Yesterday, I talked about creating a calorie deficit, meaning that you need to burn more than you consume.  So, let’s assume that you determined that you needed to take in 2,000 calories a day to create a calorie deficit – is it better to:

A. Eat one 2,000 calorie meal per day
B. Eat four 500 calorie meals per day
C. Eat six 333 calorie meals per day

They’re the same, right?  Same amount of calories coming in, so they have to be the same.  Ummm, no.

Actually, studies have shown that C is the most effective meal pattern for burning fat due to a principle known as the Thermic Effect of Feeding, or TEF.  Your body burns calories for everything you do, including to process the food you are taking in, up to 10% of your calorie intake per day.  So if you are eating 333 calories in a meal, your body is using approximately 33 of them to process your meal.  When you eat less frequently, you’ll experience a lower TEF, which has been related to weight GAIN in the long term.

Other studies have shown that the higher the TEF (from eating frequently) the higher the feeling of satisfaction.  This is important from a psychological standpoint, meaning that you do no feel like you are starving yourself because it is only a couple of hours until your next meal.

One other important point above – your meals don’t have to be EXACTLY the same size every time, but they should be as close as possible, meaning, do not eat one huge meal with five apples spread through out the day.  Remember, every meal should contain a protein source.

In Part Two, I’ll cover metabolism and a little more about calories.  You are not going to believe what I tell you!