How many meals a day do I need to eat to lose weight?

It doesn't matter how many meals a day you eat as long as you eat the right amount of calories to lose weight along with eating the right foods (and exercise of course!) but…

You should strongly consider eating 4-to-6 meals a day if…

You can't control your hunger or cravings because eating MORE smaller meals throughout the day keeps your blood sugar levels stable preventing you from getting too hungry and as you already know…

When you're hungry you tend to overeat and gain weight and also… If you're diabetic then it may be recommend by your doctor to eat 4-to-6 smaller meals a day (see diabetic meal plans here) but on the other hand…

Eating 4-to-6 smaller meals a day may not be realistic for you if…

You have a job, kids, school or whatever your current situation is so in that case…

3 bigger or maybe even 2 bigger meals will be best for you but ONLY if you don't have any problems with hunger and also…

If you're required to eat less than 1500 calories a day to lose weight…

Eating 5+ meals a day of less than 300 calories may not satisfy you so you may find that 2-to-4 bigger meals will work better for you and…

There is no perfect 'universal' number of meals you need to eat each day to lose weight so basically…

Eat the number of meals daily that works best FOR YOU so…

You may even have some days where you eat only 2-to-3 meals (like on workdays) and other days where you eat more than 3 meals (like on your off days or weekends) but the main point here is…

As long as you eat the right number of calories everyday to lose weight - It does not matter how many meals you eat daily and…

Here's 3 scientific studies that back this up…

1. In an Australian study - 179 obese men & women ate the same amount of calories everyday but some of them ate 3 meals a day while others ate more than 3 times a day and as a result…
   
   There was no difference in the amount of weight lost between those that ate only 3 times a day and those that ate more than 3 times a day and according to lead researcher Michelle Palmer, a dietician at the University of Newcastle…
   
   "There seems to be little benefit to changing how often or how regularly you eat if you're trying to lose weight, We found it's not when you eat that matters, but what and how much you eat." - Learn more about this study here
2. In another study they tested the difference between metabolic rates in people having 1 or 5 meals per day (who all ate the same amount of calories) and found no differences. - Learn more about this study here and…
3. Look at the Meal frequency and energy balance study here proving that it doesn't matter how many meals you eat a day as long as you eat the right number of calories to lose weight.

Stuff to help you plan out your meals…

• 498 Free Diet meal plans that actually work
• See how many calories you need to eat to lose weight
• See how to count calories

Make sure you also look at…

• What & When should I eat before & after I exercise to lose weight?
• Will I gain weight if I eat at night before bed?
• Does skipping meals make me gain weight?



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