Healthy Eating Schedule

Week #28: How to develop regular eating patterns

What is a healthy eating schedule for smart weight management? Is it five meals a day, or is it less?

I know that when it comes to weight loss you want to focus on smart habits. And meal frequency seems to be an important aspect.

Which meal frequency is best for you?

You find many recommendations for clean eating that endorses five to six meals a day.

Recently, however, the three meals per day advocates have begun shouting louder once again. So, who is right?

Often these recommendations are presented with scientific studies backing a one-or-the-other approach. Sometimes it seems that the preached meal frequency is dependent on the actual diet trend.

The best specific eating schedule for you cannot be determined by a solution targeted towards everybody. Of course, a healthy weight is mainly a question of food choices and daily calorie intake.

From the nutritional and physiological point of view, both concepts have the potential to provide you with balanced nutrition throughout the day.

5 meals a day

In the context of clean eating and a weight loss eating schedule, I recommend five meals a day. The reason for this is both simple and pragmatic; let me explain…

It is much easier to implement my 52 week clean eating ideas with a daily eating schedule consisting of five healthy, smaller meals:

• A healthy breakfast is your springboard into a good start to a day that encourages healthy behavior (-> habit #26)
• Fruit is portable and can easily be eaten on the go, and it fits very well and naturally into your breakfast. Two servings of fruits per day are recommended. (-> habit week #5) So this challenge asks not only for breakfast, but also for at least one break.
• Healthy, clean eating snacks help you to replace your most unhealthy snacks you desire most often. (-> habit #22)
• Eating more vegetables is a keystone habit for maintaining a healthy weight. You want to eat four to six servings of fibrous vegetables per day. (-> habit #4) This advice is easier followed with more meals spread throughout your day.
• Three servings of whole grains per day is a healthy approach. (-> habit #8) Again, a higher meal frequency will give you more flexibility in reaching this goal.
• You want to get sufficient monounsaturated fats by consuming one tablespoon of healthy nuts for breakfast. (-> habit #13) You could eat part of your portion of nuts in your muesli for breakfast. The other serving could be part of your afternoon snack.
• Sitting down for a meal and drinking water often goes hand in hand. With a higher meal frequency, you increase your chances of drinking more water, which is another keystone habit for maintaining a healthy weight.
  (-> habit #2)

4 advantages of eating 5 smaller meals a day

There are many more arguments that support the five meal a day eating pattern. Here are just a few:

1. The more meals you eat daily, the more diverse the nutrients you consume. Doing this daily will guard your body from deficiencies.
2. Frequent smaller meals prevent major fluctuations of your blood sugar levels. Higher fluctuations usually result in a loss of productivity and cravings. With smaller portions, it is eventually easier to remain satisfied and satiated throughout the day.
3. If you are not extremely hungry when you start your meal, you can eat rather slow and thus it becomes easier to realize when you are full.
4. Smaller meals prevent the typical fatigue and lethargy that may occur after a heavy meal. Afterwards, you’ll feel more energetic.

Uncontrolled eating patterns can result in substantial weight gain

Many people eat more than five meals a day, but often they don’t even realize they’re having a meal. The bits may be small but nevertheless calorie rich. A mini-donut here, a chocolate bar there, then a hand full potato chips later…

In this way, you can consume way too much without ever having the feeling that it was enough. Such a frequent eating schedule can result in substantial weight gain.

Baby Steps: How to develop a healthy eating schedule

Regular meal times are more important than frequency. Set a meal time and try to sit down for breakfast and dinner at the same time each day.

Below is a simple five-step habit change that will help you develop a regular eating schedule with a maximum of five meals per day.

1) Start your day with a healthy breakfast (-> habit #26)

2) Decrease the main meal portions and add snacks. Here is an example of a smart eating schedule to follow:

Breakfast:                              06:30 a.m. - 08:00 a.m.
Late Morning Break:           09:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Lunch:                                    12:30 p.m. - 01:30 p.m.
Afternoon Snack:                 03:00 p.m. - 04:00 p.m.
Dinner:                                   06:00 p.m. - 07:30 p.m.

3) Plan your main meals ahead of time using a weekly meal planner
(-> habit #14) in combination with a running shopping list. (-> habit #25)

4) Take your time for your meal, sit at a table, and practice mindful eating; pay attention to your satiation.

5) See it as a gift if you can have regular meals (e.g. breakfast and dinner with other members of the household). This wonderful habit will reward you with maintaining or developing strong family relationships.

4 extra tips for a healthy eating schedule

• Opt for meals with mainly clean foods that have a long satiation effect.
• No additional snacks beside your late morning and afternoon snacks should be consumed.
• Find strategies for the most dangerous snacking time after dinner in front of the TV (-> habit #6)
• If you know you’ll have a busy week ahead of you, consider freezer cooking - prepare big batches of food on Sunday and freeze them so you can eat them through the week.

I’d love to hear from you!

I’d love to read your thoughts in the comment section below. How often do you eat daily? Are you eating five meals a day? Which healthy eating schedules have you tried, and did it work for you?