A lot of people are confused about how many meals to take per day.
People often find themselves stuck in such situations. Some consider eating every 3 hours is ideal whereas some eat 6 meals per day.
However, there are a few studies conducted which showed that taking 6 meals per day is just a myth. It burns up fat and also slows down the metabolism according to many fitness experts.
Breakfast- the important meal?
Many people consider that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It can increase the metabolism, thereby helping to shed off a lot of weight.
Studies have frequently showed that people who skip their breakfast are likely to become fatter than the people who eat their breakfasts.
However, there is no relation proved yet how breakfast helps in losing weight. It is just that breakfast reduces the risk of being obese.
Breakfast is considered to be one of the healthy meals. Hence, people with healthy habits often tend to eat breakfast regularly.
There is no proof of breakfast having any physiological need. Breakfast is as normal as any other meal and hence, does not help to induce the metabolism.
Is it necessary to take meals every 3 hours?
It is often asked if taking 3 meals every hour be helpful. It is a popular myth that eating meals very often will help in enhancing the metabolism of the body. Hence, eating meals with less time gap will help in fat loss.
Various research have found that taking meals every 3 hours does not help to increase the metabolism. Although, less frequent meals also do not have a role to play in decreasing the metabolism.
Benefits of eating meals very often
As mentioned above, frequent meals are known to increase metabolism. Hence, the following are the benefits of eating meals very often:
Fat loss: If food is consumed every 3 hours, it will offer for a feeling of fullness. This will in turn help to shred off a lot of weight.
Weight gain: This is effective for lean people too. If at least 6000 kcal is taken per day within three meals, it can help to gain weight. It has been found that weight can be gained if the calories are spread around 6-7 meals.
Less hunger: Frequent meals also helps to decrease the size of your stomach. Hence, you will be hungry which will help to stabilize blood sugar and insulin level.
Less cheat diet: It has been observed that if you eat food with less time gap, you may have the less urge to cheat on your diet.
More Energy: Consuming small amount of meals very often throughout the day will reduce the urge to sleep thereby offering a lot of energy.
What Ayurveda expert says about small meals?
As per Kim Rossi, An Ayurveda expert says that eating small meals throughout the day has helped to shed of a lot of weight thereby turning a body to “fat burning machine”. This not only helps to reduce hunger but also boosts metabolism and also your mood. This kind of diet required eating certain amount of fat, proteins and carbohydrates at regular intervals.
She also said that when she stopped eating, her mood became inconsistent and also, she started to gain weight quickly.
Rossi said that she used to overeat in the beginning thinking that she would be hungry later.
However, she gradually got used to the amount of meals that she should take up every day, and the routine started working for her. Hence, in a statement she said, “It became my lifestyle”.
The number of times you eat per day is equivalent to the health you take up.
Eating frequent meals, balances blood sugar level?
It is often a matter of argument, that eating meals very often helps to reduce cravings thereby balancing the blood sugar level. However, consuming big meals per day leads to fluctuating blood sugar level, whereas smaller meals help to stabilize the blood sugar level.
Medical Science does not confirm it.
Studies have shown that people who eat larger as well as smaller meals have lowered level of blood sugar on an average. It is proved that less frequent meals help to reduce hunger, rather than the more frequent meals.
Skipping meals from time to time can be healthy?
Nowadays, “intermittent fasting” is the topic of discussion to remain healthy. During an intermittent fasting, you can eat as much as you want but only during a certain part of the day.
It can include starving for about 48 hours per week. So, studies show that this puts people in “starvation mode”, which helps to lose the muscle mass.
This is not so, it has often been found that intermittent fasting increases the rate of metabolism in the beginning, but it soon slows down.
Intermittent fasting has a number of benefits, such as:
- Improved sensitivity towards insulin.
- Lowered glucose and lowered insulin level.
- Clears the waste products of the body.
- Helps in building up the cell.
- Helps in autophagy.
Can more frequent meals lead to muscle gain?
It is believed that eating frequently has a lot of effect on the metabolism of your body, which in turn helps to lose weight. There is a popular myth that eating more frequently helps to grow your muscle mass.
Based on this belief, many people eat on a per day basis so as to gain muscle mass.
However, your muscle growth depends on the rate of muscle synthesis of your body. There are studies, which have shown that the number of meals have no acute effect on your muscle mass. Thereby, helping to gain mass.
The amount of meal you take per day does not has a significant effect on the muscle mass. It is really a contradictory fact to know if consuming a certain amount of protein and other required nutrients help to increase strength, thereby maximizing the muscle growth.
Final Thoughts
Based on the recent research, your meal frequency does not have any significant impact on speeding up metabolism, inducing weight loss or helping in muscle growth.
Hence, this fact was also supported by a number of people who have tried the method of frequently eating of one to eight meals per day in order to achieve fitness goal.
Therefore, even if you consume meals, you would still be confused of how many meals you should eat per day in order to achieve your fitness goals.