Thursday, July 5, 2007

Why it’s Okay to Eat More Than the Standard 3 Meals a Day

The concept of eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner has been deeply ingrained into our minds for years. But new studies show that eating five meals a day is a healthier and more effective way to lose or maintain a steady weight. How is it possible to lose weight when you’re constantly eating? The answer may surprise you.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the idea of eating five meals a day does not mean consuming huge meals throughout the day. It’s all about portion control. There are many misconceptions when it comes to how the human metabolism works so let’s take a crash course on how this part of the body functions.

Your Metabolism

Your metabolic rate is the rate at which your body burns calories and turns it into energy. This rate is based on the foods you eat. Maintaining a healthy metabolism is important because your body’s metabolism is always working—even when you’re asleep. Your metabolism is responsible for creating new cells and tissue, maintaining body temperature, repairing injuries and helps with the overall performance and function of all bodily activities.

The Benefits

The more food you eat, the more active your metabolism will be. By introducing more meals into your regular diet, your metabolism burns off calories more efficiently and helps with food absorption into your body. Eating three times a day often leads to hunger pangs as you wait for your next meal. This can result in overeating and weight gain. Eating five meals a day curbs hunger pangs and suppresses your appetite, which keeps you from consuming too much food in one sitting. Overall, you’ll feel more energized and focused with your metabolism constantly working. When you eat the same amount of calories spread throughout the day in multiple meals, your body burns 10% more calories than normal.

How to Eat Five Meals a Day

The best way to make eating more meals work for you is to learn portion control. You can’t lose weight if you eat five huge meals. It’s all about breaking it down into smaller portions that sustain your appetite throughout the day. A good way of measuring the portions of your meals is to use your first or size of your palm as a reference. This is more than enough food to keep you going.

· Start off with breakfast and include as much fiber as you can get.

· Be sure to eat a small meal between breakfast and lunch. This can include fruit, a baked potato, celery, etc. These types of foods keep you full and will tie your over until lunchtime.

· For lunch, have something handy like a sandwich, hearty salad or microwaveable pasta.

· Once your lunch is digested, it’s time for your next meal before dinner. Again, snack on small foods that aren’t bigger than the size of your palm. Grab a handful of crackers to keep hunger pangs down.

· Dinner should not be a huge portion. Follow the palm measurement for this meal as well. By the time you get to dinner, the small meals you’ve digested will have taken effect, so you won’t have the appetite to consume a large dinner anyway.

Once your body adjusts to the change, you’ll find it easier to avoid binge eating or stuffing yourself and you’ll have more energy than you’ll know what to do with.

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