If you've ever tried to lose weight, you've probably heard the advice that you should be eating 6 six small meals throughout the day. Then you might have heard that, no, you should actually start with one huge meal and then move down to smaller meals until dinner is basically a leaf on a plate. Then, of course, there's the advice about three normal meals and three small snacks. All of this advice can be REALLY confusing. So what's the answer, anyway? What's the perfect way to eat? Well…
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According to Yoni Freedhoff, the voice behind Weighty Matters, a recently study in the debate between 3 normal meals versus 6 small meals a day suggested that small, frequent meals "helped decrease energy intake in normal weight men." So, well, that's nice—but does that really mean that 6 meals a day is better?
The truth of the matter is that there isn't a right way or a wrong way to eat your meals. What really matters when it comes to weight loss is your ability to sustain whatever program you're using. If eating six cup-sized healthy meals a day is what feels food and comfortable to you, then go ahead. But if you prefer to stick to the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner schedule, then as long as you're making those healthier options, too, then keep going.
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Dr. Freedhooff puts it this way:
You need to find a life that you enjoy, and just because a new study or diet book suggests there's a "better", or "right", way, if you don't happen to enjoy it, it just isn't going to work.
I have to completely agree with him. Although I've tried many different ways of eating, what works for me personally is the traditional 3 meals a day theory, with a mid-morning fruit snack (typically an apple or a banana) and a mid-afternoon protein snack (usually a Greek yogurt or handful of nuts). But that's just what I like to do. You have to find your own eating habits. They should be ones that you can maintain, both in terms of healthy eating and in terms of how often you're eating. That's the only path to true weight loss success and, of course, success in keeping the weight off for life.
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