You probably heard a personal trainer or dietician saying this: you should eat many small meals in a day if you are trying to lose weight because it will boost your metabolism and help you control your appetite. It is true that when we eat something, our metabolism speeds up as our body starts digesting the food. So if we eat every 2-3 hours, our metabolism will stay elevated all the time, right? This may seem plausible, but it doesn’t pan out in research studies. So let’s see what research has to say about it:
The recommendation of eating 6-8 meals daily usually comes from IFBB professional bodybuilders or high-level sportsmen. Because of their high-calorie requirements and a tremendous amount of training every day, it is impossible for them to fulfill their calorie requirements in 2-3 meals. On the other hand, some world-class athletes have followed intermittent fasting and still gained a lot of success. A decent amount of research has already been conducted on pretty much everything from 1 meal per day all the way up to 17 meals per day. Some people will argue that some athletes taking 8-10 meals a day are much leaner and fitter than other athletes. It is a common-sense observation; they are not lean because they eat more frequently but because they do huge volumes and intensity of workouts every day.
1. Scientists at the French national institute of health and medical research reviewed several studies comparing the metabolic effect of different patterns ranging from 1 to 17 meals per day. They found no meaningful difference between a “few large meals and more small meals on metabolism because smaller meals cause short but frequent spikes in metabolism whereas few but larger meals cause fewer but larger spikes in metabolism.” Therefore, meal frequency has no significant effect when we view it in terms of 24-hour energy expenditure.
2. Scientists at the University of Ottawa conducted 8 weeks study on 16 obese adults (8 women and 8 men). Participants were randomized into two groups-
Both groups were on the same calorie-deficit diet for 8 weeks. However, after eight weeks, scientists found no significant difference in weight loss between both groups.
3. A meta-analysis of 176 research studies ( out of which only 10 were relevant to meal frequency and weight loss) found “no significant relationship between meal frequency and weight loss.”
4. A recently published research paper comparing 3 meals against 14 meals per day found no difference in carbohydrate and fat oxidation between LMF and HMF. They also found that a low-frequency diet increases satiety and reduces hunger cravings.
5. According to a research study conducted at the University of Missouri, “three versus six meals has no effect on weight loss, but an increase in protein intake reduces hunger cravings over the course of a day.”
6. Another similar study at the University of Kansas found that six meals reduced satiety and increased hunger, whereas 3 meals per day did quite the opposite.
7. In a 2015 meta-analysis study in the journal Nutrition Reviews, researchers Brad Schoenfeld, Alan Aragon, and James Krieger (https://bit.ly/2OEcVuI) state, “The positive relationship between the number of meals consumed and improvements in body composition were largely attributed to the results of a single study. Given that adherence is of primary concern concerning nutritional prescription, the number of daily meals consumed should be a personal choice if one’s goal is to improve body composition.”
8. According to Dr. Eric Helmes (The muscle and strength pyramid), “consuming between three to six meals per day is a way to go. When you start touching the low end (2-3 meals) or the high end ( more than six meals a day), you can potentially start running into issues with adherence”.
On the other hand, some research studies claim that eating more frequently (4-5 meals a day) increases fullness and makes it easier for people to stick to their diets.
It is clear from the research studies that meal frequency has no significant impact on weight loss. If you are on a calorie deficit, eating smaller meals frequently will not help you lose more weight than fewer larger meals. If your goal is weight loss, then it does not matter how many times you eat in a day but what matters is how many calories you are taking during those 24 hours. Regarding satiety or hunger, some people eat 3 meals a day while others like 4-5 meals daily. No one size fits all regarding how many times a person should eat to lose weight. If you like to eat 2-3 times a day, stick to it and ignore those stupid trainers who advise you to eat every 2-3 hours. There is no fastest way to lose weight.
Ohkawara, K., Cornier, M. A., Kohrt, W. M., & Melanson, E. L. (2013). Effects of increased meal frequency on fat oxidation and perceived hunger. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 21(2), 336–343. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20032
Kahleova, H., Lloren, J. I., Mashchak, A., Hill, M., & Fraser, G. E. (2017). Meal Frequency and Timing Are Associated with Changes in Body Mass Index in Adventist Health Study 2. The Journal of nutrition, 147(9), 1722–1728. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.116.244749
Munsters MJ, Saris WH. Effects of meal frequency on metabolic profiles and substrate partitioning in lean, healthy males. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e38632. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038632. Epub 2012 Jun 13. PMID: 22719910; PMCID: PMC3374835.
Palmer, MA, Capra S, Baines SK. Association between eating frequency, weight, and health. Nutr Rev. 2009 Jul;67(7):379-90. DOI: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2009.00204.x. PMID: 19566598.
Cameron JD, Cyr MJ, Doucet E. Increased meal frequency does not promote greater weight loss in subjects prescribed an 8-week equi-energetic energy-restricted diet. Br J Nutr. 2010 Apr;103(8):1098-101. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114509992984. Epub 2009 Nov 30. PMID: 19943985.
Matthews, M. (2018). Bigger Leaner Stronger. Oculus Publishers.
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