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By Jill Ross, HealthAtoZ contributing writer
Sure, your mom used to tell you to quit nibbling or you'd spoil your appetite, but which do dietitians think is better for controlling your waistline - eating three squares a day or grazing?
Most of us are accustomed to having two to three meals a day. However, studies have suggested that grazing - eating smaller amounts of food more frequently - can make it easier to control your weight, particularly as you age.
Besides making it possible for you to continue to get into your blue jeans, mini-meals have some added health benefits. Research has shown that they are better for cholesterol and blood sugar control, and thus protect you, respectively, from heart disease and type 2 diabetes - two diseases also linked to obesity.
"Anything you can do to stack the deck in your favor, I'm all for it. Just do it sensibly," says Joan Carter, a registered dietitian and an instructor with the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine.
Experts say if you're trying to lose weight, eating less but more often may take the edge off your appetite so you don't wind up feeling ravenous and tempted to binge on fast food. But there's more to it than that.
Better fat burning with mini-meals
Research has suggested that older women burn fat from large meals less effectively than younger women but equally well from smaller meals. Body fat typically doubles between the ages of 20 and 60.
Researchers believe that your fat-burning ability drops because of hormonal changes. In a 1997 study at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, older women, had higher levels of glucagon, a hormone that triggers the release of sugar into the blood - the opposite effect of insulin. With more sugar available to fuel body processes, women burned less fat.
Carter has a word of caution about following a mini-meal plan. She says research has also shown that the more times people eat each day, the more total calories they tend to consume. After all, calories from even small, frequent snacks and meals can add up fast.
"It's probably safe to say that for most of us the key to weight control comes down to how much we eat, not when we eat it," Carter says. "Whether three meals or six, portion sizes and nutrient content matter."
If you decide to try eating mini-meals for weight control, Carter says be careful that the calories don't creep up, which is very easy to do if you're eating six times a day.
Be careful what you eat
Here are her tips for grazing:
- Keep a food diary so you can keep track of your calories, because eating more meals is not permission to overeat.
- Use mypyramid.com guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help guide you on reasonable serving sizes.
- Eat whole foods instead of processed foods. For example, eat a whole orange versus orange juice because the fruit has fiber and is more filling.
- Don't let your mini-meals come from the snack aisle or snack machine because you'll be taking in more fat and products with little nutritional value.
- Make sure your mini-meals balance out, so that you select from the various food groups (meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts; grains; fruits; vegetables, and dairy) to get protein, carbohydrates and a little fat.
If you're serious about losing weight with the mini-meal plan, Carter says you might want to weigh in with a professional. The American Dietetic Association's Web site can help you find a registered dietitian in your area.
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External Source
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The American Dietetic Association
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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