Up until a few years ago, I parroted popular Fitness Industry advice to eat every 3 hours to keep your metabolism up.  3 meals a day and 2 snacks.

After going through my own struggles with metabolism and weight gain, I began to research what really works for Fat Loss and I decided that snacking was not helpful to people who are trying to keep their body fat levels down.

People tell bodybuilders to eat every 3 hours but their goal is to GAIN weight.

Why would we tell folks who want to keep their body fat levels down they need to do the same thing?

When I was dieting for my fitness competition you were supposed to eat more frequently because apparently it had an effect on metabolism.The latest research also says there’s really no effect with metabolism by eating more frequently.  I think part of the eat 6 meals per day strategy is to keep your mind off of starving.

In my personal opinion, I think eating too frequently can do more harm than good.

Every time we eat (especially carbohydrate…the basis of most snacking) our insulin levels rise.  This can lead to major problems (like insulin resistance) later on down the line.

Facts about Snacking

97% of Americans snack daily

25 % of calories come from Snacking (USDA 2014a)

Women consume 400 calories from snacks

Men consume 600 calories from snacks (USDA 2011)

Compared with 30 years ago, Americans consume 200 more calories from snacking.

In 1977 the average calories in a snack was: 144

In 2006: The average calories in a snack was 226 (Premeis and Popkin 2010)

Why are people snacking

In my opinion, people are snacking because there’s so much food available and people are skipping meals.  When I have visited tech companies, there are endless snacks for employees to munch on during the day.  People snack even when they are not hungry because the food is there.

I also think skipping meals is another issue.  Whether it is because people do not prepare meals ahead of time or they are trying to lose weight, people fall into snacking out of convenience and also because they try to diet with a starvation amount of calories and end up snacking for quick energy.

Emotional Eating

Many women “snack” at night.

There can be several reasons for this:

  • Not eating enough during the day and bingeing in the evening on snack foods
  • Lonely/Bored
  • Rewarding themselves for a hard day or indulging to treat themselves

Avoid “Fitness” Snacks as well

When I read the ingredients on most “Fitness Snacks” my head hurts.  Cheap soy fillers, too much sugar, artificial sweeteners, etc.  Stay away from those fitness “Snacks”.  You don’t need them.  The 100 calorie packs are not very satisfying either.  Food manufacturers started making those as an answer to “portion control” but without satiety you just end up eating more.

If I have to eat a Healthy Snack I go for my nutritional shake, Larabar, Fruit and Nut Butter, homemade nutrition bar, or an RX Bar.

If you do choose to snack make it a high protein snack.

Studies have shown that a high protein snack keeps people full and helps them to choose better food choices later on during the day (Leidy et al 2015)

No Snacking:  Eat 3 Meals Per Day

I don’t believe people need to snack.

I believe people need to focus on eating 3 Nutrient Dense meals per day, allow the food to digest, and cut the snacking out.  One of the best guidelines from the Whole30 is to avoid snacking.  Allow yourself to feel tolerable hunger.  It’s okay.  Allow your food to digest and metabolize.  Allow your body to burn stored body fat for energy instead of just burning sugars.

 

I’ve noticed myself since I switched to this style of eating that I no longer find myself looking for snacks at night because I’m satiated from my nutrient dense meals.

If you want to see real results, then cut out the snacking and start eating 3 Nutrient Dense Meals per day (ESPECIALLY BREAKFAST)  If you will do this, then you will see big results!