Six Meals A Day

I have a lot of friends who have been doing this and have been very curious about the benefits. My issue is finding the time to fit in that many meals, even just small ones.

What is considered a "meal" in this type of program? My friends who have had difficulty losing weight in the past, like myself, have been able to lose weight in this way.

Hey there.

If you like: Just add me, and take a look at my diary. I try eating 5 meals, wich doesn't always work out, and 6 might me a notch more difficult. But you (all of you :-) ) are very welcome to take a look at my meal plans.

It helps regulate the blood sugar if you eat smaller 'meals' spread throughout the day. Just take your calorie requirements and divide them. For me its about 200 calories each time. I started to do this and it really helped. Hope that helps!

I eat 5 times a day...feel free to take a look at my diary: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/tinaswt

OK, I can't address all of your questions in detail, but hopefully you will get more detailed answers than I can give. Around 4/5 years ago I lost 55 pounds through diet and exercise. One of my changes was going to three smaller meals supplemented by three snack times afterwards. Now if I eat a large traditional meal I am sluggish (and lazy) afterwards. I see most of my coworkers drop off in productivity after lunch while their bodies process that double cheeseburger and fries! After my small meals I am fine, but I do require a healthy snack in a couple of hours. This routine of a small meal followed by a snack later seems to keep my body fueled and satisfied while allowing me to consume far less calories than my old three big meal pattern did (actually small breakfast and large lunch and dinner.) I am very happy with my routine now and have learned what works and does not work for me. I slip up on occasion but can keep it under control overall by returning to my plan the next meal. Works for me!

I disagree with that philosophy unless you are a pro athlete.

http://johnbarban.com/how-many-meals-do-you-eat/

I read the article and it just seems like he is trying to sell his program. As I put in my post I don't do five or six meals, and I'm not trying to "get ripped." But eating smaller meals with healthy snack in between is effective. My goal is simply to keep my body adequately fueled but not over fueled. My plan works for me and I think it will work for many others. It all starts with the question "what is your goal/objective?" If losing or controlling weight is primary then small portions of healthy foods supplemented by healthy snacks is a very good course to follow.

I changed my setting to have 3 meals and 3 snacks. I usually try to keep my snacks smaller in calories but still with some protein and then eat slightly larger calorie meals. I work out pretty hard so after I add the 500 calories into my plan for the day I usually have like 1800 calories to eat, so I try to go for like 200 or so per snack and 300-500 per meal. I found that eating every 3 hours or so I'm not as hungry, but some days it does feel like eating is a full time job!

Honestly, I WANT TO SEE WEIGHT LOSS!!! Things are just not working for me! I do not doubt that I am eating too big of meals and too many of them, but the reasons usually are that I am craving, hungry or both! I am SOOO tired of all of the programs, science, etc behind what we eat and why! I just really want to find what works for me to see WEIGHTLOSS and CONSISTENCY! Right now I do not have either. Just being honest!

Also, at 1500-1600 calories broken into 6 meals a day, I do not plan on eating my exercise cals back.... at least not all of them. I just have to figure out what works for me.

Have you heard of Dr Ann? She has a book out called "Dr Ann's 10 Step Diet." It's kind of a trick in that it is not a diet like the thousands of fad diets that come out every year. She is a MD and nutritionist who has a passion for teaching people to eat healthy. She demonstrates that if we will just quit the fad diets and eat healthy then we will lose weight if we need to or gain weight for those few who need to gain. It is fantastic stuff. No gimmicks, no questionable science, just good healthy eating. Everyone on this planet would benefit from reading her books and listening to her on the radio (NPR.) She will help you I promise!

It does not matter if its 4 or 6 meals a day, eating more often will help regulate blood sugar and keep your body in that fat burning zone, it is a simple concept to grasp once you know the basics. Low blood sugar = cravings which = eating more. Maintaining a stable blood sugar is beneficial for fat loss however and this is a big one, making better choices is more important when starting out, to optimize fat loss you need to keep sodium levels down, get rid of the junk in the diet and start eating for your type. Bottom line is that if you feel like crap on a diet you are not giving your body what it needs and that is the #1 reason diets fail in the end, We are all different an need to find out what works for us. I love Tom venuto's books for this, he cuts the crap, tells it like it is and what he teaches really works, long term not short term. I love his Burn the fat feed the muscle book, it has helped me learn the healthy path to fat loss and not these fad diets, it is literally a lifestyle change. I feel like a million bucks, am shedding fat easily for the first time in my life and I look 10X better. My diary is public feel free to look at that, I am doing cal cycling right now to speed fat loss as per Tom's method and it is working well for me so there are up and down days.

I disagree with that philosophy unless you are a pro athlete.

http://johnbarban.com/how-many-meals-do-you-eat/

I read the article and it just seems like he is trying to sell his program. As I put in my post I don't do five or six meals, and I'm not trying to "get ripped." But eating smaller meals with healthy snack in between is effective. My goal is simply to keep my body adequately fueled but not over fueled. My plan works for me and I think it will work for many others. It all starts with the question "what is your goal/objective?" If losing or controlling weight is primary then small portions of healthy foods supplemented by healthy snacks is a very good course to follow.

Of course he's trying to sell his program, that's what most people in the fitness/nutrition business do. However, it doesn't change the fact that it's based off actual research and nutritional science. If you read his blog he gives away enough info that you don't actually need to buy it. I've read it, and it's good. I've been using it for almost a year and have lost 70lbs. It's not for everyone, but neither is eating every two to three hours.

Why are you eating 1500-1600 calories?

I started eating this way about 4 years ago after I read Body for life. I lost 60 lbs. I have my pics from that on my profile. You do need to be careful with it though. When I went through my divorce, I was depressed, and eating 5 or 6 huge meals a day, and really gained weight fast. I am down 30lbs again with about 20 to go.