In an attempt to lose weight, many people follow a multiple meal a day plan. The idea is, your metabolism stays elevated because your body is constantly burning calories to digest food. This in turn leads to faster weight loss. It can also keep your energy levels high and prevent you from overeating. If you want to eat four to five meals a day for weight loss, you need to plan those meals carefully.
Step 1
Find out your current daily intake of calories. Keep track of every morsel of food and drop of liquid calories you consume every day for a full week. Add all the totals together and divide by seven to get a daily average. Use an online resource like CalorieKing to determine calorie amounts that you are unsure of.
Step 2
Deduct 500 calories from your daily average to get a new total. For example, if your daily average is 2,300, then your new daily total will be 1,800 calories.
Step 3
Use your new daily caloric total to figure out how many calories to eat per meal. Take 1,800 calories as an example. Divide it by four and five to create two plans. If you eat four meals a day, then you will eat 450-calorie meals. If you eat five meals a day, you will eat 360-calorie meals.
Step 4
Compose your meals out of healthy foods. Avoid processed meats, fast food, high-fat dairy products, deep-fried foods and simple carbohydrates. Eat nutrient-dense foods instead, like chicken breasts, turkey, low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.
Step 5
Make your meals a balance of protein and carbs. Bran cereal with low-fat milk, a turkey breast sandwich with whole wheat bread, celery stalks with nut butter, and salmon with steamed Brussels sprouts and brown rice are balanced meal examples. Use CalorieKing to determine how much of each food you should include.
Step 6
Eat breakfast to get your metabolism fired up and to prevent overeating at your next meal.
Step 7
Check your weight after two weeks and make caloric adjustments. If you have lost weight, keep up with the meal plan. If you did not, reduce your intake again by 500 calories. Keep checking your weight and reducing your calories until you start losing weight.
Tips and Warnings
- When you are creating your meals, use CalorieKing to figure out how big you need to make your portions to fulfill your caloric amounts.
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