Calories and Meal Frequency
Consuming fewer calories is consistent with living longer. However, many people use this information to justify skipping meals. This is not a good choice: it induces “starvation mode,” in which metabolism slows to promote energy conservation. Skipping meals is also futile as most will binge whenever they do eat. Most importantly, this behavior causes a major disruption in insulin levels, and an elevated insulin level is one of the major contributors to poor health. When multiple small meals are consumed throughout the day, blood sugar is well controlled and, therefore, so is insulin.
Eat once every 3 to 4 hours
While meal times and frequency will vary, this typically means eating 5 times per day: breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner. Meals are to be a balance of fruits/vegetables, lean protein, and good fat.
