Eating 5 Meals A Day

Learn more information about eating 5 meals a day. In this article we'll discuss eating 5 meals a day.

Nutritionists offer five meals a day, as opposed to very limited diets.

By eating this scheme, you will not feel hungry and say goodbye to extra pounds without suffering. Here is what should be the ideal weight loss without interruption.

From the article, you will learn the basic rules of 5 meals a day, whether such a diet is effective for weight loss, approximately a menu for a week.

Basic principles of diet

Five meals a day is not a diet in the usual sense ... Rather, it is a system based on consistency, moderation in food.

It is advisable to follow it constantly, learning to eat properly, as one or two weeks of such a regimen is unlikely to have an effect.

It is important to determine your regular meeting time  with 5 meals a day: the optimal time for the first breakfast will be 7: 00-9: 00, the second - 11: 00-12: 00, lunch - 14: 00-15: 00, afternoon breakfast - 16: 00-17: 00 and dinner - 19:00.

Basic requirements for the organization of five meals a day:

• Five meals are distributed evenly throughout the day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and two additional snacks will keep your hunger from becoming too noticeable.
• You should eat small portions until hunger is satisfied, but not overeating.
• Food should be divided according to calorie content: try to eat the most caloric foods before lunch and leave vegetables, dairy products and lean meat for the evening.
• The diet should be based on plant foods and grains.
• Meat and poultry are best steamed or stewed.
• The daily menu should contain fiber (cabbage, apples, cereals), foods containing Omega-3 (fish, nuts).
• It is necessary to drink more fluids - this will help fill the stomach, will accelerate the elimination of toxins and toxins from the body. In addition to water, tea, rosehip broth, fat-free kefir are suitable drinks.
• There should be a difference between dinner and sleep, but not less than three hours.
• Calculate the number of calories you need per day. To lose weight, try to choose low-calorie foods.

Effect on the body

Proper organization of five meals a day will help not only to say goodbye to unwanted weight. Problems with sleep and the work of the gastrointestinal tract will disappear , the metabolism will accelerate, additional energy will appear. 

Combine this system with active sports activities to build muscle mass. Strength training should be done three times a week, aerobic training five to seven times.

Attention! Before starting the transition to five meals a day, it is advisable to consult a gastroenterologist or nutritionist, read their recommendations.

Advantages and disadvantages, contraindications

Advantages of the system:

• lack of hunger;
• varied menu: you can eat almost anything, only in small quantities and at the right time;
• when switching to five meals a day, the stomach gradually gets used to eating food in small portions and reduces its volume, which excludes cases of overeating in the future.

The system has virtually no disadvantages and contraindications , but it must be remembered that there is no diet that is equally useful and suitable for everyone. It is necessary to take into account the state of health, the presence of diseases and the corresponding restrictions in the menu.

The small diet is considered to be correct, meeting the requirements of the body. If necessary, the system allows for adaptation to the needs of a particular person.

The only drawback - the modern lifestyle does not always allow you to stick to a scheme. Lack of time, uncomfortable working conditions, stress, "seized" from sweets - all these factors lead to the fact that a person breaks down and starts eating again anyway and whatever.

Try to switch to five meals a day while you are on vacation, when you have time and opportunity to plan everything calmly, make a list of foods, menus and start getting used to a new style of eating.

When compiling a weekly menu, follow these simple guidelines:

• immediately make a list of products for the week, divide them by days;
• carbohydrates should be consumed for breakfast, protein for dinner;
• water, juices, tea can be drunk in unlimited quantities;
• moderately add salt, spices to food, as salt retains fluid in the body, and spices can cause appetite;
• it is better to cook fish or meat, stew or bake, try not to fry anything;
• if the vegetables are cooked as a side dish, they make up the bulk of the portion;
• if rice or buckwheat is cooked as a side dish, their volume is equal to half the portion, equal to meat or fish.

Below is a sample menu for a week with a five-day diet for weight loss.

	1st breakfast	2nd breakfast	Dinner	Snack	Dinner
Monday	Oatmeal, fruit, tea or coffee	Two carrots or a salad of carrots and apples without sugar	Vegetable stew or soup, chicken stew	Low-fat cottage cheese, lemon tea, fruit	Boiled chicken or fish, vegetable salad
Tuesday	Low-fat cottage cheese, banana, tea or coffee	Grapefruit or orange	Steamed rice, steamed fish with vegetables	Green apples, decoction of tea or rose hips	Roast turkey meat, vegetable salad
Wednesday	Oatmeal with a spoonful of honey, banana, lemon tea	Grapefruit, a few  walnuts , tea	Vegetable soup, brown rice, boiled fish	Low-fat cottage cheese with berries, coffee	Roast lean pork, cheese, cucumber
Thursday		Low-fat natural yogurt	Vegetable soup, boiled beef, green peas, apples	Tomato and cucumber salad with sour cream, rosehip decoction	Cooked shrimp or squid, tomatoes, cucumbers
Friday	Rye bread, boiled egg, cucumber, tea or coffee	Large grapefruit or apples, mint tea	Mushroom soup, boiled chicken with vegetable garnish	Low fat casserole	Roasted fish,  vegetable stew
Saturday	Oatmeal, boiled egg, tea	Low-fat yogurt, banana or orange	Boiled buckwheat with beef, vegetable salad, apples	A glass of kefir, apple or pear	Boiled fish with vegetable garnish
Sunday	Muesli, fruit or berries, tea or coffee	Two kiwis	Boiled brown rice, vegetable casserole with beef, apple	Boiled squid, fresh tomato juice	Steamed fish cakes, omelet, vegetable salad

 

• Set realistic goals. Do not try to lose more than one kilogram in a week. First, rapid weight loss is not very useful for the body, and secondly, unlike the results of solid diets, with slow weight loss weight goes irrevocably.
• Tune in correctly. Don't worry too much if you haven't endured and eaten something harmful, fast food or candy. Conversely, brag about even a small result.
• Find support from loved ones. It will be much easier to stick to five meals a day if your family is with you.
• Choose the physical activity you like. Walk more.

It will be good if you keep a notebook to record and count the calories eaten per day. Such a notebook acts as a controlling and limiting factor when you see how much you have already eaten in the past day.

It is true that such a diet is not suitable for those who want to quickly get rid of a large amount of extra pounds. With five meals a day, the weight goes away slowly, but surely without coming back. 

At 5 meals a day, the body fully recovers, receiving food every two to three hours; metabolism is accelerated and fats do not have time to form.

In the first month you can lose up to 8 kg , then the weight decreases more slowly. With such a gradual weight loss there are no problems with sagging skin, especially if there is physical activity.

Such a diet is also pleasant in that you do not need to completely exclude your favorite foods: just limit their amount and use them less often than you are used to.

If you are not on a diet, five meals a day will help to gradually get rid of  excess weight  and further maintain your figure in proper condition.

This fairly simple eating system does not stress the body due to sudden dietary restrictions and is much more effective than diet and starvation.

 

Eating rarely does not mean losing weight. The belief that with the minimum number of meals you can lose weight is a complete delusion. On the contrary, nutritionists consider five meals a day to be optimal for weight loss. Once you have prepared a menu with this calculation, you will definitely be able to enjoy the many benefits of this method. There will be no hunger and the weight will disappear incredibly quickly.

The benefits of 5 meals a day

Confidence in your own actions gives additional motivation. Therefore, for healthy and successful weight loss, you will first need to understand why the one-week menu is better prepared for five meals a day, rather than three times a day, as usual. It suffices to describe at least such aspects.

1. The food consists of small portions - a maximum of 250-300 ml. This is actually a little more than a "standard" cup. Seems too small? But not. Since the diet menu for weight loss is designed in such a way that you need to eat often, there will be no hunger.

 

1. Each modest portion consumed in this case has time to be fully absorbed before the next one arrives. Therefore, the risk of fat accumulation is not only minimal. He is literally missing. Of course, if the menu includes the  right products  - no fat, salt, sugar.
2. You should not call this system a diet. After all, this does not imply serious restrictions. Its principles are systematicity, consistency and moderation. The weekly menu becomes just an example, but it is better to follow the rules constantly, rather than for a few days.
3. Finally, is it possible to lose weight at all? If you work hard and follow the right menu, it is quite possible. With constant consumption of food at intervals of only 2-3 hours, the body recovers completely. Metabolism improves, fat does not have time to form. Thus, the extra pounds will definitely disappear, and the figure will become almost perfect. And along with sports in general will be a reference!

There is no reason to doubt the effectiveness of five meals a day. It is certainly useful for both health and fitness. And its basic rules are to consume small portions of diet food every 2-3 hours. And the last meal (dinner) should be about 3-4 hours before bedtime.

It's that simple. It is true that success depends directly on the menu. It is enough to present his example for at least a week to get a complete picture of his nature. What should the menu look like? One of the possible options will be offered additionally.

About the menu

Main courses include a main course (meat, fish, seafood) and a side dish. Most of the portion (all the same 250 ml) falls on the garnish if it is a vegetable. If rice and cereals are used as a side dish, then they should be approximately equal to the main dish. Now actually the menu for the week.

MONDAY
Breakfast	Boiled rice without butter with green apple. Coffee or tea without added sugar.
Lunch	Lightly toasted toast with a hard-boiled egg. Tomato, fresh.
Dinner	Microwave oven. Vegetable salad of cucumbers and canned peas with soy sauce.
Snack	Low-fat cottage cheese and  green apple ... Coffee without milk or tea with lemon.
Dinner	Boiled chicken breast with fresh or stewed vegetables, seasoned with olive oil.
TUESDAY
Breakfast	Wholemeal bread with a piece of cheese. Ripe banana plus a drink without sugar.
Lunch	Low-fat cottage cheese with a spoonful of liquid honey.
Dinner	Steep meat broth with vegetable salad. This time you can take tomatoes and Chinese cabbage for salad.
Snack	A pair of green apples with herbal tea.
Dinner	Roast turkey fillet with two fresh cucumbers.
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast	Oat flakes ("Hercules"), cooked in water. With honey and banana. Tea with lemon.
Lunch	Apples and nuts, preferably walnuts. Tea again, maybe green.
Dinner	Rice, not white, but brown.  Vegetable stew  to choose from.
Snack	Casserole made with banana and natural yogurt. Coffee without sugar.
Dinner	Cooked seafood (shrimp, squid) with tomatoes and cucumbers, fresh.
THURSDAY
Breakfast	Buckwheat cooked in water. It can be boiled in the evening. Half a cup of your favorite fruit, preferably sour.
Lunch	Yogurt without colors or other additives. Fat content - minimum (less than 5%). Herbal tea
Dinner	Hake baked in the oven or slow cooker with lettuce.
Snack	Vegetable slices of cucumber and tomato, seasoned with natural sour cream.
Dinner	Roasted pork and hard cheese. One cucumber.
FRIDAY
Breakfast	Light puree with  vegetable oil , hard  boiled egg  and tomato.
Lunch	Large grapefruit with mint tea.
Dinner	Soup with mushrooms and rice. Toasted rye bread with hard cheese.
Snack	Casserole with low-fat cottage cheese, light sour cream and dried fruit.
Dinner	Microwave roasting mint (in a bag) with lettuce leaves.
SATURDAY
Breakfast	Boiled eggs with "dietary" mayonnaise (15% fat), tea with lemon juice.
Lunch	Fruits. Your choice is 2 oranges or 2 small bananas.
Dinner	Baked potatoes with mushrooms. White chicken, also roasted.
Snack	A glass of kefir with a pear (can be replaced with a green apple).
Dinner	Low-fat, unsalted cottage cheese with baked apples. Add cinnamon or ginger.
SUNDAY
Breakfast	Millet porridge cooked in water. Coffee without additives.
Lunch	Two medium kiwis.
Dinner	Vegetable casserole with boiled beef.
Snack	Boiled squid (or other seafood of your choice) with fresh tomato juice.
Dinner	Steamed fish fillet cutlets with boiled rice and tomatoes.

Conclusion

This menu turned out to be very varied and satisfying. In general, all the conditions for weight loss are created. All you have to do is arm yourself with this knowledge and start applying it in practice. The described method of eating is really an excellent option for leading a healthy lifestyle and maintaining a perfect figure. Ultimately, it all depends on the will and level of motivation to lose weight. They can always be "stimulated" and succeed.