4-6 meals a day...

Earlier this month, I attended a great weekend course, all on fitness, health, nutrition and balance. I was very impressed by the course and the instructor, JK Taylor.

Many things stand out to me about the two days of information, I'm sure I'll write about them here over time. The one I'd like to look at here: Eating less...more often.

There is a lot of information out there. (Before trying out anything I write about, always meet with a medical pro to get her/his advice!) I'm finding that the more I learn, the more I have to learn.

For example, I know I knew it was important to eat breakfast. I mean, think about it, no matter how much (or little) sleep you've gotten, your body was handling a lot through that time. The re-balancing of chemicals, breaking down nutrients, remastering the "hard drive" and more...when you wake up, you need fuel.

Now, I'm realizing that breaking that fast is but one of the many meals I have to have each day. I'm currently on a plan to eat 4-5 meals a day. I'm going to experiment with incresing it to 5-6 mini-meals a day.

As a traveling guy, I know this will provide challenges. As a test, the Sunday after the health seminar I attended, the universe gave me a whopper...

I left San Diego (for Long Beach) at 2:30pm. I was in my car for 4 more hours (yes, traffic was that bad!) before I rolled in to LB, to stop by at a favorite restaurant here. By the time I got my food to go, got back in the car, and made my way to the condo, it was close to 7:30pm. And, I hadn't eaten anything since 11am (half a sandwich, scone, steamed milk). Needless to say, I was HUNGRY.

So, I know what I have to do, now...it's a matter of doing what I know!

Comments

[Susan]

Umm...i have to disagree on those who believe that eating 4-6 times a day is detrimental. I lost 50 lbs when I decided to follow the rule of eating more small meals a day while adding a little excercise every other day. It tooks me 1 1/2 years, which to some people is fast and others very slow, but I have stabalized it and am extremely happy.
By eating throughout the day, you keep your metabolism going so that it is constantly burning fat. You are getting the energy you need, also. To those who gain weight by doing this - you are probably eating the same amount you ate with your meals for 3 times a day. That is the problem people seem to have - not understanding what SMALL meals mean (I eat about 300-400 cals for 3 of my small meals, and 200-300 for 1-2 others). I have spoken to many others where this method worked, so don't knock it until you try it CORRECTLY.

Also, because you eat SMALL meals, you do get hungry about every 3 hours, as you should, and those hunger pains are there. Thats another indication you are eating too much per small meal if you are NEVER hungry.

[RT]

I don't agree with the 5-6 meals a day. I have tried doing this and always packed on the pounds. If you constantly stuff your face all day long; yes even "small" snacks throughout the day, you never train your body to use it's reserves (i e fat). If I eat once a day,(dinner), I can feel hunger pains during the day and I know my body is burning fat. I can actually feel my body getting harder when I am hungry because it is burning its fat reserves. If I eat 5-6 times a day....I NEVER feel hungry and in fact I get fatter because my body is always being fed and is not using its reserves. Ever hear of "eat only when you are hungry?". How can you be hungry when when you are eating 6X/day?
What's nice about eating once a day is that you really don't have to worry about eating too much in one sitting....most likely you will stay in your daily caloric intake range if only eating one meal. Sorry....I stay at a lean 136 pounds by eating once a day.

[Matt Metzgar]

Hello,

Just a note that the idea of eating 5-6 meals per day isn't backed up by much science. In fact, if you look into it, you'll see that brief fasts (intermittent fasting) shows all kinds of benefits.

Ageing Res Rev. 2006 Aug;5(3):332-53. Epub 2006 Aug 8. Links
Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting: two potential diets for successful brain aging.Martin B, Mattson MP, Maudsley S.
Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, 5600 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. martinbro@grc.nia.nih.gov

The vulnerability of the nervous system to advancing age is all too often manifest in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. In this review article we describe evidence suggesting that two dietary interventions, caloric restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF), can prolong the health-span of the nervous system by impinging upon fundamental metabolic and cellular signaling pathways that regulate life-span. CR and IF affect energy and oxygen radical metabolism, and cellular stress response systems, in ways that protect neurons against genetic and environmental factors to which they would otherwise succumb during aging. There are multiple interactive pathways and molecular mechanisms by which CR and IF benefit neurons including those involving insulin-like signaling, FoxO transcription factors, sirtuins and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. These pathways stimulate the production of protein chaperones, neurotrophic factors and antioxidant enzymes, all of which help cells cope with stress and resist disease. A better understanding of the impact of CR and IF on the aging nervous system will likely lead to novel approaches for preventing and treating neurodegenerative disorders.