Will small, frequent meals make a difference when you get on the scale?
The notion that eating six small meals a day will help you lose weight has been so widely supported that it is considered a foolproof diet. However, it is not a good idea for most men.
Men? S Health nutrition adviser Mike Roussell says, “Smaller meals are less likely to trigger a satiety response, instead keeping you hungrier throughout the day.
According to Roussell, we are led to believe that consistent hunger is a sign that your metabolism has been fueled in some way by these smaller, more frequent meals. “Actually, his hunger is a sign that the food was not enough,” he says. “This can make you more likely to overeat over the course of your six or more meals, which puts you in a calorie surplus. It’s better to eat fewer, more satisfying meals as a method of calorie control.”
When it comes to your metabolism, eating more meals increases the amount of calories you burn, simply because your body burns calories anytime you digest food. However, that increase will not exceed the extra food consumed, Roussell says.
Instead, change your focus, not worrying about the size and frequency of the food, but what you put on the plate. Roussell notes that the body responds better to ups and downs when it comes to eating food, particularly protein. The best way to accomplish this is by trying to ingest at least 30g of protein per meal and spacing out your food for longer periods of time.