHEN you eat. So if you are still ending the day with the same amount of calories, meal timing makes no difference at all in terms of how it affects your metabolism.

    See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494 , a study that found "no difference between nibbling and gorging."
    See also: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/meal-frequency-and-energy-balance-research-review.html#more-1389, which is Lyle McDonald's take on the above-linked study.

    In short, meal timing and frequency are only important insofar as your personal preferences. There is no way to trick your body into burning more calories by eating more frequently.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
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    Physiologically, it makes exactly zero difference how many times a day you eat. I'm a nibbler and eat four to seven times a day depending on my mood to keep full and making good food decisions.
  • KellyWright58
    KellyWright58 Posts: 16 Member
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    The differences in metabolism between the two are negligible.

    The benefits of either will boil down to personal preference, gym performance, and adherence to your diet.

    ^^^ completely agree! 100%
  • JustJennie13
    JustJennie13 Posts: 218
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    You could find information that would support both! I was told in a nutrition class that 6 small meals does boost your metabolism because you are constantly providing your body something to burn. You will also find information that will say that this is completely wrong. As said before do what works for you. I do eat 6 small "meals" a day and it does take about a week or two to adjust to. The "meals" are not really a meal. To give you an example my typical day is a granola or protien bar for breakfast at about 7 am at 9 I usually have one serving of greek yogurt at 11 I have a snack. Its either Special K chips or a small granny smith apple with peanut butter. At 1 I eat lunch. I was using smart ones or lean cuisine meals but I am currently changing that due to the amount of sodium they have. At 3 another small snack or a protein shake. My largest meal is dinner because I don't eat after 7 (another one of those possibly completely false myths). It works for me. I have been very successful eating this way. It is also very important to weigh and measure your food. Like someone else said if you make a plan that doesn't work change it up.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
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    For me it comes down to how the food affects the brain rather than the body. Some people will do better with 6 small meals because the drop in Blood Sugar from only having 3 meals can send people slightly hypoglycemic which can lead to tiredness and a slightly anxious/depressed feeling. If you regulate blood sugar well though (I'm guessing most people) then I don't think it matters.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
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    You could find information that would support both! I was told in a nutrition class that 6 small meals does boost your metabolism because you are constantly providing your body something to burn. You will also find information that will say that this is completely wrong. As said before do what works for you. I do eat 6 small "meals" a day and it does take about a week or two to adjust to. The "meals" are not really a meal. To give you an example my typical day is a granola or protien bar for breakfast at about 7 am at 9 I usually have one serving of greek yogurt at 11 I have a snack. Its either Special K chips or a small granny smith apple with peanut butter. At 1 I eat lunch. I was using smart ones or lean cuisine meals but I am currently changing that due to the amount of sodium they have. At 3 another small snack or a protein shake. My largest meal is dinner because I don't eat after 7 (another one of those possibly completely false myths). It works for me. I have been very successful eating this way. It is also very important to weigh and measure your food. Like someone else said if you make a plan that doesn't work change it up.

    Do you have a reference so I can read up on this :-)
    Cheers
  • JustJennie13
    JustJennie13 Posts: 218
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    You could find information that would support both! I was told in a nutrition class that 6 small meals does boost your metabolism because you are constantly providing your body something to burn. You will also find information that will say that this is completely wrong. As said before do what works for you. I do eat 6 small "meals" a day and it does take about a week or two to adjust to. The "meals" are not really a meal. To give you an example my typical day is a granola or protien bar for breakfast at about 7 am at 9 I usually have one serving of greek yogurt at 11 I have a snack. Its either Special K chips or a small granny smith apple with peanut butter. At 1 I eat lunch. I was using smart ones or lean cuisine meals but I am currently changing that due to the amount of sodium they have. At 3 another small snack or a protein shake. My largest meal is dinner because I don't eat after 7 (another one of those possibly completely false myths). It works for me. I have been very successful eating this way. It is also very important to weigh and measure your food. Like someone else said if you make a plan that doesn't work change it up.

    Do you have a reference so I can read up on this :-)
    Cheers

    These sites support the small meal theory:

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-boost-your-metabolism
    The more meals info is on slide 6

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jenheath3.htm

    http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/eating-smaller-meals-frequently-speed-up-metabolism-5680.html

    These sites disagree with said theory:

    http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/busting-10-diet-myths-10000001700385/page2.html

    http://anthonycolpo.com/more-proof-eating-small-meals-more-frequently-does-not-boost-metabolism/

    As I said before.... I am a believer in the small meal theory. If you notice where the sites come from the pro small meals come from places like Web MD and Nutrition sites. The opposing usually comes from individuals. I found these using Google and didn't spend a ton of time looking so there may be better opposing sites.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,473 Member
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    how about 4 meals a day?
    5?
  • Walkbyfaith1971
    Walkbyfaith1971 Posts: 7 Member
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    The differences in metabolism between the two are negligible.

    The benefits of either will boil down to personal preference, gym performance, and adherence to your diet.

    ^^ This.

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