We covered if Intermittent Fasting is better for fat loss HERE, but it doesn’t look like when you control for calories and protein intake that Intermittent Fasting outperforms other meal frequency strategies for fat loss [1-3].
This means that as coaches our best option on the meal frequency side is to individualize and sync up with what will work best for the client based on their lifestyle and preferences.
One thing that may be more important than whether you choose to Intermittent Fast or consume smaller more frequent meals is keeping your meal times and meal frequency consistent.
We now have multiple studies showing that irregular meal patterns can potentially reduce insulin sensitivity, decrease the Thermic Effect of Food (the number of calories it costs your body to digest your food), and decrease the hormones that keep you full [4-8].
This means that even if you eat the same food and the same amounts of food at random times instead of at the same time each day it could potentially leave you less full and may even independently result in a more positive calorie balance.
In general, the effects here aren’t huge and one day of random eating is likely not something to worry about, and worrying about it could be worse than the actual effects of an irregular meal pattern [9]. But, if you find yourself eating random food at random times quite frequently it is very likely in your best interest to work on establishing some kind of routine [10-12] as sustained irregular eating patterns have been related to an increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases [13, 14].
If you seem to be having trouble being consistent, many times I have found that with my busy clients this can come down to always having healthy food available. Enter My Fit Foods!
When things get hectic, in general, if we don’t have healthy food options available we either don’t eat and then notoriously eat off-plan later, or we go hunting and gathering for random food which usually results in face-palming chips, candy, or some other processed food item from a vending machine, minimart, or drive-through.
This probably isn’t the path toward our goals and having My Fit Foods and other healthy food items ready to go can help eliminate this inconsistency problem. If you are looking for some free tips and tricks on how to jumpstart behavior change and sync up a habit to get more consistent click HERE or HERE.
And if you feel you may really benefit from some more individualized help and accountability check out My Fit Life and our amazing team of Nutrition Consultants who are trained to help you get Sustainable, Personalized Results.
#GIVEAFIT
REFERENCES:
1. Headland, M., et al., Weight-Loss Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intermittent Energy Restriction Trials Lasting a Minimum of 6 Months. Nutrients, 2016. 8(6).
2. Cioffi, I., et al., Intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss and cardiometabolic outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Transl Med, 2018. 16(1): p. 371.
3. Schoenfeld, B.J., A.A. Aragon, and J.W. Krieger, Effects of meal frequency on weight loss and body composition: a meta-analysis. Nutr Rev, 2015. 73(2): p. 69-82.
4. Alhussain, M.H., I.A. Macdonald, and M.A. Taylor, Irregular meal-pattern effects on energy expenditure, metabolism, and appetite regulation: a randomized controlled trial in healthy normal-weight women. Am J Clin Nutr, 2016. 104(1): p. 21-32.
5. Alhussain, M.H., I.A. Macdonald, and M.A. Taylor, Impact of isoenergetic intake of irregular meal patterns on thermogenesis, glucose metabolism, and appetite: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr, 2022. 115(1): p. 284-297.
6. Farshchi, H.R., M.A. Taylor, and I.A. Macdonald, Regular meal frequency creates more appropriate insulin sensitivity and lipid profiles compared with irregular meal frequency in healthy lean women. Eur J Clin Nutr, 2004. 58(7): p. 1071-7.
7. Farshchi, H.R., M.A. Taylor, and I.A. Macdonald, Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. Am J Clin Nutr, 2005. 81(1): p. 16-24.
8. Farshchi, H.R., M.A. Taylor, and I.A. Macdonald, Decreased thermic effect of food after an irregular compared with a regular meal pattern in healthy lean women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 2004. 28(5): p. 653-60.
9. Park, C., F. Pagnini, and E. Langer, Glucose metabolism responds to perceived sugar intake more than actual sugar intake. Sci Rep, 2020. 10(1): p. 15633.
10. Makarem, N., et al., Variability in Daily Eating Patterns and Eating Jetlag Are Associated With Worsened Cardiometabolic Risk Profiles in the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network. J Am Heart Assoc, 2021. 10(18): p. e022024.
11. Larsen, S.C., et al., Consistent sleep onset and maintenance of body weight after weight loss: An analysis of data from the NoHoW trial. PLoS Med, 2020. 17(7): p. e1003168.
12. Arlinghaus, K.R. and C.A. Johnston, The Importance of Creating Habits and Routine. Am J Lifestyle Med, 2019. 13(2): p. 142-144.
13. Pot, G.K., S. Almoosawi, and A.M. Stephen, Meal irregularity and cardiometabolic consequences: results from observational and intervention studies. Proc Nutr Soc, 2016. 75(4): p. 475-486.
14. Li, Z.H., et al., Effects of regular breakfast habits on metabolic and cardiovascular diseases: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore), 2021. 100(44): p. e27629.
About Author: Mario Mendias
