When it comes to watching our weight and eating we are now faced with this question: Should we eat three meals a day as our moms taught us, or six small meals a day according to new research? What’s the healthiest answer?
According to medicinenet.com, while many nutrition experts agree that when it comes to weight loss irregular eating patterns and skipped meals can mean trouble for most of us, there isn’t anything close to a consensus on whether we are metabolically better off eating three regular meals a day or spreading that out into five or six smaller meals.
According to the American Dietetic Association, the trick is eating when you are truly hungry but not so ravenous that you are at risk of overeating or eating out of control.
True hunger is when your stomach feels definitely empty; but once you feel this, don’t go more than an hour without eating or you will move from truly hungry to ragingly ravenous. According to the ADA, eating every time you feel “slightly” hungry can result in overeating. Their remedy for this is to ask yourself these questions before a meal if you aren’t sure:
• Am I hungry? If unsure, wait 20 minutes and ask yourself again.
• When was the last time I ate? If it’s less than three hours, it may not be real hunger. Drink a glass of water instead.
• Could a small snack tide me over until the next meal? Have ready-to-eat fruits or vegetables on hand for this.
However, no matter whether you end up eating three or six meals a day, breakfast is still the first of those meals. Eating breakfast is a well-documented way to help with weight management.
