Three square or six small???

Question

when trying to eat more healthy and lose some weight, which is better? Everyone tells me different things!!! Whichever one you choose, I want GOOD SOLID EXPLANATIONS and EVIDENCE. A Best Answer will have those, not just two words

Answer 1

The best way to lose weight is to actually eat more through the day. Skipping meals will only increase your chances of over-eating later in the day. Instead, plan five to six small meals through the day. Planning six meals a day is an excellent strategy to lose weight.

Most people try to save calories by skipping meals but don't realize that they drastically slow their metabolism down by not eating. That's why six small meals is an excellent way to keep your metabolism burning high.

The trick is to decrease your overall calories consumption by 25% while eating six meals per day. You can do this by including fruits, veggies and lean meats in your diet. By eating five to six meals through the day, you're not as tempted to eat junk (high carb) food later in the day.

Eating 5 to 6 times per day also helps maintain a balanced blood sugar level, which is very important to losing weight. If you starve yourself by skipping meals, your blood sugar level will have too many peaks and valleys and that causes you to over-eat.

The best methods for dieting and weight loss are:

* Reduce over-all calorie intake by 25% - 30%
* Eat five to six small meals each day
* Reduce portion size to reduce calories
* Eat healthy foods to reduce calories
* 20 minutes stationary bike ride is the best way to increase metabolism.
* Reduce simple carbs but include whole grain foods (complex carbs)
* Don’t skip breakfast …. You need energy in the morning to start your day

Answer 2

What I write here is fairly solid stuff based on a book by Udo Erasmus and based on a lot of scientific research. Reading the book would be a great idea if you have the time if you want to have less chance of getting a degenerative disease, have more energy, heal faster after injuries, etc. There's no hocus pocus or short cuts, just real science that admits that it doesn't know everything and some of the ideas are works in progress.

The more often you get enough of all the 50 or so essential things(vitamins, minerals, protein, essential fatty acids, air, water, sunlight...) the less hungry you'll be and the better your body will be able to do the many things it has to do on the cellular level.

I think I'd recommend learning more about it but I'd put together something like this:

Have hemp seeds (perfect balance of omega 3 and omega 6 acids[about 65%] and about 33% protein), vegetable juice (make your own or get low-sodium V8), some 90% (soy) protein powder, some good multi-vitamins, and some 500mg vitamin c pills on hand.
If you don't feel like cooking, just eating the above in the right proportions will be a better diet than most people get and when you do feel like eating and cooking, it can fill the gaps. It doesn't take long; it amounts to a drink or two which you can drink quickly and a few pills you can take with the drink. The seeds are kind of tasty--a bit like sunflower seeds.

If you consume these things, you can eat some junk food now and then and it won't be a big deal. It seems to me that it's much more important to get enough of the essential things than to not eat the "bad" things.

Keep in mind that many of the simplistic ideas we have about nutrition are about half wrong. (example, fat is bad, cholesterol is bad, this is good or that is bad.,.. way too simplistic for the electrochemical machine of the body.

But, you have to know what you're doing and be fairly scientific about it. It seems that most weight problems are diet or exercise based. Most people...almost all people just have a crap diet and don't exercise enough.

There are only two ways to have good nutrition: learn about it and think about it (including some math calcs now and then to figure how much of things you need because too much OR too little is not good)
or
Pay a nutritionist to do it for you. Not many people can afford that or would do it if they could.

Eat when you're hungry. This means taking some of the above stuff with you but a lot of the between-meal hunger is the body saying, "you're not giving me enough of what I need so keep eating until you get some, even if by accident or overdosing on the bad stuff".

Good luck.

Answer 3

I've had great success with Body for Life and Eating for Life, they are two books by Bill Phillips. Body for Life is 6 meals a day, which I prefer because I get to eat all the time. The idea behind the 6 meals is keeping your metabolism revved and maintaining steady blood sugar/insulin levels, so you don't get cravings. I've been doing Body for Life for over a year, I lost 25lbs and have managed to keep it off. If you want to see some great transformations, check out www.bfl.com. You can buy the books at any bookstore and Target. Oh, buy the way, you need to exercise to get great results, sorry, but 6 small meals a day and no exercise will not help you lose weight.

Answer 4

Six half meals as opposed to three full meals. I think you should eat your heavier meals (of the six) early in the day and slack off as you get towards bedtime. The meals should be "light" and not be junk food. Lots of fruits and vegetables, little to no red meat. Drink lots of water throughout the day.
Eating smaller amounts more often as opposed to larger meals is kind of like a campfire. It's better to periodically throw small sticks on it to keep it going (i.e., your metabolism) than to throw a big log on the fire (or a big meal) that could put the fire out. Check out the book "Body For Life"

Answer 5

I work the graveyard shift at work (10p-6a) and have a hard time maintaining healthy eating. I don;t want to eat when I get home bc i am going to bed and I don't want to eat while i am at work bc I'm behind a desk answering phones all night. But skipping meals puts your body into starvation mode and is not good for you. I have found that eating small meals or "grazing" works better for me. I eat a regular meal with my housemates abt 6 or 7 pm then eat when i get hungry (that is also and issue because i don't want to eat when I am not hungry)---i keep on hand pretty much at all times---fruit, cheese, yogart. I buy the big containers of vanilla yogart, great for yogart and fruit, yogart and granola, or i use yogart instead of alot of milk to make smoothies for breakfast. apples and cheese is also great. My co workers laugh because my drawer in the fridge is full of sandwich baggies with fruit and cheese, veggies, crackers. I felt a lot better too.

Answer 6

three square.

if i do 6 small, i lose track of what small is and end up eating more than expected.

good luck. sorry, i don't have any better evidence.