"Eating smaller meals more frequently is better for weight loss than fewer large ones."
Raise your hand if you've heard of this one before??
That you should eat many small meals when trying to lose weight to "boost the metabolic fire", accelerate fat loss, and better control your appetite.
In theory here is the skimmy on that: When you eat, your metabolism speeds up as your body processes the food (it's a good thing, especially eating complex carbohydrates).
That is why, if you eat every few hours, your metabolism will remain in a constantly elevated state, right? Nibbling on food throughout the day should help with appetite control, right?
This may seem that it is actually right, BUT it doesn't pan out in scientific research.
There is NO meaningful difference between nibbling because small meals caused small, short metabolic increases, while large meals cause larger, longer increases.
Therefore, when viewed in terms of 24-hour energy expenditure, eating patterns had no significant effect.
In a study by the University of Missouri found that after 12 weeks of "dieting to lose weight", increasing protein intake improved appetite control, but meal frequency (three versus six meals per day) had no effect.
What you should be focusing on is making sure that your meals are balanced! That each meal contains:
Protein
Carbohydrates (Complex Carbs)
Healthy Fats
Sounds a lot like Macronutrients to me. ;)
Higher protein intake can lead to greater feelings of fullness, but surprisingly, six meals resulted in generally lower levels of satiety than three.
Do what's right for YOU. The best dietary protocol is the one that you can stick to, and that's very true in the case of meal frequency as well.
Most individuals in FFT who we work with enjoy eating three larger meals a day with two snack options (I'm the same way), but some do enjoy eating more per day as well.
In FFT, we break down a system with Macros that helps ALL our clients understand how to fuel their bodies correctly. It's a system that works into what they go going on in their LIFE.
Don't fall victim to Diet Culture ideas that aren't necessarily true. Remember your body is unique and your journey into discovering who you are is as well.
Don't let this absolute worst fat loss myth and mistake derail you into thinking you aren't creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself because you aren't eating all day long.
Creating healthy habits with food and viewing food as fuel is the ultimate best way to build a healthy relationship with it. Also by taking emotional ties away from the foods that don't help you get to where you want to go in your journey, it changes how you view foods as well.