Why Intermittent Fasting Is Better Than the “5 Meals a Day” Rule for Weight Loss

You may have heard that eating five small meals a day—breakfast, midmorning snack, lunch, midafternoon snack, and dinner—boosts your metabolism and helps you lose weight.

However, according to our weight loss clinic’s nutrition specialists, there is little scientific evidence to suggest this widely held belief is true.

That’s why we recommend people try other eating patterns such as intermittent fasting.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that is less about what you eat and more about when you eat it.

The most popular form is the 16/8 method, in which you eat two or three meals within an 8-hour window and fast for the remaining 16 hours every day.

Some people do 24-hour or multiple days fasts—it just depends on what works best for your body and what your doctor and our weight loss clinic recommends.

How Does It Promote Weight Loss?

Intermittent fasting may be a popular weight loss trend, but that doesn’t mean it’s not based on hard evidence.

In fact, studies show that intermittent fasting enhances the function of several fat-burning hormones such as insulin, norepinephrine, and human growth hormone.

As a result, your metabolic rate increases by anywhere from 3.6% to 14% when you fast, allowing you to burn even more calories.

When you restrict your food intake to a specific window, you also consume fewer calories than when you follow a five meal schedule. This deficit then helps you lose weight.

It’s important to note that intermittent fasting does not mean starvation.

Nor does it mean you should overindulge during your eating window.

You should still be eating a filling and nutritious foods.

Following a low-carb diet between fasts, for example, not only minimizes hunger but also maximizes fat burning, so get the most from your weight loss program.

Wondering if intermittent fasting is right for you?

Need help creating a diet to follow between fasts?

Whatever the case, Custom Health Centers is here to help.

Call us at (844) 789-8446 to learn more about this popular weight-loss trend or schedule your free weight loss consultation.

Dr. Jason Olafsson D.C.