Here's a piece of advice you've heard before: Eat three square meals every day. No matter how many times you've received this bit of wisdom, it's still tempting to ignore this rule when you want to lose weight. Skipping a meal or eating only a low-calorie salad may seem like an easy way to cut 500 or more calories, but this approach always comes back to bite you. As the research shows, skimping on calories triggers a series of physical reactions that actually encourages weight gain. An eating schedule of three squares and a snack or two can help you drop pounds because it:
Quells appetite. Having a light meal (like plain toast and coffee or a green salad with low-fat dressing), or skipping it altogether may seem virtuous. But later, your hunger will come roaring to life and suddenly you'll devour everything in sight. Eating a complete breakfast (about 400 calories), an adequate lunch (at least 450 calories) and complete dinner (500 calories or more) about four hours apart prevents that dangerous hunger attack. And when between-meal cravings mount, a healthy snack does the trick.
May increase insulin sensitivity. Eating triggers the release of the hormone insulin, which aids in both burning and storing carbs, protein and fat. People who are insulin sensitive require only moderate amounts of the hormone. However, overweight and obese individuals often have lower insulin sensitivity, which basically means that the body must produce more insulin to do its job. In a series of studies at the
Speeds up metabolism. The Nottingham Study also found the three squares/two snacks schedule revved up the rate of calorie-burning after a meal. This "thermic effect" of food, as it's called, burns up about 10 percent of a meal's calories.
By Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D., Best Life lead nutritionist
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