The belief that eating smaller, more frequent meals is beneficial for fat loss because it will “speed up your metabolism” has been around for decades. This belief is still very much alive. The ironic thing is, that in a caloric deficit (which is needed to lose fat) metabolic adaptations are not going to be positive, but that is another topic. From a logical standpoint it does seem to make some sense. There is TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) which is basically the calories your body will burn after eating a meal. The theory is that spacing out your meals will allow you to get the full benefit of TEF and burn more calories. This evolved over time into the regurgitated “eat more small meals to speed up your metabolism and lose more weight” we have all heard time and time again.

Unfortunately the average person hears this and accepts it as facts. “You gotta be eating 6 meals to really lose weight!”. The big problem is that the logic is actually highly flawed. On average a meal will yield a TEF of 10 percent of the total calories. This means that if your meal is 400 calories about 40 will be burned from TEF. A 1200 calorie meal will result in a TEF of 120 calories. So at the end of the day total TEF will be dependent on total calories, not how many times you ate. Should you choose to eat 2 meals in a day or 6 meals the TEF will be identical assuming calories and protein are equal.

So that brings us to the next point. Total Energy Balance is what dictates weight management. In a Meta Analysis reviewing over 300 studies on the topic there were no significant differences found in fat loss between a variety of daily meals consumed. Basically, when calories are equated, more frequent feedings will not have enough of an impact to claim whether it is better or worse. Being able to adhere to a deficit is the most important factor in regards to weight loss, not the arbitrary number of meals eaten. For most, eating every 2-3 hours is simply not practical. The number of meals you eat should depend on your schedule, preference and IMO be somewhat structured around your training schedule to optimize performance and recovery (that is another article). In most cases eating between 3-5 meals daily will be ideal.

Also it is important to note when you feel most satiated. Eating 7 rabbit sized meals per day will probably never leave you fully satisfied. You may find that eating 3-4 bigger meals does the trick. During a fat loss phase satiation is going to play a big role in adherence. It is ideal to minimize the amount of time spent hungry and food focused.  Being able to live a more normal life, or at least feel this way will help make dieting easier. The easier a dieting phase is, the more likely the individual is to stick with it. Whether you find yourself eating 2x per day or 6x, make sure the reasoning behind it is because YOU want to eat that way, not because someone told you it was best. There could be a situation where you find any number of meals to be appropriate.