Why a regime of mini-meals throughout the day is better than the usual three meals per day shtick.

Traditionally, people have eaten three meals per day; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is rare that people will go outside of these norms either. This is discouraged. There are several benefits to light snacking throughout the day, as opposed to eating just three big meals.

How many mini meals should you eat?

Before we talk about why small meals are good, it is probably worth talking about how regularly you should be eating. Thankfully, it is not that difficult. Most people find that around six meals per day are the optimum number. You split your normal three meal number of calories across these six meals.

Your body needs regular energy

Your body needs a constant supply of energy to keep on ticking over. Sure, if you have three large meals throughout the day, you are going to be getting energy, but there will often be 6-8 hours between meals. During this time, you will find that the energy supply your body has will start to deplete rapidly. This means that the further you get from a meal, the less energy you will have. This means that it is going to be exceedingly difficult to focus, or even perform physical activity. This is not good for work, or even for your life.

When you engage in regular light snacking through your mini meals, then you are going to constantly be giving your body more and more energy that it can use. This will keep your body stores topped up. Although, of course, you will want to ensure that you eat the right foods. Even though you will be regular snacking, you still want to make sure the energy you are putting into your system is the right sort of energy, e.g., no simple sugars.

You take in fewer calories

One of the main reasons why you should eat smaller meals is so that you can lose weight. It does seem a little bit contradictory, we know. Bear with us here, however. The thing is, when you are eating just your three meals per day, you are going to be incredibly hungry by the time your meal rolls around. This means that you are going to be even more tempted to overeat. Study after study has demonstrated that eating lighter meals throughout the day, but with a great deal more regularity, helps you to lose weight. This is because the steady supply of energy means that you are less likely to overindulge with your food.

Helps with certain conditions

Finally; regularly light meals have been known to assist with several different conditions and make your symptoms a lot more manageable. This includes:

• Diabetes
• Hypoglycemia
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Acid reflux

Of course, the smaller meals is not going to help cure any of those conditions, but you should be able to keep your symptoms to the point where they impact your life little, if at all. Sure, you could probably do this with three meals per day, but most people find that light snacking regularly is better for them instead.