Right eating is not only about what food you should eat, it is also about meal frequency. If you don’t understand the importance of meal frequency weight loss can really be a mammoth task.
A week or month after following an ideal meal frequency you will wonder why weight loss was so hard before. This is especially true when you are doing everything to lose weight but had been ignoring meal frequency because you know some people who binge and live on 2-3 meals a day,
and still maintain a perfect body weight. Before you start comparing others you might want to know that there are people with genetic advantage, it sounds unfair but true.
Why Meal Frequency is Important
Before you rule out meal frequency as another exaggerated propaganda, let me quickly point out some important reasons why spread out meal is a must for quick weight loss:
· Small frequent meals increase our metabolism. We burn calories to digest, absorbed and utilized food.
· Frequent feeding prevent binges and craving and thus control calorie intake. Meal frequency also makes sense because it takes about 3 hours to digest meal and the body is ready for more calorie intake after that.
· When we follow 3-4 meals a day frequency we tend to eat more to satisfy our hunger. Here, we consume more calories than required, and excess calories are converted into body fats after utilizing what is needed. Eating smaller and frequent meals prevent excess calories intake and avoid storing body fats.
Ideal Meal Frequency and Calorie Guide
Bodybuilder and fitness savvy person across the world accepted that 5-6 meals a day is an ideal frequency for 16 waking hours with 8 hours of sleep. It takes about 3 hours to digest meal and therefore a gap of 2.5 – 3 hours is required between meals.
At an average, for maximum weight loss benefits without side-effects men need about 2400 calories and women need about 1600 calories a day. Men require 600 – 800 more calories than women.
The actual calorie requirement will vary depending on the person’s weight, height and physical activities. In the upper range, the maximum calorie requirement for men is about 5500 calories and 4000 calories for women to lose weight effectively.
Here is a sample of calorie guide for 5 meals a day frequency with a total intake of 2400 calories for men and 1600 calories for women:
Men Women
Meal 1: 530 calories Meal 1: 400 calories
Meal 2: 485 calories Meal 2: 325 calories
Meal 3: 485 calories Meal 3: 325 calories
Meal 4: 470 calories Meal 4: 300 calories
Meal 5: 430 calories Meal 5: 250 calories
Take maximum calories with your breakfast and minimum with your last meal before bedtime. You should take your last meal at least 2 hours before bedtime because your metabolism works slower during sleep. Follow your meal frequency religiously and you would be genuinely surprised to see quick weight loss result.
