One of the many diet tips I overhear people giving out in the fitness and diet community is to eat five or six smaller meals per day. The reasoning? It speeds up your metabolism dude! Sounds about right. blog post over. Cheers.
Wait a minute. Not so fast. Lets look at some facts and use some rational thinking. Thermogenesis. What a weird word - sounds like it could be apart of star-trek or some other nerd sci-fi; what does it mean? Thermogenesis is the act of our bodies (or any mammals body) expelling heat - in our case we are talking about the amount of heat required for digestion. Supporters of the small frequent meal paradigm believe that eating many small meals spaced evenly throughout the day is far superior compared to eating a few meals a day. However if we look at some science and our new sci-fi friend thermogenesis we start to see that metabolism may not be as increased as once thought. If I divide my morning omelette into six equal parts, it will take the same amount of heat to break down the same amount of organic material in my big omelette versus my six mini pre-bird omelettes. There is no change in fuel, there is no increase in. thermogenesis.
Personally, eating every two to three hours left me raiding mom's fridge back in the day - 30 seconds post snack I would be heading to the fridge, pantry or half way through mom's intended, dinner party apple crisp. She was convinced I had tape worms stealing all my precious nutrients. Recent studies prove that snacking decreases satiety (fullness) compared to bigger balanced meals.
What is a snack anyway? 95 percent of the snacks people eat are usually processed, sugary, sweetened junk food. The snack industry didn't exist 20 years ago. Neither did flat screens you say - smarty pants. In the end, I rarely see top level athletes or fit human beings snacking on a 100 calorie bag of "crisps" or "smart crackers". All of these snacking companies are cashing in on the notion that everyone must eat every two to three hours or your metabolism will crash, blood sugars will drop to dangerous levels...I'm calling their bluff and raising the bet. Some days your body does need a snack; snacking is not bad but the way people snack is.
Most people snack on carbohydrates alone; this could lead to some undesirable effects. These carb snacks lead to an increase in insulin which promotes protein synthesis. Great I am going to build some muscles! Not so fast Arnold. Your body then looks for amino acids but your body doesn't have any because you only ate carbs so it goes after the amino acids being stored in your muscles. Include some protein and fat in your snacks in order to decrease muscle wasting (peanut butter or greek yogurt and celery, apples and cheese, nuts and fruit, fruit and jerky).
If you can take one thing away from my posts it is this: N=1. N is the number clinical and scientific studies use for population size. We sometimes get overboard when following diets or trends but we often forget to take into account what agrees with our self. If you are hungry eat, if not oh well. Your not limited to eating every few hours. In fact, more and more research is coming out on intermittent fasting and its benefits (look for a blog post soon).
Snacking is not taboo. Just make sure you get quality snacks to fuel your body. Snacking or smaller meals may be better for some people but not for others.
Cheers, Eat Well, Be Well
Mason
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