Imagine the following for a moment.
You are tired, fed, up, and made a self realization that you need to make a change in your life.
You decide that you no longer want to feel uncomfortable in your own body and that you want to make some changes for your health and for your future.
You decide to start eating healthier so you can lose some body fat.
To get started, you remember someone telling you years ago that eating 6 small meals per day is ideal for weight loss.
Something about speeding up your metabolism stood out to you when you heard that and now you figured that it should work for you.
4-weeks goes by and you step on the scale and realize nothing has changed.
You are smart, and you know the scale isn't the only way to determine progress.
But still, you don't see any other changes or feel all that different.
What if I told you that those 6 small meals per day is actually making it harder for you to lose that body fat.
I read something a little while ago (click here to see what I read) that compared eating 6 small meals per day with 3 larger meals per day, while still having the same total calories per day.
Here are some of the most important takeaways I got from this article.
There was no major difference in how many calories were burned in a 24 hour period between groups.
There was no major difference in the amount of fat that was burned or blood makers.
The post meal hunger and desire to eat was greater for the 6 meals per day rather than the 3 meals per day, which led to a greater desire to eat.
The last point there I think is the most important.
Even though 6 meals per day and 3 meals per day both had similar results in terms of calories and fat burned, people who ate 6 meals per day had a stronger desire to eat and felt not as full as those who at the 3 meals per day.
So what does all this mean for you?
Well, for starters, it means that you can eat either 6 or 3 meals per day and still burn fat.
The second part, is that if you are currently eating 6 small meals per day and are still hungry after each meal, find yourself snacking late at night, or cannot seem to lose the any body fat, then try switching up your eating pattern.
Often times, when people are struggling to lose weight they don't realize how many extra calories hey are having.
If your hunger signals and desire to eat are stronger as a result of those 6 small meals per day, you may be accidentally eating more calories than you need to in order to lose your body fat.
How can you fix this to start seeing your weight go down?
Opt for 3 slightly larger meals plus a midday snack and see how that works.
You my feel more satisfied, more full, and have a lower urge to keep eating throughout the day.
One of the biggest kept secrets about nutrition is that lot of it is trial and error.
Even as a trainer and coach, I never know with 100% certainty what will work best for you.
But, if you are willing to stay open minded, reflect with yourself what is and isn't working, you can try new methods to find the right approach for you.
If you need help with finding the right fitness and nutrition strategies to help you, feel free to reach out and ask about a free training session.
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