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Why “Grazing” May Not Trim Your Waistline…

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Anyone who has tried to lose weight has heard this before: instead of eating three big meals at specific times, eat 5-6 smaller meals, or ‘graze’ throughout the day.

The reasoning behind this is twofold:

  1. So that your metabolism will continue burn high all day.  The argument being since your body is getting calories throughout the day, it will not go into starvation mode and store excess calories as fat.
  2. So, that you don’t feel hungry and end up over-eating.

I can’t tell you how many diet experts swear by this, I have literally read this a thousand times and accepted it as gospel.

Sounds good…in theory…

However,  a new study recently published in the journal, Obesity, came up with some very different results.

The study took –place at Purdue University in Indiana, and 37 overweight or obese men took part in the study.

Stage One:  Establishing the Control

Subjects were divided randomly into two groups:

Group A received a high-protein diet plan (about 25% of total calories from protein)

Group B received a mid-level protein diet (about 14 percent protein)

All of the participants were expected to adhere to their new plans for 12 full weeks.

Both diet plans contained 750 fewer calories than the men needed to maintain their weights.  Therefore, feelings of hunger should’ve started up quickly and frequently in all of the testers.

No instructions were given as to the frequency of meals…

Stage Two:  Testing Meal Frequency

Starting at week seven, the men (who stayed on the same diet plans) were asked to change the frequency of eating.

Some participants were asked to eat three meals per day, with meals spaced five hours apart.

Others were asked to eat a small meal every two hours, for a total of six meals per day.  The participants stuck to one method for three consecutive days, then switched to the other plan for three days.

The men reported their results after the 12 week period had ended.

The Results

For the men on the high-level protein diet (25% – which a lot of weight loss experts would consider mid level), eating 3 meals a day kept them more satiated than eating 6 smaller meals a day.  They were actually less hungry during meal times, and they thought about food less…

More importantly, they had less of an urge to snack at night – a big deal.

However for men on the lower protein diet, the meal frequency did not seem to make any difference at all…

Another interesting result of the study is that overall the men on the higher protein diet felt less hungry between meal times than the lower protein group.

More Questions than Answers

Like most of our articles it brings up more questions than answers.

Just writing out loud here…

Did the lower protein diet simply not supply enough protein to cause satiation?  Making meal frequency irrelevant?  This is speculative, but makes some sense. Did the subjects on the higher protein diet who ate three meals a day actually lose more weight than the folks on the high frequency diet?  I think this may be important!!!

And obviously it would be interesting to see if the results were the same for women and for different types of diets…

And of course it would be nice to see a more long term approach.

The Battle Resumes:

This study is far from conclusive, but it does add new ripples to the 3 meals versus 6 meals debate.  I would love to hear what you think about this as I know there are a lot of strong opinions out there!  Please comment below.

Source: Heather J. Leidy, Minghua Tang, Cheryl L.H. Armstrong, Carmen B. Martin and Wayne W. Campbell, The Effects of Consuming Frequent, Higher Protein Meals on Appetite and Satiety During Weight Loss in Overweight/Obese Men, Obesity , (16 September 2010)

Tags: Calories, Diet, Grazing, Metabolism, Obesity
  • Gopal

    Besides, 3 days is not enough to let the body switch over to the frequent-meals diet and feel less ravenous. In my observation it takes about a week.

  • Leilacarpenter10

    It seems to me there’s a more complex relationship between meal frequency, meal consistency, weight loss and satiation. Something to do with expectation, bodily needs and the brain perhaps.

  • Ngnten

    What I don’t like about the 6 meals is that it makes you constantly think about your next meal and it is to much pressure.

  • Katfisch02

    I agree! Your stomach never gets empty enough to allow you to experience the pleasure of eating when you’re hungry, either. If I have to plan and access meals every 2-3 hours I’ll never think about anything but food. I’d like to get to a place where food has no bigger place than anything else in my life-work, clothes, cleaning house, etc.

  • Mary

    5 years ago I had lost close to 80 pounds…I did it by cutting out fried foods, a lot of foods that aren’t good for you. But I also stopped eating in between meals. I ate 3 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, that was it!!
    Now with all the confusing talk out there, I’ve tried eating 4 or 5 meals a day and have actually put weight back on!
    For me it is back to 3 meals a day!!

  • Hbontin

    Byron Richards explains it very well in his book “Mastering Leptin”: your insulin level stays high for about 3 and 1/2 hours after you have eaten, then drops, which signals the pancreas to release another hormone called glucagon which helps sustain energy between meals (and supply the brain and nervous system with a steady supply of necessary glucose) through a rather complicated process called gluconeogenesis which among other things breaks down stored fat (the thus liberated fatty acids are primarily taken up by muscles to be directly burned as fuel – OBVIOUSLY muscles need to be USED). This means that the time between that drop of insulin (3 and 1/2 hours after a meal) and the next meal is the metabolic fat-burning time during the day, soooooooo if you snack in between meals, your insulin goes up again, glucagon is depressed, shuts off fat-burning and sends fat back to storage.
    So, there! : )

  • Ann Ogemaw

    I think in country we plain flat eat toooo much. I have hard time managing the amount of food I eat if I eat every 2-3 hours. I have read a ton of information from both arenas. I think this is an individual process. Too many times we are like sheep and follow the next “newest” program.

  • Kellie O’Connor

    I believ that three meals a day leads to more satisfaction and enjoyment or meals with apples or almonds making a good snack if hunger arises

  • elysek

    I think Americans are terrified of feeling hungry. But hunger is natural. It is too difficult to change one’s eating habits if one is eating all day. Snacking as a way of life is not the way to lose weight or maintain. Also, bear in mind, the Food Industry is doing their best to entice us to eat all the time. (For example, Taco Bell’s 4th Meal promo.) Eating 6 times a day is in their best interest – not ours.

    Note to Gopal: the men in the study did the diet for 12 full weeks – not 3 days…

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