Is Meal Frequency And Timing Really Important

16 Dec 2021

The internet is full with diet and nutrition advice on how to lose weight, what’s good and bad for weight loss.

The most popular advice is to have meals every 2-3 hours and be very regular with your meal timings.
But, is this really that important to have frequent meals and have all of them at the same time every day to lose weight or stay healthy.

But first, let us answer a simple question.
“We Eat to Live or Live to Eat”
Got the answer right.

Now, Let’s first understand how the body responds to weight loss.
To Lose or gain weight, what really matters are the amount of calories you consume on a daily basis.
To Lose weight, you need to stay at a calories deficit for a consistent period of time and vice versa to gain weight. Off course, Training is important for both.

So when, what really matters are the calorie in V/S calories out then why is the whole fuss’s about the frequency and timing of the meals. Here’s the take away.

Frequent meals are advisable for people with some medical condition or hormonal imbalance like Diabetes to gain control over their insulin levels etc. If non then the only reason you should look to have a meal every 2-3 hours is when you are looking to gain some serious muscle mass and are consuming ample of calories, which are difficult to consume in just 3-4 meals in a day.

What about the timing of the meals?

Have you noticed that every time you have a long gap between your meals, you end up binging on something otherwise unhealthy or Junk.
That’s because when the hunger hits, your mind always looks towards the attractive looking junk food first.
That’s why it is advisable to have a meal at the same time daily, especially when trying to lose weight.

Apart from this, the timing of meals matters the most for people doing Contest or photoshoot prep. More like having carb before or after your workout etc. Moreover, your body keeps working 24/7, breaking down fats, burning calories, repairing damage muscles. So, relax and enjoy your meals at a time convenient with you. Having dinner late suits your routine, then stick with it. What really matters is how many calories you have consumed in the day. Just focus on hitting your Macros and Calorie requirement consistently.

Being Healthy is simple.
“It’s all about creating healthy habits”.

TAGS: #loseweight