Skipping meals is not an effective way to lose weight as it leads to extreme hunger and possible over-consuming at later sittings. If you can only commit to three meals per day, stick to breakfast, lunch and dinner and dine at consistent times. A study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" published in January 2005 found that when the same group of women ate six regular meals per day, they took in fewer calories and experienced a slightly higher metabolism than during the time they ate between three to nine irregularly timed meals.
Breakfast
Breakfast sets the tone for your meals for the day, possibly leading to healthier choices overall. You might think you should save those morning calories for later in the day, when hunger sets in, but people who skip breakfast often consume more calories overall throughout the day than breakfast eaters, states the American Council on Exercise. Almost 80 percent of members of the National Weight Control Registry, an ongoing research group involving more than 5,000 people who have lost significant weight and kept it off, report eating breakfast as part of their successful strategy. Consider making that breakfast consist of eggs, as a study in the "International Journal of Obesity" in 2008 found that participants who ate eggs for breakfast instead of a bagel containing an equal number of calories as part of a low-calorie diet lost more weight.
Lunch
A busy schedule may cause you to skip lunch, but this leaves you famished and likely to overload on food at dinner, the time of day when you are likely winding down and need less fuel to function. Choose a healthy lunch consisting of a 3-oz. serving protein, a ½ cup of grains or a slice whole grain bread and a cup or two of fresh dark green or orange, nonstarchy vegetables dressed with a teaspoon of olive oil or tossed with a ½ oz. of nuts. This protein in this combination can help make you feel full as protein takes longer to digest than fats or carbohydrates, explains the Harvard School of Public Health. The carbohydrates offer you energy and the fat helps with absorption of the vitamins and antioxidants in the vegetables.
Dinner
Skipping dinner could cause you to fall victim to late-night snacking in front of the television. You are better off eating a healthy, balanced meal and then closing the kitchen down for the evening. Similar to lunch, make dinner consist of a healthy carbohydrate, lean protein and a bit of fat. A good choice might be lean ground turkey with marinara sauce over whole wheat spaghetti and zucchini with a green salad dressed with olive oil dressing. Make dinner happen early if you are not going to have a mid-afternoon snack.
References
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Beneficial Metabolic Effects of Regular Meal Frequency on Dietary Thermogenesis, Insulin Sensitivity, and Fasting Lipid Profiles in Healthy Obese Women.
- International Journal of Obesity: Egg Breakfast Enhances Weight Loss
- American Council on Exercise: Don't Skip Breakfast to Cut Calories
- Harvard School of Public Health: Protein and Weight Control
- National Weight Control Registry: Research Findings
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