Should I be eating every 2-3 hours (5-6 small meals) for weight loss or balanced blood sugar?
The short answer: Probably not.
I know this post might ruffle a few feathers, and I’ll be the first to admit it took some ruffling of my own to steer me out of the grazing pasture. If you’re going to hang out and read with me for the next 5 minutes, I’ll just ask that you proceed with an open mind. I’m aware this information won’t apply to every single person out there (looking at you, endurance athletes), but it will apply to many, if not most.
If you already disagree and are ready to argue to the death that eating 5-6 or more meals per day is necessary for weight loss or blood sugar levels, please ask yourself:
Has it worked? Are you at your ideal weight? If you didn’t have a significant amount of weight to lose (50+ pounds), you could expect to reach and maintain your ideal weight within 1-6 months. Has that happened?
Do you have digestive issues (i.e., gas, acid reflux, gurgling belly, constipation, etc.)? Do you ever take digestive aids to feel more comfortable during the day?
Have you made notable improvements in your blood sugar levels?
Where did you get this information?
Your body is more intelligent than you, me, and all the Instagram influencers we see out there. Perhaps it’s more intelligent than (gasp!) your doctor, who, unless she signed up for additional training, likely received a minimalist course in digestion and nutrition. The body is perfectly designed to digest one meal at a time, from the act of salivating and chewing to absorption within the small intestine, a process which can take around 6 hours, depending on the size of the meal, foods eaten, and the strength of digestion. The body is also built to alert you when it’s time to eat. We can be so distracted in our daily lives that we ignore hunger or throw caffeine in to curb it. On the other hand, we might follow some “sage” advice we found on the internet by a confident, attractive, and seemingly competent influencer who, please look into this, likely also has something to sell you (i.e., a book, a course, a supplement) and insists that you need to eat 5-6 meals a day to: lose weight, “fix” your metabolism, improve your energy, etc.
Some Truth:
When you’re eating every 2-3 hours, you are not burning fat and losing weight. Think about it: you are adding more calories for your body to process (likely more than you think, because we have a deep programming to eat 3 larger meals per day), and instead of your body tapping into fat stores for energy, it’s turning to the calories you just fed it and instead burns glycogen. The surplus is stored as fat.
When you eat when you’re not hungry and just because it’s been 2-3 hours, you are not fixing anything. Your metabolism is not broken. There are numerous studies showing there is no metabolic advantage to eating more meals per day.
When your body is constantly digesting food, you are more likely to experience digestive issues (i.e., gas, bloating, acid indigestion). There are several distinct phases of digestion, where certain activity (i.e., salivating, churning) and specific enzymes and acids are produced to handle that stage of digestion. They kick in when it’s their turn, and they subside once the food passes through the gate (er, sphincter) and onto the next phase.
Studies show that there is, at best, a modest effect many small meals can have on fasting glucose levels. But mostly, there is no real difference. In fact, some studies show eating two meals is more beneficial for the Type-2 diabetic than multiple meals throughout the day, that a higher frequency of meals can even be associated with higher rates of Type-2 diabetes and obesity.
When you’re eating throughout the day, your body is busy digesting. This means it has little interest in providing you the boost of energy or focus you’re looking for to make it through the workday. More meals might very well mean more lethargy while you digest… and more caffeine needed to give you a boost!
You cannot outsmart nature, and your body is a perfect microcosmic model of the macrocosm. The body knows. When you smell good food, your digestion begins! You salivate, your stomach flips with excitement and in anticipation of what’s coming down the hatch. You are turned on and primed for an optimal digestive experience, given you’re using your knowledge to ingest foods that are nutrient-dense and beneficial for your system. Once you start eating, CHEW. Chew your food until it’s liquid (which can be somewhere around 30 times!) and resist the urge to swallow too soon. Slow down, pay attention, and you’ll start to notice your body’s signals: when to eat, when to slow down, when to stop. You’ll notice what foods exacerbate any conditions you may have. For example, if you tend towards acid indigestion, you’ll want to take an honest look at meat, red wine, spicy foods, and again, eating too much, too quickly or before your food is properly chewed. Learning some Ayurvedic basics can help you understand your constitution and which foods might balance or aggravate your system.
Leave the Grazing to the Goats
And now I present to you this simple suggestion: Leave the grazing to the goats and eat 3 solid, nutrient-dense meals (hint: lots of plants!) around the same time every day so that you’re on a regular schedule. Eat enough to keep you satisfied until the next meal without gorging or overdoing it. Train yourself to eat only when your body’s signaling it’s hungry. If you feel true hunger between meals, an easily-digested serving of fruit might be enough get you through. You’ll then want to try eating a more robust meal the following day. Experiment to find what it’s going to take to fill you up and sustain you between meals. Note: sometimes thirst feels like hunger, so try drinking more water. Sometimes stress or sadness feels like hunger. Learn to distinguish physical hunger from emotional hunger.
Your body is a wonderland (cue John Mayer) and a wonderful lab to do your own research. If you’ve been diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes or Metabolic Disorder, consider wearing a glucose monitor to see how your meals affect your blood sugar. If you’re trying to lose weight, consider planning 3 intelligent meals per day and giving yourself 3-4 weeks of dedicated trial to see if that’s made any impact.
And, as always, if you have questions, a medical condition, or intuitively feel this isn’t right for you, discuss with your physician before making any big changes to your diet.
If you try this, please report back! If you need assistance on planning those meals, I’m here for the conversation!
Recap:
Eat 3 solid, nutrient-dense meals per day;
Put yourself on a schedule, so you’re eating around the same time every day;
Eat enough at each meal so that you’re satiated and get hungry just before the next meal;
Train yourself to eat only when your body signals it’s hungry;
If you feel true hunger between meals, eat fresh fruit;
Learn to distinguish physical hunger from emotional hunger.
Grazing is for the goats!
Visit Reggie (pictured here) at Rancho Compasión if you’re in the SF Bay Area or meet Cookie and Bertha for a little Howdy! at Austin Farm Sanctuary!