There's a lot of debate around how many meals a day you should eat, particularly for weight loss. In truth, if weight loss is your goal, you should focus on how many calories you're eating overall (and the quality of those calories), rather than how often you're eating. However, the amount of meals you eat per day can have a marginal impact on your results.
How many meals a day should you eat? Probably not 6.
There is a belief in the fitness world that 6 small meals a day is ideal for managing appetite, cravings and blood sugar. However, if you're eating the right foods, you should not have to manage blood sugar - it should remain relatively stable throughout the day.
I don't think 6 meals a day is ideal for anyone, and I've included lots of links to research-based evidence in this blog post to back up my arguments. But beyond science, common sense would also prevail here. Has any generation before us eaten 6 meals a day? I bet not, and we're the first generation facing an obesity crisis.
This is one of those “fit tips” that has absolutely no substantial research behind it, and although it’s not detrimental to your health to eat this often, it may lead to fat gain and it's also really annoying. I mean, who wants to walk around with half their kitchen packed in their cooler-styled purse as they go about their day?
Is it just me or does anyone else think limp asparagus in Tupperware is a total dream killer?
Eat as many meals as you need to feel satisfied, but avoid snacking
While science has shown that increased meal frequency does not lead to greater weight loss, it has also shown that frequent snacking is positively correlated with an increased caloric intake in both obese and non-obese people. Heck, we now know that a decrease in meal frequency can lead to greater satiety levels which of course leads to fewer calories consumed, which of course leads to…. Well, you get the picture.
Related: The true cost of not eating breakfast
There are health benefits to eating fewer meals per day
Actually there is quite a bit of evidence that intermittent fasting can lead to a number of health benefits (not to mention a cleaner kitchen). It’s something I’ve been playing with myself, but truthfully I’m not sure it’s my jam (a story for another post).
Meanwhile, many people swear by it's benefits including increased insulin sensitivity (hello, you can eat carbs again) to a greater sense of alertness and productivity. You also don’t have to carry a day’s worth of food with you everywhere you go. BONUS!
Jumping off the scientific bandwagon for a moment, I have personally found that following a meal plan that called for 5 or more meals per day when I was training for my fitness competition left me constantly obsessing about food. With a schedule of 6, 250 calorie meals a day, I was never satisfied and always ready for that next feeding. I also drove my husband nuts with my food obsession (although I still do that in many other ways).
Related: What you should know before starting the 21 Day Fix or Ultimate Portion Fix Meal Plan
What's the magic number of meals for you?
I don’t believe there is a magic number of meals for all people, but between 3 and 4 meals per day seems to work for most people. More importantly however, if you're concerned about weight loss, I would be focusing on the quality of those meals and the overall caloric intake rather than the timing. You're going to get better results with tracking macros or following a portion-control meal plan than worrying about how often you're eating.
Caren is a certified yoga teacher, fitness instructor and ADHD Coach. As the founder of The Fit Habit, she shares ADHD-friendly self-care, food & fitness inspiration, along with practical ways to foster mind + body wellness.
jill conyers
My body had gotten pretty good at telling me when I need to eat and I listen. Guess what. Unless I'm training for an ultra it never tells me to eat 6 times. Usually 4.
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Limp asparagus is never a good thing. Also, it takes like five minutes to make, ten if you're roasting it so I'm thinking that's a veggie which should always be cooked fresh.
I like a good snack. When I'm hungry for a good snack. Not because I need to eat a snack. Honestly, I eat when I'm feeling it, in the hunger department and in the I need to get up and cook food department. There are lots of times, especially on the weekends where I eat two large meals a day, sometimes with a snack and sometimes not. As such, I can't imagine forcing down six meals a day.
Dean K.
Hmm, BOGUS?? Not really, eating 5 or 6 (small, big, medium) meals a day, it's not just about losing weight and providing proteins to the muscles, but surprisingly not a lot of people who promote or criticize it know why they suggest to have such eating frequency, not even general practitioners as the term got away in the wrong dimension. All those who talk about it should stop, delete their posts and start educating themselves to share true and accurate advice 🙂
I don't believe that in just 2-3 meals a day your body gets all the basic nutrients needed as bodybuilders can't get enough proteins in 2-3 meals. And then people wonder and feel sorry for themselves why they have allergies, are sick many times with low energy and get serious illness in worst scenario cancer after decades of bad nutrition plan even if you eat aka healthy food.
When your body tells you to eat, it's already too late, you've damaged it. The food you eat should be considered as fuel to provide proteins, carbs/fiber, fat, vitamins and minerals and not as a pleasure with a bottle of red wine and sexy partner at the beach.
If you have a fist of nuts and a banana for one of the 5-6 meals which for example you most likely don't have at breakfast, is not so heavy and time consuming to have it with you or buy on your way and there is not much proteins to make any benefits for the muscles but providing your body with healthy fats, fiber, sugar, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients help your body function better in a healthy way. I really don't understand why should anyone avoid having meals to avoid being sick and getting seriously ill.
But, if you could develop type 2 diabetes you should plan your meals more carefully and 5-6 meals could worsen the situation, so in this case 2-3 meals or meals every 4-5 hours make sense.