A healthy, properly balanced diet is crucial for the body. However, it should be strongly emphasized that it is not only what we eat that is important. The number of meals and the distribution of their consumption during the day are also important. The problem is that there are many opinions on this subject, including extreme ones. How does it look in practice? How many meals should you eat a day and how many hours should you eat? In this article we answer this question.
What is meant by the concept of a properly balanced diet? This concept primarily concerns a menu that meets all the body's needs in terms of calories, nutrients, vitamins and minerals. However, it cannot be ignored that a properly balanced diet should also include eating meals regularly, at appropriate intervals. This translates into numerous benefits for the body. We must be aware of the fact that sitting at the table regularly reduces the risk of eating disorders, uncontrolled weight gain and the development of many serious diseases, including chronic diseases.
How many meals should you eat per day?
Sometimes you come across opinions that the number and distribution of meals during the day are of marginal importance, and the most important issue is maintaining the correct calorie and macronutrient balance. While adequately meeting the body's energy needs is extremely important, we cannot agree with the statement that the number of meals does not matter. Why? We hasten to explain.
Let's assume that we eat the first meal in the morning, and the next (and last) meal only in the evening, and both together meet our daily energy needs. What happens in such a situation? First of all: during the day there are significant fluctuations in the level of insulin in the blood, and we experience attacks of "wolf hunger". Secondly: we start snacking because it's hard to imagine that someone won't feel hungry in the long run. Thirdly: we disturb the daily balance of macronutrients, because such a small number of meals cannot be balanced properly. Fourth: we do not provide the body with the necessary vitamins and minerals.
In the long term, such action will have very serious consequences, even though in practice the body receives the appropriate amount of calories. Therefore, it cannot be said that the number of meals is of marginal or no importance. So how many meals should you eat per day?
According to experts in the field of healthy eating, three meals a day should be the absolute minimum, but we will achieve the greatest benefits when we eat five meals. This includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as two additional snacks - a less hearty second breakfast and an afternoon snack. This number ensures constant availability of energy, protects against fluctuations in insulin levels in the blood, and helps prevent energy reserves from being stored in the form of fat tissue (there are no periods of hunger, so the body does not store energy "for bad times"). Moreover, if we decide to divide the daily calorie balance into five meals, we can easily diversify our menu by including all the food groups that interest us. There is also no problem with maintaining the balance of macronutrients.
The correct distribution of the energy value of individual dishes should be as follows:
- breakfast: 25 percent energy,
- second breakfast: 10 percent energy,
- lunch: 30 percent energy,
- afternoon snack: 15 percent energy,
- dinner: 20 percent energy.
However, we must not forget that too much time cannot pass between one meal and the next. How many hours should you eat?
How many hours should you eat?
It is best to eat five meals a day at 3-hour intervals. Then the nutritional benefits will be greatest. This distance will also enable you to follow two important rules:
- it is best to eat breakfast within 60-90 minutes after waking up;
- It is best to eat dinner 2-3 hours before bedtime.
It should be emphasized that the above tips can only be followed by healthy people. In the case of diagnosed insulin resistance, diabetes and other metabolic diseases (and not only that), the number of meals and the hours of their consumption are determined by a specialist.
We already know how much we should eat. Now let's consider how to plan 5 meals a day.
How to plan 5 meals a day?
It cannot be denied that in the case of students and professionally active people, it is difficult to find time to prepare a properly balanced, nutritious dinner. So how can you make room in your schedule to prepare and eat as many as five meals? This is not an easy task, there is no doubt about it. It is definitely a bad idea to replace home-cooked meals with delicatessen or fast food products. Such action will not bring any benefits, but will cause a lot of harm. Fortunately, quick ready-made meals come to the rescue , containing only what is necessary for the body.
The eatyx product line has been developed to comprehensively meet the body's nutritional needs. Tasty and healthy ready-made meals contain all macronutrients balanced in appropriate proportions, and also a complex of vitamins and minerals necessary for health. Among our products you will also find quick and healthy snacks , such as EATYX FULL-VALUE MEAL IN THE FORM OF A CHOCOLATE BAR 60G and its other variant - EATYX FULL-VALUE MEAL IN THE FORM OF A COCONUT BAR 60G . Regardless of which eatyx meal you choose, you can be sure that you are eating a healthy, nutritious dish.
Even the best-prepared diet may require vitamin and mineral supplementation. This applies especially to physically active people who live in a hurry and are exposed to chronic stress, but not only. If you want to supplement your menu with essential microelements, it is worth reaching for eatyx HYPER VITAMINS AND MINERALS + PROBIOTICS . This innovative preparation contains not only a complex of vitamins and minerals and plant extracts valuable for health, but also as many as 10 strains of probiotic bacteria in an amount of 3 billion units. Do you suffer from chronic fatigue? Do you complain about the deteriorated condition of your skin, hair and nails, and do you notice a problem with retaining water in your body? This may mean that you need a cleansing treatment. eatyx HYPER DETOX 360 is an innovative product that extremely effectively removes toxins from the body.
