Weight Loss Articles

People in the United States, as well as people all over the world, battle with being overweight in some way. In the last few years people have come to realize a genuine issue that numerous people are suffering from. The problem is obesity and it is more regular today than ever. Why are there so many of us getting so big? Increasing amounts of fast and unhealthy foods, huge meal sizes, and lazy lifestyles are all important factors in why this country now fight with obesity. It looks as if there should be an easy explanation to this problem, but it has created much confusion about working out and diet. In the field of diet, it has been an argument for many years now between doctors and scientists on both sides about how frequently a person is supposed to eat.

When it comes to frequency of meals, most professionals say that it matters less when you eat and more on total caloric intake. If you eat when you feel hungry it may be two times a day or four. You've probably heard that old motto that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. So why is it the one that everybody skips? Breakfast is important to boost your metabolism in the morning so that it is steadily burning calories throughout the day and doesn't go into hibernation mode throughout the afternoon. Also, if you skip breakfast you are more vulnerable to be very hungry when you finally do get a chance to eat and will eat too much food. For those of us who can't eat breakfast you should pay attention to eating healthy foods that you are probably leaving out. To get great energy from foods with low calories eat low fat dairy products and whole grains any chance you get.

To insure that the metabolism will remain consistent stay away from snaking on unhealthy foods, it is important to consume at least 3 whole meals everyday. That doesn't necessarily mean to gorge yourself three times a day, it just means to maintain your caloric intake by time not by going by your body's hunger. Leaving out snacks and unhealthy drinks such as sodas, sports drinks, and coffee will bring down your caloric intake by hundreds of calories everyday.

The possible solution to hunger is to attempt what many experts agree is the ideal method for consuming food now; eat 5-6 reduced size meals over the course of the day. Because we need constant nutritional supplements it is ideal to consume a planned healthy meal every few hours and not unhealthy snacks. It has also been theorized that we can only take in so many nutrients and so much food at any given time. If you tend to consume too much at one time, it may be added to your body as fat deposits because the body has an excess of calories. Those of us won't eat all day long then eat too much at dinner have a terrible eating habit. Basically, your metabolism is in hibernation all day and then is overloaded with a large amount of food at one time. This is why some people feel so tired after having dinner at night.

Most doctors and scientists agree that to skip a meal or more than one meal is not beneficial to a persons overall healthiness. The metabolism will react to our diet and consumption of calories. If our bodies are receiving plenty of food and nutrients, our metabolism feels safe expending calories as it normally would. If you remove a meal or multiple meals, you are telling your body that there is not enough to eat and that it needs to start saving energy. This is why some of us become fatigued and grumpy when we don't eat. So is the solution to have smaller meals more often? It is likely a debate that we will have for some time, because the main factor that decides how many meals to eat a day is individual metabolism.

In a recent study, British scientists concluded that females who skipped in the morning tended to eat more calories throughout the day to make up for the period of fasting. This also resulted in a higher level of cholesterol than the people tested who eat healthy early in the day. This is because the females that choose to skip a meal in the morning eat more unhealthy high calorie snacks to balance the consumption. The worst part is that the fast foods that are available to most people are unhealthy and high in calories, and if you skip out on meals and start to get hungry throughout the day these snacks are the items you will eat.