No, not really. This is a common myth, and there have been several studies to debunk this theory. In one study, overweight men and women randomly were assigned to low-calorie diets, which they followed for eight weeks. One group consumed three meals per day, the other group six per day. Both groups consumed the same number of calories per day, and both groups lost an equal amount of weight. (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985) The conclusion:
“We conclude that increasing meal frequency does not promote greater body weight loss.”
In a different study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3592618), they looked at one meal versus five meals per day, which produced the same result as above with no more significant body weight loss.
In a review (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494) of all the studies on meal frequency and weight loss, the conclusion states:
“We conclude that any effects of meal pattern on the regulation of body weight are likely to be mediated through effects on the food intake side of the energy balance equation.”
Yeah yeah, but what does this mean? It means you should eat meals based on your lifestyle. Maybe you enjoy eating two large meals per day, or perhaps you enjoy eating seven small meals/snacks throughout the day. Whatever you choose to do, it’s not going to help or hurt your progress as it doesn’t matter when you eat, or how often you eat. Just maintain your calorie deficit throughout the day, and you will continue to see progress.
I prefer to utilize intermittent fasting and will eat all of my allotted food in a 7-8 hour window. This makes me feel like I’m eating ALL of the food when I’m actually not.
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