Which is better for losing weight: eating 17 meals a day or having just one?

When talking about diet, there are factors that are no less important than focusing on what we should eat, and how much we should eat;

For example, controlling calories is essential to losing weight, in addition to another factor that has received a lot of attention recently, which is related to eating patterns, or the number of times we eat per day.

Since some early studies showed that eating more meals per day is associated with lower body weight, research has focused on differentiating between 3 different eating patterns, which are eating an average of 6 to 17 small meals per day, consuming 2 to 3 meals per day, or skipping The whole day with just one meal.

While some "dieting" systems promote the idea that weight loss is achieved by only one meal per day, other diets indicate the need to eat more small meals throughout the day.

At a time when the majority are accustomed to eating 3 meals every day;

Which makes us need to know which of the three styles is best.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.. 3 meals a day are the most common eating patterns (pixels)

3 meals

Breakfast, lunch and dinner 3 meals a day, and it is one of the most common eating patterns;

It has been brought up by many people around the world, as a traditional eating pattern, strictly followed by some diet regimes.

Its proponents say it's best for controlling appetite, managing food intake, and being comfortable for people on the go.

Eating fewer, but larger, meals a day promotes weight loss, avoidance of disease, and increased longevity.

But health care practitioners say that eating 3 large meals a day can sometimes lead to feeling hungry between meals, which leads to gnawing on the length of the hands, and then overeating throughout the day, which causes bloating, indigestion, and low energy, and unexpected insulin levels, as the vast mixture of proteins, carbohydrates and fats emptied from the stomach and intestines creates a suboptimal environment for digestion.

In addition, it puts our bodies into a postprandial state, a state that can last about 12 hours or more, in which the body stores energy from the food we just ate, in the form of fat, before it starts burning it for fuel when needed.

Carbohydrates are largely responsible for transitioning the body into a postprandial state, secreting insulin and controlling fat storage;

This means that if we eat carbohydrates at every meal, our bodies often store them as fat.

If we eat carbohydrates at every meal, our bodies often store them as fats (pixels).

gnawing

Work stress, not being able to prepare meals, skipping breakfast, emotional stress eating, and other effects of modern life have caused;

In the habit of nibbling on meals all the time, according to certified nutritionist Stephanie Perrotta, who warns that snacking - due to excessive - turns into nibbling.

Biting is “the repeated eating of an indefinite portion of food during short periods of time throughout the day,” says Beretta, adding that studies have found that “males are more likely to bite, especially those who are overweight or obese, and have higher income levels.”

According to experts, nibbling on 6 or more small meals a day burns more calories, suppresses your appetite and makes you feel full, has a positive effect on cholesterol, and prevents large fluctuations in insulin levels;

So diabetics feel more comfortable with this pattern, because it helps them conserve their energy, by preventing hypoglycemia, and reducing fatigue from physical activity, and people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and gastroesophageal reflux also benefit from it.

But Perrotta says that "biting often involves consuming foods rich in energy and poor in nutrients, which, over time, contributes to weight gain and chronic disease."

Although it can occur at any time of the day, poor health outcomes are likely to be linked to late eating habits, especially after 8 pm.

Also, Dr. Rebecca Leech, from Australia's Deakin University, found that women who "nibbled" throughout the day were more likely to gain weight than women who ate at traditional meal times.

In addition, some studies have shown that nibbling may increase hunger, impair the ability to remove fats from the blood, and is an important factor in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Eating only one meal a day and skipping the rest is one of the most extreme methods of intermittent fasting (pixels)

skip

Skipping is one of the most extreme methods of intermittent fasting, which is to eat only one meal a day and skip the rest of the meals, referred to as "One Meal a Day - OMAD".

The potential health benefits of this pattern are linked to fasting, which reduces calorie intake, loses weight, lowers blood sugar and reduces inflammation, according to a study of 1,422 people.

An analysis of 50,660 people also showed that those who ate one meal had an annual decrease in body mass index, compared to those who ate three meals a day.

But there is other evidence to suggest that skipping the main meals and eating only one meal a day may do more harm than good.

Studies show that it may lead to an increase in bad cholesterol and high blood pressure levels.

Other studies have also shown that it may increase blood sugar levels during fasting, delay the body's response to insulin, and increase levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone "ghrelin", which causes severe hunger pangs, in addition to other symptoms including nausea, dizziness, nervousness, constipation and low energy, and nutrient deficiencies. Because it is difficult to eat enough nutrients in one meal may harm health, and lead to serious risks.