Why Eating More Frequently Makes You A Better Person
I was at a practitioner’s office this morning, and she told me about a client she has who is struggling with weight gain and concerns about diabetes. He proudly announced to her that he was trying to “get down to one meal a day,” ostensibly to resolve these issues.
I immediately started twitching.
Some medical professionals, particularly those who have jumped on the intermittent fasting bandwagon, would probably applaud this effort. After all, most people still espouse the ol’ “energy in, energy out” paradigm: the myth that simply creating an energy deficit by taking in less energy than you burn will result in weight loss.
Let’s briefly examine why that outdated thinking sucks.
First and foremost, when your body doesn’t get sufficient nutrients for long periods of time (like the 23 hours between meals if you’re only eating once a day), it thinks it’s starving. No matter how many blog posts you’ve read about intermittent fasting, your body only understands survival. That knowledge in your brain does not translate into changes in your metabolism.
When your body thinks it’s starving, it automatically kicks into survival mode: increasing appetite, lowering metabolism (aka burning less energy), lowering body temperature, cutting back on non-essential functions (like skin repair and hair growth), making you tired, and even storing fat more aggressively.
It doesn’t take a PhD in nutrition to see why not eating enough is counterproductive in terms of overall health, energy, weight loss, and general joie de vivre.
Let me emphasize an important point here: eating so little that your body kicks into survival mode doesn’t take long to happen. It can start even after one skipped meal. And every time it happens, your body gets better at the process. It recognizes the insufficient energy situation and jumps into action more quickly and efficiently.
This means that every time you skip a meal or ignore your hunger signals, your body gets BETTER AT GAINING WEIGHT. I’m sorry for the all caps, but I get really fired up about this. This is the reason dieting just doesn’t work for you anymore...and never really did. Your body is the surviving-starvation expert by this point, having seen enough forays into Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers that any whiff of hunger brings all hands on deck.
And as far as diabetes goes, only eating once a day is the exact wrong thing to do. The goal of managing blood sugar successfully is to reduce fluctuations, and I think we can all understand that one big meal once a day would create a huge blood sugar spike, while the 23 hours without sufficient food intake would cause a pretty significant blood sugar crash.
Not only will eating more frequent meals keep your blood sugar and your weight more stable, it is absolutely essential for creating a peaceful relationship with food. Your brain has been affected by the crazy diet train right along with your body, so feeling hungry likely ignites an over-the-top desire for food. Whereas people who haven’t dieted feel more relaxed around mealtimes, you’re probably ready to crane-kick the guy in front of you in line at Panera for taking too long to order.
This exaggerated appetite and obsession with food is a natural response to deprivation, and it can be resolved by reassuring your brain that you will get food on a reliable schedule. Eating frequently and promptly respecting your hunger signals is the prescription for feeling crazy around food.
In summary, your body and your brain need consistent food to keep you healthy and happy. Whatever works for you is perfectly fine, whether it’s the traditional 3 square meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or 5-6 smaller meals every few hours. Food is your friend, and it’s safe for you to eat.
(I have to remind you that I’m not a doctor or a therapist, and you should always reach out for professional support if you need it.)
