For years, both consumers and researchers have tried to decide whether it’s better to eat three meals a day or graze throughout the day, consuming small amounts of food. Do the “mini-meals” of grazing speed up metabolism and make weight control easier, or does spreading out food intake make people eat more and gain weight? What effect does grazing have on blood sugar and cholesterol?
A new study tried to answer these questions. In it, 10 obese but otherwise healthy women ate their usual amount of food in three regular meals per day for two weeks. For another two weeks, the women varied the number of times a day they ate from three to nine times, but they still tried to eat the same total amount of food.
Food diaries of the women in this study showed that they ate fewer total calories on the days with three regular meals. Although the women’s weight was unaffected by the irregular eating patterns, weight gain wouldn’t be expected after only two weeks of eating 80 calories a day more by grazing. However, the impact of eating frequency on calorie intake remains unclear. When a group of lean women went through the same tests of three regular meals versus irregular eating in a separate study, there was no difference in calorie intake.
Grazing is often said to lead to a higher calorie-burning rate. In this study, however, the women’s baseline metabolic rate, which is how fast the body burns calories, was unaffected by differences in meal timing. Contrary to popular thought, other studies also show that eating frequency has no effect on a person’s overall metabolic rate.
Another aspect of metabolism, however, did change. The rate of calorie-burning immediately after eating, which naturally rises as the body processes food, rose considerably higher after two weeks of eating just three meals a day. Both the obese and lean women experienced this increase in metabolism. In other studies, however, the effect of meal frequency on the metabolic rate after meals varied.
People might think that grazing would improve blood cholesterol or blood sugar control because the body processes smaller amounts of food at a time. But results are mixed. In this recent study, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol was actually higher after two weeks of irregular eating. However, some past studies have shown lower LDL levels with grazing.
The effect of meal frequency on blood sugar also varies in studies. In the recent study of obese and lean women, pre-breakfast insulin levels were unaffected by either meal pattern, but insulin levels rose less after eating with three meals a day. The irregular eating pattern led to increased insulin levels and apparently less effective insulin action. In another study, when people ate identical foods in either three meals or nine snacks, the snacking pattern was linked to higher fasting blood sugar levels but lower insulin levels, which is a mixed bag of results. In general, however, neither meal nor grazing patterns seem to have a health advantage when compared to each other.
Perhaps the biggest impact of a person’s eating style depends on what is eaten. For some people, spreading out food intake means smaller portions of a variety of healthy foods. Other people, however, may select less balanced food choices when grazing. Some studies show that regular meals, on the other hand, result in a greater consumption of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, along with a higher intake of protein, calcium, fiber and a variety of vitamins. If grazing for you means more high-calorie food, or fewer vegetables and whole grains, then you need to change your food choices for a healthier grazing habit. If you want to control your weight, you need to decide whether grazing makes you more likely to overeat.
Reprinted with permission from the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Personally I tend to eat 3 meals a day - it isn't intentionally its just the way my days work out. I have a big breakfast, medium lunch and medium to small dinner.
I occasionally have a snack through the day - but its never bigger than a piece of fruit or something like shaved ham.
I have found this works well for me and its much more natural for me to maintain than trying to get in several little meals frequently.
YEAH, that is really interesting! For me, I am a fan of actual meals, yummy! I don't know what all the fuss is over this 5 little meals a day, but hey to each thier own.
Now, just find me one that says we don't have to eat breakfast, LOL, hahahaha, just kidding!
I am actually a grazer I eat ever two hours I start at 8am and go untill 8pm, I only comuse about a 900-1000 cals, but I am not hungry! That was really my problem with other diets, I used to strave to death between meals. Now I know I need to not feel hungry, otherwise my lack of will power kicks in, plus I think I have a low blood sugar alot of the time, and that is why I snack.
What I ate yesterday:
2 shredded wheat rounds with a 1/2 of skim milk
4 dried apricots
a small roll with mustard, cumcuber and one slice of soy turkey
1/2 cup of tomanto and cumcumber salad with a teapoon of dressing
1 triangle of tofu Toasted with a teaspoon of dressing
1 weight watchers chocolate muffin
1/4 cup of cous cous, 1 cup of cailflower, and small ( about a pointer finger lenght) of flounder
it seems like a lot, but really isn't, for me its a good way to trick myself into dieting !
I was under the impression that eating 6 meals a day was a better option because it kept your metabolism going all day long.
So, I switched from eating 3 meals a day to eating 3 much smaller meals with healthy snacks 3 times a day.
However, I noticed I was actually consuming more calories when I went with that plan. And, here I was eating my snack when I wasn't even hungry for it. So, I slowly started phasing out the snacking when I just didn't feel like eating it. Shortly thereafter I accidentally ran across this article on BCBS. (I do the blue points option at BCBS. In just 43 more weeks I'll have a free IPod or $200 gift card!)
Last edited by Amberelise; 12-21-2007 at 03:16 PM.
I don't know... I think I eat better when I eat at least 1 snack in the afternoon. If I don't, I tend to be ravenous by the time dinner is ready, and I end up eating WAY too much, WAY to fast, and usually of stuff I oughtn't be eating anyway.
I think you just do what works for you...... science is always back and forth with stuff like this.... saying things are healthy, then things cause cancer, then these other things are ok but only in small quantities once a week.
Besides, if you consume more calories when you eat a snack, what's the big deal if it fit into your plan? I agree though, if you're not hungry for it/don't want it, you shouldn't eat it.... I don't agree with eating a snack on principle, just out of hunger/need for it.
I'm another person that does way better on regular snacks throughout the day. I got to 215 lbs by skipping breakfast and lunch and inhaling food after I got home from work.
I eat far fewer calories when I eat every 2.5 - 3 hours. Even doing that, I have trouble eating enough calories each day and find myself adding in an evening snack to get up to 1200 calories every day.
This is what works for me - but I truly believe that there is no "right way" or "best way" - each of us is different and should do what works best for our own body and lifestyle.
Yeah.. after taking my science of statistics class last year I'm extremely skeptical about any study, but this is very intersting. Those weight loss and health magazines always say you should graze.. I personally would love to do just 3 meals a day. I think of all the calories I waste on boring snacks.. like crackers.. and cereal.. 3 meals a day I could have like 300 calorie breakfast 300 calorie lunch and than a huge 700 calorie dinner! Instead of my whimpy 250 calorie dinner.
Grazing vs. 3 meals a day
