Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Key To Smaller Meals

Calorie cutting isn't easy, but we often make it harder than it needs to be by believing in obstacles that don't exist.  For example, many Americans believe that by eating a smaller meal than usual, they'll be inclined to overeat in the next meal, due to increased hunger. 

Is it really that simple? Not so, according to a study present in the journal Appetite. Many factors play into our sense of hunger, but simply shortening one meal is not necessarily going to make a person want to overeat in the next. In fact, a study showed that if people cut back on only one meal and maintained their caloric consumption for the other meals, that overall satiety would likely be maintained throughout the day while still cutting calories and, therefore, burning bodyfat through the creation of this caloric deficit. Ultimately, we see that minor changes can, very thankfully, reap major benefits.

If you're wrestling with fat loss, then work with your Perfect Personal Trainer to blend this into your process for calorie-cutting.  Choose just one meal per day, strategically, and cut out the calories that don't need to be there -- the ones that you're already getting in appropriate supply.  It also never hurts to drink a bit more water before, during, and after the meal to help to fill you up, also!

It is important to keep in mind that you should never reduce your calories below 1200 per day.  Roughly 1200-1700 calories per day is, generally, an appropriate amount to sustain some fat reduction without depriving your body and brain of what they need for proper function.  Dropping your intake to fewer than 1200 daily calories is unsafe, and is likely to cause problems such as ketosis and metabolic damage.

Another important point to keep in mind is that a meal isn't a "meal" if it doesn't contain proteins, carbs, and dietary fats.  Having a banana or an apple will deliver great anti-oxidants, but will fail to substantially sustain muscle tissue or metabolism because of the lack of protein and dietary fat.  Build combinations so that you're giving your body what it needs with each meal to not only fuel your activities, but to keep your body burning up calories throughout the day and night.  Your Perfect Personal Trainer will help you to craft these kinds of meals -- just right for you -- in a way that you'll enjoy!

Questions?  Please post below or simply call us at (877)698-3648 - our team of nutritionists and exercise scientists are always here to help!  Happy holidays!

3 comments:

  1. When you eat a huge meal, it takes longer to digest. But if you eat small meals every couple of hours, your body will break down that food easily, utilizing the protein, carbs and fat for energy and for rebuilding muscle tissue. Then you’ll be ready for the next meal a couple of hours later.

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  2. Eating frequent small meals produces better weight loss results and is overall healthier than infrequent large meals.

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  3. Don’t avoid all fat. Yes, I know it might sound like a strange suggestion when trying to lose weight, but it’s true. Our bodies need certain types of fats just to survive.
    They’re called essential fatty acids. You may have heard of them. They go by the name of Omegas 3, 6, and 9 and they are essential to a healthy diet.

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