If you’re trying to burn more fat, build muscle, or simply maintain a healthy diet, it’s important to figure out the number of meals that best suits your profile.
The number of meals we should have per day depends on various factors, such as activity level, calorie needs, work routine, and individual goals.
As a result, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer; the number of meals varies from person to person.
In this post, we’ll discuss some key points to help you decide how often you should eat each day.
Phase 1. Analyzing Your Profile
Analyzing the student’s profile is the first step, which is crucial to better understand what this individual has been consuming throughout the day.
To do this, some important questions are:
- What foods have you been frequently consuming on a daily basis?
- Are you consuming a lot of carbohydrates throughout the day?
- Are you getting the right amount of protein?
- Are you following a specific diet or at least attempting to?
- How is your consumption of sweets?
- Alcohol on the weekends?
Caloric Expenditure and TDEE
As we can see, the question of how many times one should eat per day is highly variable and depends on a thorough assessment of each person, tailored to their needs.
For example, my students have achieved excellent results by following a routine of three to five daily meals.
However, to determine the correct amount of calories to be consumed throughout the day, it’s necessary to take into account each individual’s Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
This analysis of TDEE in nutrition is essential to determine the ideal number of meals for each person.
TDEE consists of the basal metabolic rate, which is the number of calories burned throughout the day to keep the body alive, and the additional energy expenditure from physical activities and other daily activities.
Once you know the correct TDEE for each individual, you can adjust the number of meals according to their nutritional needs.
Furthermore, the number of meals should also be adapted to meet each person’s goals, whether it’s maintaining, gaining, or losing weight.
It’s important to remember that, regardless of the number of meals, they should contain important nutrients to maintain proper bodily function.
Phase 2 – Strategy
After analyzing these basic pieces of information, we can move on to analyzing which strategy to use, such as caloric deficit, caloric surplus, or caloric maintenance.
Next, we can examine which dietary style would be best for you based on your goals, needs, and routine.
With this analysis, you can get an idea of how many pounds you might lose or gain after a few weeks and months.
Low Carb Diets, Intermittent Fasting, Ketogenic Diet
Some people might feel fine with only one meal a day, but is that the most effective strategy? Our bodies tend to adapt to the eating routines we provide them.
Someone who eats only once a day might experience a slowed metabolism over time.
There are various dietary styles and strategies that can be used in a diet. The first step is to analyze which one aligns best with your profile.
Much is said about low-carb and intermittent fasting, but these strategies are not suitable for everyone.
Intermittent fasting, when followed for more than three months, can actually slow down metabolism, as our bodies tend to get accustomed to the stimuli we give them.
If you’re eating two meals a day, your body will likely slow down its metabolism and might even store more fat. Yes, you read that right.
I could delve deeper into this, but I’ll just mention that this is a common occurrence, and I see many people coming to me with this issue.
Some people need to eat more in order to lose weight. Can you believe that? In practice, this happens quite often.
Intermittent Fasting and Other Strategies
It’s extremely important to examine strategies like intermittent fasting, as they can be extremely beneficial for health, depending on the case.
Intermittent fasting holds promise, as it has the potential to improve metabolic health, reduce inflammation, and enhance insulin sensitivity.
Furthermore, it has also been associated with mental health benefits, and preliminary studies suggest that intermittent fasting might contribute to improved longevity.
For these reasons, it’s important to assess whether intermittent fasting is suitable for an individual based on their lifestyle, eating routine, and nutritional needs.
One should consult a nutritionist before starting any intermittent fasting strategy to maximize its benefits.
When done correctly, intermittent fasting can help improve overall health and well-being.
In the medium to long term of fat burning, you need to keep your body in a state of high caloric expenditure. The best way to achieve this is by training effectively and providing the necessary nutritional support.
I see many people eating only once a day, unable to further reduce their weight, and still not engaging in strength training. This is a recipe for a slow metabolism, flabbiness, nutritional deficiency, and more.
With a professional who analyzes the best strategy, you can fully benefit from what each option offers.
Low carb follows the same principle, and it’s not the most efficient strategy for people aiming to gain more muscle mass.
Regarding intermittent fasting, I believe it can be a great short- to medium-term strategy, but as a long-term approach, I don’t think it’s the best. I’ll explain below.
If someone is fasting, it’s likely because they want to lose weight, burn more fat. For more effective fat burning, you need to increase muscle mass, and to do that, you need to provide more nutrients to your body, which will require eating more than once or twice a day.
So, how many meals are necessary for those looking to cut fat or gain muscle mass?
In conclusion, individualization is key.
Now that I’ve explained a bit more about these strategies, I can share my opinion on this topic.
For Weight Loss I recommend at least 3 meals a day.
For more Definition without losing muscle volume, a person should aim for around 4 to 5 meals a day.
For gaining more muscle mass, that person should eat 4 to 6 times a day.
Of course, even within these three goals, the number can vary. Once again, it depends on each individual’s uniqueness.
What I’ve mentioned here is the basics before you embark on a nutritional plan, which means that above all, you need to consider these points; otherwise, your diet won’t align with your goals.
If you have further questions about improving your diet, feel free to message me.
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Delano Pinheiro 