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Great article about metabolism
I found it on:
Muscledog.com
This article describes the science of eating every two to three hours and helps you put it to action in attaining your goals.
"You have such high metabolism!" Who hasn't heard some form of that phrase before? We attribute this so called "metabolism" to our ability to lose and gain weight, but what is it exactly?
According to the Merriam-Webster medical dictionary, metabolism is specifically defined as "the chemical changes in living cells by which energy is provided for vital processes and activities..."[1], or in layman's terms, the way your body burns/uses energy. So what is meant by “high metabolism” is that they have high Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) or the amount of energy (in calories) that a person’s body burns at rest. High metabolism (or high BMR) usually correlates to the amount of muscle a person may have (increase amount of muscle= higher BMR). So what about this idea of eating five to six meals a day to increase your metabolism?
Does it work? Let’s take a look.
The idea is, instead of eating three meals a day, you eat four to six meals, meaning you will be eating every two to three hours. By decreasing the amount consumed per meal and increasing the frequency of the meals, your digestive tract will not only increase absorption of nutrients but actively burn more calories instead of storing it as fat, which, in a sense, increases your metabolism. Although studies on this have come up inconclusive, don’t toss out that option yet! Having a structured plan can help people establish a healthier eating habit and for some people, having four to six meals a day really does help them lose weight because it allows them more flexibility in their meals and decreases hunger and cravings.
Although I am not personally promoting nor demoting the idea, if you do decide to try it out here are a few things to consider:
•Portion Control: Ok, great, you can now have more than three meals a day! But remember, the idea is SMALL frequent meals, meaning the portion sizes of your meals should dramatically decrease (to about two-thirds to half depending on how many meals you are planning to have throughout the day). Your daily average caloric intake should stay the same whether you’re eating three meals a day or six meals a day.
•Balanced Meals: When you decrease portion sizes that shouldn’t mean you’re decreasing variety. Be sure to keep your mini meals as balanced as your “big” meals had been. As your mother would say, make sure you get your grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and healthy fats.
•Consistent Meal Times: Four to six meals should mean you are eating every two to three hours and be sure to keep it that way. The farther apart from each other your meals are, the more likely you are to “gorge” because you are hungry. The hungrier you are before you eat, the more you tend to eat, and more calories get stored as fat.
Sample Meal Plan:
8:00 am- ½ cup of multi-grain cereal with 1% fat milk and ½ a banana
10:00 am- 4-5 celery sticks with peanut butter and 6-7 crackers
12:00 pm- Turkey sandwich with whole wheat bread, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, mustard, along with an orange
2:00 pm- 3-4 tablespoons of hummus with 1½ pieces of whole wheat pita bread and several olives
4:00 pm- the other ½ of the turkey sandwich along with 8 oz. of 1% fat milk
6:00 pm- 8 oz. sliced chicken breast tossed in with a cup of mixed greens, cucumbers, carrots, beets, corn (2 teaspoons of balsamic and olive oil vinaigrette)
8:00pm- ½ cup of non-fat frozen yogurt (or Greek yogurt) topped with blue berries and nuts
Final Thoughts
Now remember, small frequent meals are not for everyone. If this does not work for you, a standard three meals a day is perfectly fine.
I found it on:
Muscledog.com
This article describes the science of eating every two to three hours and helps you put it to action in attaining your goals.
"You have such high metabolism!" Who hasn't heard some form of that phrase before? We attribute this so called "metabolism" to our ability to lose and gain weight, but what is it exactly?
According to the Merriam-Webster medical dictionary, metabolism is specifically defined as "the chemical changes in living cells by which energy is provided for vital processes and activities..."[1], or in layman's terms, the way your body burns/uses energy. So what is meant by “high metabolism” is that they have high Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) or the amount of energy (in calories) that a person’s body burns at rest. High metabolism (or high BMR) usually correlates to the amount of muscle a person may have (increase amount of muscle= higher BMR). So what about this idea of eating five to six meals a day to increase your metabolism?
Does it work? Let’s take a look.
The idea is, instead of eating three meals a day, you eat four to six meals, meaning you will be eating every two to three hours. By decreasing the amount consumed per meal and increasing the frequency of the meals, your digestive tract will not only increase absorption of nutrients but actively burn more calories instead of storing it as fat, which, in a sense, increases your metabolism. Although studies on this have come up inconclusive, don’t toss out that option yet! Having a structured plan can help people establish a healthier eating habit and for some people, having four to six meals a day really does help them lose weight because it allows them more flexibility in their meals and decreases hunger and cravings.
Although I am not personally promoting nor demoting the idea, if you do decide to try it out here are a few things to consider:
•Portion Control: Ok, great, you can now have more than three meals a day! But remember, the idea is SMALL frequent meals, meaning the portion sizes of your meals should dramatically decrease (to about two-thirds to half depending on how many meals you are planning to have throughout the day). Your daily average caloric intake should stay the same whether you’re eating three meals a day or six meals a day.
•Balanced Meals: When you decrease portion sizes that shouldn’t mean you’re decreasing variety. Be sure to keep your mini meals as balanced as your “big” meals had been. As your mother would say, make sure you get your grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and healthy fats.
•Consistent Meal Times: Four to six meals should mean you are eating every two to three hours and be sure to keep it that way. The farther apart from each other your meals are, the more likely you are to “gorge” because you are hungry. The hungrier you are before you eat, the more you tend to eat, and more calories get stored as fat.
Sample Meal Plan:
8:00 am- ½ cup of multi-grain cereal with 1% fat milk and ½ a banana
10:00 am- 4-5 celery sticks with peanut butter and 6-7 crackers
12:00 pm- Turkey sandwich with whole wheat bread, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, mustard, along with an orange
2:00 pm- 3-4 tablespoons of hummus with 1½ pieces of whole wheat pita bread and several olives
4:00 pm- the other ½ of the turkey sandwich along with 8 oz. of 1% fat milk
6:00 pm- 8 oz. sliced chicken breast tossed in with a cup of mixed greens, cucumbers, carrots, beets, corn (2 teaspoons of balsamic and olive oil vinaigrette)
8:00pm- ½ cup of non-fat frozen yogurt (or Greek yogurt) topped with blue berries and nuts
Final Thoughts
Now remember, small frequent meals are not for everyone. If this does not work for you, a standard three meals a day is perfectly fine.
