How Many Times a Day You Should Eat: What You Should Know

When it comes to meals andsnacks, how many times should you eat a day? The experts seem split on the idea. Some tout a series of snack-sized portions throughout the day instead of full meals, and others explain that three full meals are the right amount. There seems to be a bit of a recent consensus that makes both groups happy.

A mixture of full meals and snacks now seems to be the way to go, although it depends on a number of different factors. As it turns out, the emphasis needs to be placed on your overall caloric intake, not the number of meals.

The Role of Your Metabolic Rate

Many of the experts who claimed that it was better to eat many small meals throughout the day in lieu of the standardthree large meals were trying to help people boost their metabolism.

The theory was that every time you eat, your metabolism rises in a process called the thermic effect. This helps you burn off the calories you just ingested. If you do this often enough (by eating several meals continuously as the day progresses), your metabolism will be permanently boosted. However, this isn't quite true.

Now, it's been proven that while eating does boost your metabolism temporarily, helping you digest your food, this faster metabolism isn't permanent. It only occurs for a short period of time. Once your food is digested, you lose those benefits of a faster metabolism.

What it comes down to is the number of calories you've eaten. Whether you eat many small meals that add up to 1,200 calories or three larger meals that add up to that same number, the thermic effect is the same.

What About Your Blood Sugar Levels?

Even people without diabetes can be prone to moments oflow blood sugar throughout the day. Eating meals infrequently or skipping certain meals can lead to the symptoms of a blood sugar crash, including shakiness, a lack of focus, chills, low energy levels, and most importantly, that irritable feeling we all know as being "hangry." How can you avoid these blood sugar crashes?

Ideally, you should be eating something every three to five hours, whether an entire meal or a snack, to keep your blood sugar levels even. If you wait too long, you not only run the risk of ending up with a blood sugar crash, but you could also overeat in order to make up for the shakiness and hangry feelings.

Overeating will only harm your diet, leading to weight gain and a vicious cycle where your vascular system will keep your glucose levels high, allowing them to peak even higher with every meal you eat. Over time, this can lead to insulin resistance and a higher risk of diabetes.

Waiting Between Three to Five Hours to Eat

Why should you wait for a period of time betweenthree and five hours before eating? It's important to give your digestive system a chance to fully digest everything you've just eaten.

By adhering to this period of time, your stomach can completely empty in between meals. This will level out your blood sugar, preventing that upcoming crash, and keep your vascular system working properly, preventing those blood sugar spikes upon eating a meal.

What About Intermittent Fasting?

Although you need to be careful about blood sugar crashes and spikes, there are plenty of health benefits to intermittent fasting. If you're prone to those blood sugar crashes, this type of diet plan may not be for you (it's always best to check with a doctor). However, if you are perfectly healthy, intermittent fasting can help you lose weight, boost your metabolism, and even gain better control over your blood sugar levels.

Intermittent fasting is a practice that involves fasting for a certain period of time throughout the day or week. There are many different options or plans to follow, including those that have you fasting for 16 hours straight and then spending the other eight hours of the day eating, and others that require you to eat every other day, fasting on the days in between.

Does intermittent fasting play a role in how many meals you should be eating each day? Yes and no.

While you are indeed not eating for hours at a time, you still have an eight-hour period in which you need to consume enough calories to function. During those eating periods, you should still stick to your overall calorie goal and not eat too many meals too close together.

Is Breakfast Really the Most Important Meal of the Day?

For years the saying "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" has been repeated by everyone from parents lecturing their children to expert nutritionists. In fact, people whoskip breakfast are also more likely to be obese. Although this could have something to do with their overall eating habits, it might have to do with the fact that the body better regulates glucose in the morning.

Since the body has a better handle on blood sugar levels every morning, eating breakfast sets up your vascular system for an overall good day. If you choose to eat a healthy breakfast, you'll have better resting blood sugar rates and are less likely to deal with a crash that leaves you hangry.

Although breakfast might be one meal that you feel the need to skip, it's important that you eat something in the morning.

How Many Meals Should You Be Eating Every Day?

When it comes down to deciding how manymeals you need to eat every day, it's important to weigh the various factors. You don't want to eat those meals too close together, lest you damage your vascular system. You might also prefer eating several smaller snacks over several large meals or enjoy mixing things up by eating a snack or two throughout the day in between those standard meals.

Also, keep in mind that intermittent fasting plans might be good for you and help balance your blood sugar and keep your metabolism high.

So, which meal plan should you choose and stick with? With so many options, it's best to focus on calorie count instead of meal counts. Choose how many calories you want to eat every day and track them using an app or paper planner. Plan out your meals ahead of time. As long as they are spaced out properly and stay within your overall calorie goal, you can make up your own overall plan, whether that involves eating three square meals every day or a number of smaller snacking opportunities.

The good news is that there really is no right answer. Everyone is different, so it’s important to find what works for you!

Sources:

Optimal Meal Frequency – How Many Meals Should You Eat Per Day? | Healthline

Waiting Too Long Between Meals Could Be Affecting Your Health – Here's How Often You Should Actually Be Eating | Business Insider

Experts Debate How Often We Should Eat for Weight Loss | Nourish by WebMD