How Many Meals a Day to Lose Weight

Hey Empyreans, Carl here and today I'd like to share how many meals you should eat to lose weight. 

First, let's ditch the word "weight" and say the word "fat"because that's what we really want to lose! When we lose fat, that's when the body unlocks its health properties. As for muscle, that's what we want to keep because it's the muscle that burns the fat. So don't just lose "weight", lose "weight of body fat"!

Okay, let's talk meals, how many and when to have them. Studies have shown that when you eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day, you will burn more calories, eat smaller portions and have better control of food cravings.

With that said, eat smaller and healthier meals every TWO to THREE hours. Depending if you wake up early or stay up late, you may eat up to six times a day! Your body is a machine that never turns off, it can benefit from frequent feeding!

In a perfect world, these six small meals can be split into three main meals and three snacks. After your first meal, allowed two to three hours before consuming your first snack. This will allow ample time for your body to digest the food.

If eating this frequently isn't realistic for you, eat as healthy as you can, when you can. What we're trying to do here is create a natural eating timer so that your body doesn't register that you are ever hungry or starving (which always leads to food binging).

Next, your workout schedule. Your workout schedule plays an important factor in creating your eating schedule. Try to have your last meal or snack two hours before a workout. Within these two hours, your focus should be on preparing your pre-workout (liquid) protein shake.

Then after workouts, there should be a (solid) meal consumed three hours after drinking your post-workout (liquid) protein shake. This is known as your post workout meal. Keep this in mind for if you work out in the morning, your breakfast may be your pre-workout shake or if you workout at night, your dinner may be your post-workout meal.

Lastly, your sleep schedule is another determining factor for setting up your meals. Studies have shown that when you consume a healthy meal or snack, like a protein shake, within the hour of rising that you will make healthier decisions throughout the day and have a regular appetite.

Sleeping is like a mini fast because the body doesn't get to feed during that time. This makes it imperative to have your first meal close to waking to fuel your body for the day and avoid starvation. You may eat all the way to bedtime if the two to three hours spacing calls for it. When approaching bedtime, focus on foods that are higher in protein to help feed your muscles and help them recover as you sleep.

- Carl Anthony Grande