10 Reasons Why Eating 6 Meals a Day is Too Many

We’ve all heard how eating six meals a day is the best way to go for weight loss. The media claims that it speeds your metabolism, drives away hunger, and prevents binge eating. While sure you won’t be hungry if you’re always eating, the hard truth about weight loss is that you need to feel a little hunger at some point in the day if you expect to lose any amount of weight. Binge eating usually only occurs in crash dieting, deprivation of foods that you enjoy or are used to, or eating a significantly low number of calories. As for speeding up your metabolism, it’s really not as much as you would think, in fact, the chance that you would over-eat, when eating six meals a day, is greater than the bonus calorie burn they claim it will give you.

Here are ten reasons why eating six meals a day is just too many for weight loss and for your life:

1. Your Chances of Over Eating Increases

• When you’re counting calories for meals, a lot of times it’s easy to be a little off. A lot of people tend to underestimate and even packaging labels are not always on point. To be off on one meal wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but to be off on six meals would make a significant difference. It’s also easy to sneak a little here and there when you've created the habit of eating all day long.

2. Your Stomach Won’t Be As Flat

• If you constantly have a belly full of food, chances are your stomach won’t be as flat. People can still lose weight and feel bulky, but I’m sure that not what most people are going for. Most people with flatter stomachs, don't graze on food all day long.

3. You Risk Becoming Obsessed With Food

• If you’re always eating, you’re always going to be thinking about food, which can lead to food obsession. Life is more than food. The less you think about food, the more you might find weight loss to be much more possible.

4. Daily Activities Are Often Interrupted

• If you constantly have to find time to get your six meals in, it can get in the way of your daily activities. Like if you have to stop home to prepare a meal before making it to a volleyball practice. Or you might have to sleep early so you can wake up early to prepare your daily meals. In the end, it can make eating more of a chore than a means to fuel the body.

5. You Can’t Eat Foods You Really Enjoy Because Every Meal Has to Be Low Calorie

• Eating foods you really enjoy becomes a challenge if each meal has to be 300 calories or less. For most people, if they can’t eat something that they enjoy everyday, the chances of sticking to any plan are really low. If you plan to lose weight, it should be just another part of your life, and not a struggle you have to get through everyday. If the joy of eating is taken away, your chances of binge eating and falling off the plan is inevitable.

6. Instead of Feeling Satisfied, You Actually Feel Like Eating More

• The more you do something, the more you want to do it. The more often you eat, the more you are going to feel like eating. People form habits and addictions to a lot of things, and most of these are formed by just doing them often. So if you are constantly eating all day, you just might find stopping at the end of the day difficult.

7. Family Dinners and Time Out With Friends Becomes Less Enjoyable

• If you’re eating six meals a day, and you’re only allowed 300 calories a meal, family dinners and time out with friends may become less enjoyable. When everybody else are enjoying their meals, and you can barely eat, you don’t feel as connected and it will get in the way of your enjoyment. In fact, a lot of people are pressured into eating more when around family and friends, and you can eat more and lose weight if you’re eating less meals a day.

8. You May Find Your Energy Reducing

• If your body is always processing food, more energy is spent towards that instead of living your daily life. I’m sure we’ve all felt sluggish after a meal, and that is because your body is using its energy to process that meal. If your body is processing meals all day long, you may feel sluggish all day long. I’ve noticed when I haven’t eaten in a while, I actually have more energy and alertness than when snacking all day long. So instead of food becoming a source of fuel for the body, it actually becomes an energy reducer.

9. Time Consumption

• Eating six meals a day can become a real time consumer when you constantly have to worry about preparing and packing small snacks and meals wherever you go. Finding the time to eat those meals may also take up a lot of your time. It’s better to eat when you have the time to eat, than to force in unnecessary meals throughout the day. Before you know it, most of your day’s activities are focused on preparing and eating meals and less on living life itself.

10. You Might Not Lose Any Weight At All

• Eating six meals a day, makes it very hard to reduce calories. Even if you eat six 300 calorie meals, that's 1800 calories. While that could work for men, a lot of women may not lose that much, if any at all on that plan. It might work for a maintenance plan if you can do it perfectly, but for most people that’s just not the case. It’s better to reduce your calories by reducing your number of meals, not by increasing them.

Eating One Meal a Day vs. Six Meals a Day

Top 4 Benefits of Eating One Meal a Day

5 Important Things to Remember When Choosing to Eat One Meal a Day

5 Things To Do If You Want To Lose Weight

10 Fruits and Vegetables That Should Not Be “All You Can Eat”

Disclaimer: Before undertaking any diet or exercise plan, please consult your physician or healthcare professional. UltimateLife is not a doctor or trained health professional. Thank-you for your interest and support!