Several Small Meals a Day

[mika]

Eating small meals a day is better than eating the usual big three meals such as the breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It is said that it could avoid gaining weight and even help to lose weight since eating small meals gives time for the body to digest it full and convert into nutrients and energy in the body. Specially if this small meals are made of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. And it is far better than starving oneself just to lose weight.

 

[prosu]

There are some arguments regarding the multiple small meals a day VS 3 big meals a day. Check out these articles..

a pretty short article here
http://gymkaki.com/threads/breaking-bro-science-myths.1361/

and a long one here about protein timings
http://gymkaki.com/threads/10-meals-per-day-optimum-for-protein-digestion.1367/

agree or disagree, up to u to decide

 

[gosu_smurf]

practically speaking, its kinda hard to eat 6-8 small meals a day don't you think? haha i'll choose to believe @moose statement,

Myth 1 - You need to eat 6-8 meals a day spaced out every 2-3hours to "stoke your metabolism".

 

[Lee11]

Many nutritionists seems to say that a general would be to "graze rather than gorge"...meaning smaller amounts throughout the day. I have 2 meals and 3 snacks although what is recommended is 3 meals and 2 snacks. This is what mainstream western nutritionists seems to advocate. Ones body knows what it needs, we simply have to listen to it. One thing I do is keep hydrated!

 

[dorothyperkins]

Eat small portion is really the ideal one but I don't have much time lately that only eat 3 meals on proper proportion. In fact, being busy keeps my mind diverted from thinking about food and it helps me in losing weight.

 

[moose]

meal frequency is irrelevant. your body takes far longer than you think to digest AND assimilate the nutrients from your food.

eating a larger meal does not mean that the excess will be stored as fat, or wasted. the body will just take a longer time to process the food.

 

[Neil Pearson]

This is a myth that has existed in the body building world (and nutrition world) for years. There simply isn't any real support for it though. What is important is the total number of calories and what you eat in a day. You can eat it all in one big meal or throughout the day. It doesn't really matter. You should eat it in whatever method is comfortable for you and whatever method helps you stick to your plan.

 

[Jabsfreelance]

I think eating small meals throughout the day works good if you actually do eat small meals throughout the day. I try to eat the smaller meals but have a tendency to eat just as much during the meal times. It's hard to break old habits.

 

[kat74]

Have hard that before but the issue is that we live the kind of life that does not allow us the pleasure of time to be able to break so many time a day to eat. It makes sense to eat the small portions because the body will be able to digest all the food and be able to store as fat. Unless you are at home all the time to monitor and have all the time, then if you are working in an office from 8-5 kind of job, it will be a bit hard.

 

[LLuDawg]

I myself think eating small meals a day helps because I tend to munch on fruits and vegetables. I don't like to eat huge meals because I don't like feeling bloated. However if you are more active it is probably ideal for you to eat more than people who are not as active.

 

[Alli]

I thought the small meal thing was to help regulate blood sugar. It DOES work for diabetes, although it may not hold over for people who don't have blood sugar issues. I pretty much spent my entire pregnancy eating 6-8 mini meals a day because I had gestational diabetes (which I controlled completely through diet and kept my blood glucose under control the whole time after that initial test)- big meals in a diabetic definitely do cause a blood glucose spike. If you subscribe to the idea that the subsequent insulin spike encourages fat storage, that could be a reason why people are told to eat small frequent meals to lose weight.
I did and do notice that when I eat like that, I am far less likely to overeat because I am never ravenously hungry.

 

[soccerbai123]

A lot of people told me that it would be best to eat small frequent meals. My sister is actually trying because the doctor advised her to do so because of her gastritis. I am not trying it since I a used to the three meals and I do not see the scientific explanation of for losing weight,

 

[karmaman]

I don't know about eating small meals for bodybuilding or weight loss, but it definitely helps me with my blood sugar. I have hypoglycemia and going without food for too long leads me to feel weak and sick. However, if I eat too much at once too I also feel bad.

 

[Shawndellah]

I have diabetes. My nutritionist has encouraged several small meals throughout the day to help regulate the sugar levels and reduce weight gain from the insulin. So far, it really seems to be working out quite nicely. I don't feel bloated and overly-full. I also am able to keep my sugar levels more steady throughout the day with several small meals.

 

[Gavin Fraser]

It is recommended to have 5-meals a day ideally instead of having more than that meals. These meals should consists of nutritious fruits. 1st Meals should be heavy and last meal should be lighter.

 

[MellowGuy]

I for one have tried several attempts of this for about 3 weeks at a time. It just never worked for me. In fact, I hear everyone advise it and but I don't really know anyone that actually follows it.

I don't think its that realistic to maintain so many meals in a day and so well timed (my opinion). Even if you have absolutely nothing to do, it would still be a difficult task.

Or maybe I just didn't do it right.

 

[roxanne_101]

Although this is true, I think it's difficult for some people. Most people spend the majority of their day at work and are unable to eat a bunch of small meals. Not to mention the fact that many people are too busy to stop and eat every few hours. I think it would take strong motivation to stick to something like this.