Article  Eating Several Times a Day Can Lead to Weight Loss It is actually possible to experience weight loss while eating more often.  This is likely to seem counter intuitive to you.  Most people think that the only way to lose weight is to eat as little as possible.  However, the best way to achieve weight loss, and maintain the loss, is to eat several small, healthy meals per day. Women especially have been conditioned to believe that the only way to lose weight is to eat very little.  This may lead you to struggle throughout the day, without eating enough and being hungry.  Most people eventually become frustrated and so hungry that you lose control and eat to excess late in the day.  The overwhelming hunger that you feel is a reaction to lowered blood sugar.  It has nothing to do with will power.  As a matter of fact, not eating throughout the day in an effort to lose weight is rarely, if ever, effective. When you miss a meal or deprive yourself of food. Your body reacts like it did back in the caveman days.  When your body does not get enough food, it sends your brain a signal that basically says that it is starving.  Your brain will attempt to remedy this by slowing down your metabolism.  That actually makes your body keep its current fat stores and your metabolism basically goes into hibernation.  Your body will burn as few calories as possible.  Therefore, not eating enough can actually sabotage your weight loss efforts. In today’s world, it is almost too easy to get high calorie food.  Drive through food and snack food can cause you to exceed your daily calorie limit in one sitting!  However, even if you splurge, not eating for the rest of the day is not the answer.  When you consume too many calories at lunch and try to make up for it by not eating the rest of the day, your body will still attempt to slow your metabolism.  This means that the extra calories you ate for lunch will not get burned off and will likely be stored as extra fat in your body.  Trying to circumvent your body’s natural responses can really hinder your weight loss. Not only does it contribute to weight loss, eating small, frequent meals also helps to build lean muscle mass.  If you do not eat enough, your body will run out of energy and it will begin to burn its own muscle for fuel.  Basically, the bottom line is that, if you do not eat properly, your body will begin to cannibalize itself.  Lean muscle is important for weight loss because the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, and the more calories you will burn.  Make certain that you are not sacrificing your muscles by skipping meals.   Eating several small meals a day will help you to reach your weight loss goals because it works with your body and metabolism.  This method will help you to keep your energy levels up and your metabolism at its peak level of functioning.   Keep in mind that these small meals need to be healthy.  Each meal needs to be the correct combination of healthy fat, protein, and complex carbohydrates. The Cookie Diet, a much publicized diet, can provide you with the right balance of fats, proteins, carbs, and other important nutrients essential to overall weight loss.  If you are balking at the idea of eating several times a day, keep a careful record of what you usually eat on a daily basis.  Keep track of everything.  If you write down every time that you snack, eat, munch, sample and ‘test’ during cooking, you will probably find that you are already eating several times per day.  You may also be concerned about having the time to prepare so many small meals each day.  Remember that these small meals are more like snacks, not a full meal.  Make it easier on yourself by making a grocery list and make one stop for all of your food on your day off.  Cook large batches of food at once.  Separate the food into the proper portions and freeze them for later use.  Or, there is always the option of purchasing food from a dietary facility. The Cookie Diet foods can be shipped to you, or you can simply go down to a local store to pick up some products, making this diet extremely easy and flexible.   Remember, eating several, small, healthy meals every day can actually lead to weight loss.  Space your meals and snacks out evenly through the day and try not to go longer than three hours without eating.  Eating several small meals leads to weight loss because it keeps your blood sugar up and your metabolism raised.  It will also help you to maintain lean muscle mass and burn calories. Category Diet & Exercise Author Admin Add To Favorites Print This Article Email Article To A Friend Post Comments   Rate This Article (0) 1 - Poor2345 - Good678910 - Excellent Added On 2009-04-22