Should You Be Eating Six Meals Instead of Three?

Learn the best way to fuel your body throughout the day

Try a whole-wheat bagel with peanut butter for breakfast... sipa fruit smoothie midmorning... enjoy turkey on whole-wheat bread at lunch...munch on carrot sticks midafternoon...make a salad part of a light dinner...
and snack on fresh fruit at day’s end.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner—it’s what most of us are accustomed to eating. Yet, some experts are challenging the three-square-meals-a-day tradition in favor of six smaller ones.

“Eating six smaller meals throughout the day, or eating every four hours, keeps your blood sugar stable and helps maintain your energy longer,” says registered dietitian Judy Holaska of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Overall, it keeps your body healthier and your brain sharper.”

The concept of six meals a day isn’t much different from the traditional three. You’re just spreading out your daily fuel, eating a smaller breakfast, lunch and dinner, and adding healthy snacks in between. “The key is limiting your portions, so you don’t overeat,” Holaska says.

It’s also important to balance nutrients. Your daily diet should consist of 50-60 percent carbohydrates, 20-30 percent fat and 10-15 percent protein. “By spreading out the carbohydrates, fat and protein with mini-meals throughout the day, you’ll feel full longer and eat less,” Holaska says.

The impact of your eating pattern on blood sugar is striking, says Aaron Katz, M.D., a family medicine physician at the hospital. “When you wait more than four hours to eat or skip meals, blood sugar drops and your body craves sugar. If it doesn’t get the sugar it’s craving, it takes what is stored in your muscles, leaving you tired and irritable.” (When cravings do strike, he says, have a carrot stick rather than a candy bar. Sweets cause blood sugar to shoot up again, like a yo-yo.)

Finally, waiting too long between meals makes you more likely to overeat late in the day or just before bed. “Night bingeing can lead to excess calorie consumption and unwanted weight gain,” Holaska says.

Eating six small meals throughout the day takes planning. Instead of hitting the candy machine, stock up on some of these healthy snacks:

• Red, green and yellow peppers with a low-fat vegetable dip
• Almonds or walnuts
• Low-fat yogurt with fruit or a fruit smoothie
• Fresh fruits such as cherries, berries, melon
• Peanut butter on celery or whole-grain bread/crackers
• Bean salad
• Whole-grain cereal bar

Want to Know More about healthy snacking and portion control? Call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, September-October 2007

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