WHO TO BELIEVE?
If you have spent any time reading blogs, magazines and diet books, then you will know there are two camps of people when it comes to the optimal fat loss diet: those who say eating several small meals is best, and those who promote the 3 meals a day diet. This article will cover the arguments and clear up many of the issues people face.
Small Meals Are Better than 3 main meals: This has been the staple of bodybuilding diets since the 1980’s and 1990’s and has now found its way in to the general fitness industry. The theory is that by giving your body a regular supply of protein, carbohydrates and good fats, it will keep your metabolism functioning at a high speed, which makes it more difficult to store fat. There are other proclaimed benefits such as removing hunger and removing the urge to binge.
The issue with this diet is that most people don’t have the time to eat 5 or 6 six times a day, or the time to prepare those meals. Most people also lack the discipline to stick to such a regimented protocol.
3 Meals a day is best: This is generally how people eat in the west our work and life schedule are often based on this concept. However, as this is not viewed as a diet to most people, they don’t often see much change in their body composition. Many people are also very lax about food choice, so they don’t find the best sources of protein, carbohydrates and good fats. However, those who are busy and find healthy foods will find this diet very useful and it will help them to lose weight.
The downside here is that most people will begin to feel hungry and snack between meals. This defeats the purpose and will lead to fat gain.
A Solution – while having regular, small meals (of protein, carbs and fats) is the ideal situation to prevent hunger and feed the body with a constant supply of fat burning nutrition, it is not practical for most people.
A good compromise is to try to stay as close to the “more frequent smaller meals” model as they can. It is only physique athletes that need to be so strict about eating every 2 to 3 hours. For most people, a consciously chosen meal plan that lowers portions of the 3 meals a day approach and adds a smaller meal or two in between main meals should provide the benefits without a drastic change in lifestyle.
