Getting In Shape? Deciding When and How Much To Eat Isn't Always Easy

   By SheSpeaksTeam  Jun 12, 2017

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Planning an exercise and health regime can prove tricky when deciding when and how much to eat. In the past, many health experts have advised different things like eating many mini meals all day long to improve metabolism or chastising those who skip breakfast for the fear that you will overeat or make bad choices come lunch time. But some new research suggests the amount and portions of meals we eat each day may depend more on an individual basis.

CNN writes about the nutritional conundrum of whether we should stick to 3 big meals a day or eat 6 smaller portioned meals spread throughout the day. The answer is not as simple as many have thought. Martha McKittrick, a registered dietician and weight-loss counselor, explains how our nutritional knowledge has evolved in recent years. She says, “Years ago, we all believed that you needed to eat multiple times a day to keep your metabolism stoked. ... You had to keep feeding the fire and keep the furnace burning. But that theory goes back and forth, and newer research is showing that it really doesn't slow metabolism if you're not eating multiple times a day.”

In terms of burning calories and losing pounds, some new studies suggest we may not even need our 3 square meals a day. And the old advice that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should never be skipped may need to be looked at with skepticism from those who want to drop pounds. One study found that we consume about 400 fewer calories per day if we go without breakfast. The author of the study explains, “People think if you skip breakfast, you will overeat later ... and that doesn't happen. Your intake goes up, but not nearly as much as the amount that you skipped.”

What do you think of the new research that suggests it’s not always beneficial to eat mini-meals when trying to lose weight?

Do you always make sure to eat breakfast? What do you think of the new research that suggests we consume fewer calories per day when we skip breakfast?