How often should you be eating? Should you be eating 5 times a day should you be fasting long hours and eating in a smaller window of time? There’s a debate on which is right and multiple answers, but the best answer for weight loss is the one that works best for you. With that said, let’
s look at the case for eating five times a day. Those are three meals, plus mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. When it’s broken down like that, it seems quite normal. Eating more often can help keep your metabolic fires burning throughout the day, so you’ll burn more calories.
Eating more meals during the day can prevent that feeling you’re starving.
Have you ever been so hungry you couldn’t wait to get food into your mouth or you ate something you normally wouldn’t consider eating? When you have five planned times you eat throughout the day, you won’t have those bag of chips, face-stuffing moments. Your planned snacks are healthy and lower in calories, so you never develop that ravenous appetite.
You’ll be running at full steam throughout the day when you eat more often.
Eating smaller, more frequent meals can keep your metabolism burning high, which also keeps your energy high. You’ll have more energy to workout, take the stairs, walk to the store and even do chores. It’s one reason we suggest a pre-workout snack. It boosts your energy level to increase your benefits of the workout. A light snack following can help your muscles recover faster.
Timing isn’t everything.
The key to weight loss isn’t magic, eat fewer calories than you burn. How you do it and which method is successful depends on you. Some people naturally do intermittent fasting, by skipping breakfast and eating a later lunch. It works for them. If you’re a three meals a day proponent, then you’ll probably appreciate the five meals a day regimen, because the extra snacks help curb your noon and dinner appetite, so you eat less. Do what works for your, but make sure your menu contains healthy whole foods.
- One other method of eating is called grazing. You have food constantly on demand with not limit of times you eat during the day. As long as those foods available are healthy options, it could help you shed extra pounds, too.
- No matter what type of eating method you choose, make sure you have adequate protein, fat and carbohydrates in your diet. Both protein and fat help you feel fuller longer and could be a huge benefit as one of your “snack” meals. Think nuts or nut butters.
- Include whole foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. Don’t substitute juice for the whole fruit or vegetable. The whole fruit has fiber and the juice doesn’t. Fiber not only helps your digestion, it keeps you feeling full longer.
- You can keep your blood sugar levels more stable if you eat smaller, more frequent meals. It also helps promote better digestion and can help people with issues like acid reflux and gastritis.
For more information, contact us today at Iron Fit San Antonio