Can eating multiple small meals throughout the day — a strategy known as grazing — help control weight, as some people claim? The truth about eating more often to weigh less.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Grazing isn’t just for cows. It’s also a common weight loss strategy. The idea is to eat small meals, so called mini-meals, every few hours instead of three standard, larger meals. Does it work? The answer ahead, on this episode of the Healthy Skeptic.
One of the rationales for frequent eating is that it revs up metabolism. But there’s little evidence for this.
As for its impact on weight…while some research suggests a possible benefit, higher-quality studies show that grazing is no more effective than eating three meals a day.
There’s more proof for another claim – that eating mini-meals throughout the day can help ward off hunger. The key is which foods you choose.
Whole foods like fruits and veggies are more likely to keep you feeling full than processed snacks like chips and candy bars, which can even make you hungrier.
How much you consume is also important. If you have trouble limiting portions, then frequent eating probably isn’t a good idea.
But if you can keep meals small and stick with wholesome, filling foods, then it might be a winning strategy.
In the end, what’s right for you depends on your preferences and daily schedule. If eating 6 meals a day … or 3 … or 1… works best for you, that’s fine. What matters most is what you eat and how much… a truth that, unfortunately, neither grazing nor any other alleged weight loss solution can help us escape.
For more on weight loss, check out my book, Supersized Lies, which reveals why standard advice often fails and what actually works to keep weight off.
Helping you be a Healthy Skeptic, I’m Robert Davis