Monitoring your caloric intake is essential when trying to lose weight, but how often you eat can play a large role as well. Eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day, as opposed to two or three giant ones, can make you feel fuller longer, as well as help you to avoid binging or overeating. Check with your physician before you start a new meal plan, and consider consulting with a nutritionist.
Calories
Calories are calories no matter if you consume them all at once or spread them out throughout the day. Therefore, the first step in designing a diet is to determine how many calories you should be consuming. To lose about 1lb. a week, you will need to eliminate 3,500 calories, which means cutting about 500 calories each day. However, women should not eat less than 1,200 calories a day, and men should not eat less than 1,500. Ask your doctor about your individual caloric needs.
Frequency
While eating three large meals a day is a standard practice, spreading them out into five or six smaller meals can enhance your weight-loss efforts. By eating roughly every three hours, you will lessen your chances of feeling deprived, as well as keep your metabolism going all day long. No matter how often you eat, your total calorie consumption will be the same at the end of the day, but eating frequent, smaller meals will be more satisfying than cramming all your calories into large meals.
Food Choices
The types of food you choose for each meal will have an impact on how filling it is, as well as how it benefits your health. Do not waste your calories on foods that do not satisfy, and avoid foods high in fat or sugar. Choose fresh produce, low-fat dairy products and lean meats to ensure that your body is getting the nutrients it needs to stay healthy while you drop pounds. A dietitian can help you design your meals to include the foods you like to eat while also ensuring that they provide the right amount of calories.
Additional Considerations
Combine diet with exercise to reach your daily caloric deficit and to improve your health. Regular exercise boosts your metabolism, and the more muscle you build, the more fat you will burn. Try to do 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise most days of the week to lose weight and keep it off for good, but check with your doctor first to make sure you are healthy enough to begin working out.
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