It’s counter intuitive – most of us skip a meal when trying to lose weight – but you will probably lose more weight by eating more meals per day. Over the last year I’ve found that by eating small sortions more frequently I do better with my weight loss.

As a result I now aim for 6 “meals” per day. Each meal varies between a 110Kcal protein shake or a handful of nuts and raisins to a full cooked meal containing around 500kcal. My aim is to average 300 kcal per meal for a daily average of around 1800 to 2000kcal. Although as I get fittern and get more exercise that will probably rise in line with the extra requirements for energy to support the exercise.

So what are the benefits of eating more frequently when it comes to losing weight? Well firstly studies have found that there is a correlation between skipping breakfast and obesity. As the researchers noted skipping breakfast was:

…associated with a lower diet quality and concentrated energy intakes through higher protein intakes at lunch and the consumption of snacks higher in energy and carbohydrate in the afternoon and evening;

Which brings us nicely to the other benefit of eating more frequently. If you’ve planned to have 6 meals a day, then you’re eating a meal every 2 to 3 hours which means your energy intake is more even throughout the day and you’re less likely to snack knowing that your next meal is not far away.