The number of meals you eat or should eat during the day really depends on the type of lifestyle you lead and the lifestyle you want to achieve.
Most people eat 3 meals a day. However, there is no right or wrong number as everyone is different and have different demands placed on their body.
What we do know is the body and mind need a constant supply of energy and vital nutrients throughout the day. Eating 3 balanced, healthy meals each day has been shown to effectively achieve this.
Research has shown that adults who eat less than 3 meals are far more likely to snack on unhealthy, high-fat, calorific foods during the day.
The Best Times to Eat
There’s a saying that nutrition experts and doctors alike adhere too:
“Eat like a King in the Morning, a Prince in the afternoon and a pauper in the evening”
The reason this saying is so agreed upon is because if you eat the greatest proportion of your meals earlier in the day, your body has longer to transfer the bulk of this daily food intake into fuel, or store it as needed. You then use up this energy and the nutrients during the day as you need them.
Eating heavily at night can only cause your body to store the food (a large proportion as fat) as you’ll not be expending any energy to use it up.
Snacking
Snacking is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you are actively trying to increase muscle mass or training for greater endurance. In these situations your body requires more fuel and protein in order to grow or cope with the extra demands placed upon it.
But even if you aren’t training for a particular event, snacking is part of our lives and something that we all enjoy. The key to snacking is to ensure you choose healthy snacks.
Ditch the high saturated fat and high calorie foods like potato chips, candy and sweet drinks. The best snacks are fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, raw vegetables like carrot sticks, rice cakes and low fat yoghurt.
Are You Really Hungry?
Ore often than not, the desire for snacking is because of habit, boredom or because you are thirsty. Real hunger will cause you to experience discomfort in your stomach and/or intestinal rumblings.
If you work a 9 to 5 job then you quite often take breaks at the same time each day, and it is during these breaks when you’ll probably indulge in your favorite snack.
If you are not hungry then don’t eat anything. Or try drinking a large glass of water first. You might just find you weren’t hungry after-all.
If you do feel a little peckish, then ensure your snacks are healthy ones. That way you can satisfy your hunger and help to achieve your daily recommended intake of fruit and vegetables.
Eating to Lose Body Fat or to Gain Muscle
It doesn’t matter if you want to lose weight or body fat, or gain muscle. The principles of how many meals and snacks you should eat and are still the same. The only difference comes with what sort of food you should be eating for desired outcome.