Weight Loss Articles

People in the United States, and people all over the world, battle with obesity in some way. It is a common issue that has come to our attention just in the last ten years or so. Its obesity and its one of the most accepted issues in our society today. What is creating the obesity outbreak? Increasing amounts of manufactured and processed foods, large portion sizes, and lazy lifestyles are all important elements in why the world now struggles with being overweight. It looks as if there should be an easy solution to this issue, but it has created much confusion about working out and diet. In the diet category, it has been an argument for a long time between physicians and scientists on both sides about how often it is healthy to eat.

One opinion of some experts is to eat five to six small meals a day to prevent constant hunger. The idea is that if you are able to eat little amounts more frequently you will not snack on junk foods because your body needs nutritional supplement every couple of hours. Another reason this is healthier is because the we can only absorb a certain amount of nutrients at any given time so anything over this amount is working against you. Consuming large amounts at any given meal will actually do just the opposite because the body will create fat with the excess food. People that won't eat all day long then fill up at dinner are practicing a very bad eating habit. Basically, your metabolism is in hibernation all day and then is overloaded with too many food at once. This is what causes some of us to feel so tired after eating dinner at night.

Most physicians and scientists agree that to miss a meal or more than one is not beneficial to a persons overall healthiness. The metabolism will react to our diet and intake of calories. The metabolism only works at a normal level when it knows that the body has consumed a safe amount of food. If you skip a meal or multiple meals, you are sending a message to your metabolism that there is not enough to eat and that it should start conserving energy. This is why some people get fatigued and grumpy when we don't eat. So is the answer to eat smaller meals more often? It is probably a debate that will go on for some time, because the main factor that determines how many calories to consume everyday is individual metabolism.

Experts say eating three meals a day is better than eating all the calories your body needs in a day at a specific time because it can reduce eating and snacking between meals. You don't need to gorge yourself three times everyday, it just means to maintain your caloric consumption by time not by going by your body's cravings. Removing snacks and unhealthy drinks such as sodas, sports drinks, and coffee (with cream and sugar of course) will reduce your caloric intake by hundreds of calories everyday.

On the subject of how often we should eat, many professionals think that it matters less when you eat the meals and more on total caloric intake. If everyone had a meal when hungry we would all have completely different eating habits. Most people who like to eliminate meals pick to skip breakfast, and this is the worst meal you could ever remove from the diet Breakfast is important to boost your metabolism in the morning so that it is always burning calories throughout the day and doesn't go into hibernation mode during the afternoon. This habit can also cause you to be very hungry when you finally do decide to eat ant you will eat way too much. For people who can't eat breakfast you should pay attention to eating healthy foods that you are most likely leaving out. To get great energy from foods with low calories eat low fat dairy products and whole grains whenever possible.

In a recent study, British doctors found that females who skipped breakfast 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 in the mornings. Also, females who eat breakfast tended to consume fewer high calorie snacks throughout the day to make up for the body's hunger. Unfortunately the snacks that are available to most people are unhealthy and high in calories, and when you don't eat meals and start to get hungry during the day these are the things you will eat.