The Benefits of Having
5 or 6 Small Meals a Day

Here's why you should eat small meals regularly...

It is a common belief that having 5 or 6 small meals a day will make people gain weight! However, the fact is, having small, regular meals actually helps people lose weight! In this article we will explain why having small meals regularly is one of the best strategies you can employ if you're serious about losing weight and keeping it off long term.

Scientific trials have shown that by eating 5 or 6 meals a day, your metabolism will remain elevated. This in turn will help you burn more calories and therefore, more fat during the day.

If you eat small meals every few hours during the day-time it means that your body will receive a continuous supply of amino acids, which it can then use to maintain and build body tissue. The small, regular meals also ensure a constant supply of energy to your body, which means it can function at optimum levels.

Another major benefit of having 5 or 6 meals a day is that feelings of hunger will also be dramatically reduced. If people want to know how to stop sugar cravings fast, I usually tell them to follow this principle before doing anything else! It works amazingly well.

Likewise, the tendency to over-eat at each meal is diminished. People who only eat three or fewer meals a day have a greater tendency to over-eat because they feel hungry. If people skip meals this is particularly noticeable during the evening - the worst time of the day to be consuming a large amount of food. Conversely, people who tend to 'graze', that is eat small meals throughout the day, feel full.

The majority of people eat 3 meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The problem with this is the fact that there is a large gap between each meal. This gap between meals (which may be up to 5 or 6 hours) means that blood sugar levels are likely to fall, resulting in the body invoking the 'Anti-Starvation Response'. I'll explain this later.

Before we continue, I will give you my definition of what a meal is. A meal is a combination of foods that provides all 3 macronutrients to your body; carbohydrate, protein and fat. A meal may be a piece of fruit with a small handful of nuts; it could be a protein shake or it may even be a time of tuna on 2 rice cakes. If you have a piece of fruit on its own it is not considered a meal because it only provides you with carbohydrate; it doesn't contain any protein or fat.

When people hear the word, 'meal', they automatically think of a standard 'meat and 3 veg' meal. This may be one of the reasons people think that they can't have 5 or 6 small meals a day, since they assume that they have to sit down at a table with knife and fork in hand!

Nevertheless, once you understand what constitutes a meal, it is easy to see how you can easily fit 5 or 6 small meals a day into your busy lifestyle. NOTE: I tend to use the terms 'meal' or 'snack' interchangeably.

Here is a summary of the advantages
of consuming 5 or 6 meals a day:

Speeds up your metabolism
If you eat small meals regularly throughout the day your body is constantly being supplied with energy, which means all of your body cells can function at optimum levels. Also, you body has to continually digest and absorb the nutrients from food, which means that your body has to expend more calories.

This is why breakfast is such an important meal - it gives your metabolism a 'kick-start'. If you miss eating breakfast, then your metabolism will remain low and your body's ability to burn fat will also stay low until your first meal.

Consuming small, frequent meals also means that blood sugar levels remain relatively constant throughout the day. This means that your body's metabolism doesn't have to slow down in order to accommodate for the drop in blood sugar.

Helps maintain a positive nitrogen balance
Nitrogen balance is a poorly understood metabolic process. It is the difference between how much nitrogen is lost (through urine and sweat) and how much nitrogen (from amino acids) is gained from food. It determines whether the body is breaking down body tissue due to a negative nitrogen balance or building up body tissue, resulting from a positive nitrogen balance.

By keeping your body in a positive nitrogen balance as often as possible, you will be able to keep your metabolism elevated because all your body cells will be functioning optimally and because you will be maintaining your muscle mass. This means that burning off body fat will be much easier.

Eating only three meals (or less) a day means that at some times during the day your body will be in a negative nitrogen balance because of the gap between meals. Even if you eat protein at each of these meals a negative nitrogen balance is still likely to occur. If you have 5 or 6 small meals a day, this may be avoided.

Reduces feelings of hunger
Many people want to know how they can reduce feelings of hunger and stop sugar cravings. The best way to do this is by having a constant supply of glucose to the brain. This can be achieved if you have the 5 or 6 small meals a day and ensure that the glucose flows into the blood stream slowly as well.

Give you a sustained energy level
5 or 6 small meals a day provides your body with a constant supply of glucose, which can help to sustain your energy levels. This is different to having three meals a day, whereas your blood sugar levels will tend to fluctuate much more throughout the day, affecting your energy.

Reduces likelihood of food being stored as fat
Since having 5 or 6 small meals a day keeps your blood sugar levels fairly stable, insulin levels remain low. Less insulin release from the pancreas means there is less chance that the food being consumed in a meal will be stored as body fat.

Increase the mobilisation of fat from your fat stores
Your body has a greater tendency to mobilise fat from your existing fat stores if you consume small meals. This is primarily due to the fact that insulin levels are low. Low levels of insulin (a fat-storing hormone) in the blood means that more fat can be mobilised from the body's fat stores.

If you have large, less frequent meals then greater amounts of insulin will be secreted from the pancreas resulting in a greater likelihood that the food consumed will be stored as fat.

In summary, if you want to get the best possible results from your weight-loss efforts then become a grazer, eat small meals often and then watch the fat burn off your body! Consuming 5 or 6 small meals a day has been a standard recommendation in the fitness industry for years; use it, and prepare to be amazed at the results you can achieve!

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