If you're looking to shed a few pounds, you might be curious how often you should eat. While you probably know that starvation dieting doesn't work, there isn't a one-size-fits-all meal schedule for weight loss. However, with a little information, you can figure out how to time meals in a way that will work for you.
Eat Breakfast
If you're looking to lose weight, there's one time you need to eat: first thing in the morning. Seventy-eight percent of the members of the National Weight Control Registry -- those who have lost at least 30 lbs. and kept it off for at least a year -- reported eating breakfast every day. Mayo Clinic dietitian Katherine Zeratsky reports eating breakfast controls hunger and provides energy all day, helping you exercise and avoid overeating.
Finding Your Meal Schedule
Everyone needs to eat at different times. FamilyDoctor.org, a service of the American Academy of Family Physicians, reports some people need three meals and two snacks a day, while others do better on five or six small meals throughout the course of the day. To figure out what works for you, you might consider tracking your hunger throughout the day. Eating before you get too hungry helps keep you from ravenous rampages.
Benefits of Small Meals
You might consider trying five to six small meals rather than large ones. The human body requires food every three hours, according to Pamela Peeke, M.D., an assistant professor of clinical medicine at University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr Peeke recommends snacks of high-quality protien and carbohydrates, such as whole grain crackers and low fat cheese, every two hours or so in order to keep hunger under control.
Considerations
Though meal timing is important, there's more to weight loss than how often you eat. Weight loss is a matter of calories; in order to shed pounds, you need to consume fewer calories than your body requires. Therefore, you need to plan low-fat, low-calorie, healthy meals. Your diet should include plenty of fruits, vegetables, and other high-fiber foods, which provide nutrients, fill your stomach and help you stay satisfied.
References
- National Weight Control Registry: Research Findings
- MayoClinic.com : Breakfast, Why Is It So Important to Weight Control?
- FamilyDoctor.org : What it Takes to Lose Weight
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Common-Sense Strategies to Long-Term Weight Loss
- MayoClinic.com: Energy Density and Weight Loss, Feel Full on Fewer Calories
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