Hey FunLifers,
"How often should I eat in a day?" "When should I eat?" These are some of the most frequent questions we get from our clients. So, we're going to break it down in 2 different emails for this week: 1) How many times a day should I eat? 2) When should I be eating?
Today, let's talk about how many times a day you should eat. I grew up believing my metabolism was like "fire”. If I periodically fuel it with wood throughout the day - I would keep the "fire" going! AKA - The 3 meal, 2 snack model.
But then, I started to learn about the role of insulin in the body and BOOM - the 3 meal/2 snack model was annihilated.
Without diving to deep into the topic of insulin, it’s important to know that insulin:
Plays a vital role in our health, but like anything else, if we abuse it - it’s detrimental to our health
Insulin is an anabolic hormone that stimulates growth and storage of nutrients.
If your goal is to lose weight or optimize your overall health, we need to regulate how much insulin we stimulate throughout the day.
Most people believe only carbohydrates stimulate insulin (blood sugar rises > insulin follows) but protein and fats do, as well. In other words, EVERY TIME you eat you’re stimulating insulin. The grazing mentality, unfortunately stimulates too much insulin production throughout the day; never giving your body the ability to metabolize what you have stored (aka body fat)
Also, the more insulin you produce, the higher the chances of developing insulin resistance are. FACT: Recent studies show us that up to 85% of people are insulin resistant!
The takeaway: EAT MEALS AND NOT SNACKS! 😋 Stick to 2-3 meals composed of macro and micronutrients!
Want a little extra fat-burning credit? Make your first or last meal leafy greens, protein and healthy fats only (NO starchy carb, sugar, alcohol).
-Functional Lifestyles
