How many meals should you eat a day to lose weight?
This is a common question when it comes to weight loss: how many times should I eat per day to lose fat? Six small meals, two large meals, 1 large and two small? There are unlimited combinations of meal sizes that can result in weight loss, but here are some options.
Option 1: One to two meals per day
Eating one to two times per day has been popularized for weight loss in a trend known as intermittent fasting. The most common form of intermittent fasting is the 16:8 fast, which involves fasting for 16 hours typically during the night time until around midday and then eating one to two times until the evening. Essentially you’re cutting out breakfast. This suppresses the appetite and decreases stomach capacity which causes feelings of satiety to occur sooner into eating, resulting in a smaller food intake. So for individuals that are trying to lose weight, fasting can be a great tool.
A study published in 2014 looked at this exact question with participants eating the exact same caloric intake either spread across six small meals or two large ones. The researchers found that consuming two large meals was preferential for controlling body weight, managing blood sugar and improving fasting plasma glucose and C-peptide levels.
Option 2: Three meals per day
Three meals per day is what we were told to do in school, and for logical reason. Spacing out your meals evenly throughout the day for breakfast, lunch and dinner can be effective for people trying to lose weight by regulating their appetite to avoid them getting hungry between meals, resulting in them overeating. This may not work for everyone, particularly if you’re not hungry in the morning, so adding in an unnecessary meal increases your total caloric intake.
Option 3: Five to six meals per day
Some people believe eating a small amount of food frequently results in an increased metabolic rate. While this isn’t really the case, eating small meals can be beneficial for individuals who have a tendency to binge eat during meal times. The University of Colorado conducted a study to test the assumption that eating smaller meals regularly helped to regulate the appetite and increase the metabolic rate. However they found no metabolic elevation in the six small meals group, but did notice participants were hungrier and had decreased satiety between meals.
When it comes to how many times you should eat per day, the jury is still out, it largely depends on your personal preference. Ultimately for fat loss, what is more important is the total amount of food consumed. So if you find yourself losing weight doing intermittent fasting, keep doing it. If you find yourself losing weight on six small meals a day, keep doing it.
if you want to learn more about health coaching for weight loss, please contact me to arrange a free 30 minute consultation to discuss your goals.