Everyday Systems

Been lurking here for some time....LOVE the site, bought the book, and am following a somewhat modded NoS...
Anyhow, when I was reading an article on The Daily Mail site, I came across this quote for a nutritionist, and thought people here might find it interesting...

"Which is better for you - three hearty meals or six little ones? Diet books might advise you to 'eat little and often', but you're no more likely to lose weight this way.

Australian scientist Dr Michelle Palmer compared weight loss in people eating in both ways and found they lost the same amount. The only difference was the six-mini-meal group was more likely to put the weight back on.
Angela says: 'Eating little and often can control hunger, but there's a danger that by eating more often you eat more calories.'

Hugs to everyone

Jo

Thanks for de-lurking, treacletart! (and for the quote)

There have been a bunch of pro-meal stories in the media recently.

Is it possible that the pro-snacking drumbeat we've hear these last decades is finally becoming "old?" (a far more damning fate than merely "wrong" )

In any case, I need to gather the latest batch together and stick them on the homepage...

Reinhard

I don't doubt it when they say people who eat many times a day put the weight back on. Unless you count every calorie, it's easy for those 6 "mini" meals to turn into six BIG meals, especially because most of what people snack on is terrible for you. Also, it only reinforces the "eat all the time" behavior that probably got us fat to begin with.

I came across a study that said that, in obese people who had gastric bypass, "grazing" behavior was a strong indication of future weight-regain. It seems the patients simply substituted grazing for binging, and ended up consuming large amounts of calories.

I think *barring a medical issue* that eating continually only teaches a person to continually eat.

Yes, Reinhard, you may use that in your next book

yay! I wish I could direct this to some of my teammates on a Living Binge Free site. They are convinced that eating often keeps them from bingeing, but I hear them all the time saying how they ate too much here and there, for meals and snacks AND still binge, as I did. I sometimes just report my experience here to them, and sometimes send private messages, when the time seems right. A person has to be ready to hear.

When 6-mealers are shocked about putting on the weight, I don't think they are being truly honest with themselves about how big those mini-meals are. 100-200 calories is hardly any amount of food at all, certainly not a satisfying amount. It's easy to think you are doing a mini-meal when in actuality it's probably a regular meal.