Saturday, April 26, 2014

How often should I eat?

For years, traditional wisdom held you should eat six or seven times a day and never skip breakfast. Now there are claims that 24-hour 'fast' might be ore effective. So what's right for you?


Three squares are fine

'The theory that eating frequent small meals is best came from a misunderstanding of the thermic effect of feeding (TEF). This is the amount of energy your body requires to digest food, which typically accounts for 10% of overall calories intake. It was thought that by eating six meals you were stimulating your metabolism throughout the day, but we now know TEF is a result of calorie intake - so if you guys both eat 3,000 calories a day but one eats 3 meals and the other eats six, the TEF for both is 300 calories.

Your approach should suit your schedule. My preference is three to four meals a day - that gives your body enough time between meal to tap into tap stores. Keep the meals large enough make you full, which is important psychologically. On a fat-loss plan it can be frustrating eating smaller, frequent meals, because they may not be large enough to satisfy you.'

Every three hours

'I'm wary of one-size-fits-all plans, but my recommendation generally works around a meal or snack every three hours. It's a simple way to help people develop mind set that food is the good guy. A person will get successful results with their diet when they absorb the correct amount of macronutrients, vitamins and minerals but I find people will stick to the three-hour rule more consistently than eating well three times a day.

People with bad relationship with food are more likely to reach for the other cookie jar if they feel hungry, so I prefer to built consistency. Some people get good result using intermittent fasting and low-frequency meals, but those methods require mental toughness and rarely produce better result.'

Mix meals and snacks

'My prescription is generally about to eat about every three hours, but that isn't to say it's a full meal every time. One "feed" might consist of nuts, for instance. However, each individual's workload, family life or training volume might dictate they need to do things slightly differently.

Eating every three hours is fantastic for controlling blood sugar level and cravings. The types of foods and in what volume change depending the person's body fat levels and cravings. The type of foods and in what volume change depending the person's body-fat levels, body type and activity level. If the guy carries a reasonable level of muscle mass, his protein intake would be higher than somebody who carried next to no lean muscle. In general, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner as '"meals" and nuts, protein bars, natural yoghurt and so on for your snacks.'

Think quality not quantity

'I'd recommended shifting your focus away from the quantity to the quality of the food. It's true that five to six  good-quality, small meals a day can help to ensure each intake of food is planned and healthy rather than unplanned, unhealthy snacking. If your personal circumstances mean that isn't possible, stick to the three meals a day with a focus on quality.'

*Referral men's fitness