According to a number of nutritionists, to maintain the body in good shape without compromising health, two meals a day will be enough. This statement seems somewhat strange to many people, especially considering that the traditional system of proper nutrition provides for five or even six meals a day. However, this method is often used to get rid of extra pounds. It is worth saying that doctors speak positively about this.
In addition, repeated tests have proven that frequent meals are not at all necessary for people. The American Diabetes Association conducted an experiment that found that eating two meals a day is much healthier for weight loss than any other way of eating.
Description of the technique
In fact, there is nothing complicated about following this technique. You need to eat twice a day and enjoy the stable and quick results of the diet. But even here there are nuances with pitfalls. To ensure that the weight loss process does not harm your health and gives long-term results, you need to sit down at the dinner table at a certain time. And the menu should include only healthy and natural products.
Thus, in order to be able to definitely get rid of extra pounds, you need to have breakfast strictly before 10 o’clock in the morning, but not earlier than 6. The ideal time for lunch is from 12 to 16 o’clock. At the same time, you should never skip breakfast, because it is the most important meal of the day.
Breakfasts charge people with energy for the whole day, and at the same time trigger absolutely all internal processes in the body. In particular, stable and proper metabolism is ensured with the functioning of the digestive organs and so on.
If there are no dysfunctions of the organs, then there will be no excess fat deposits. Now let’s find out what the features of such a power system are and how it differs from the rest.
Peculiarities
Speaking about the two meals a day system, many are interested in the question of how much weight can be lost. It is immediately worth noting that eating only 2 times a day is a relatively small diet, so portions should be larger than usual. But this does not mean that they may contain many calories. This kind of thing should not be allowed under any circumstances.
Experts emphasize that ideally, such portions should be equal in calorie content to the usual ones. But the portion volume itself should always be impressive. This approach is implemented quite simply: choose those products with dishes that contain few calories. Then a person can eat more without exceeding the allotted limit of total daily calories.
It is worth talking about an experiment in which 54 people participated. For 3 months, people had to first follow the fractional nutrition system (that is, eat 6 small portions per day), and then switch to two meals a day, eating a hearty breakfast the whole day with a hearty lunch. Against this background, both nutritional systems provided the same calorie limit with identical nutrient ratios.
Studies have shown that eating six meals a day, just like two meals a day, contributes to weight loss. However, those who ate only two meals a day managed to lose an average of about 1.22 of their body mass index, while those who ate six times a day lost 0.821 of their weight. The average body mass index of participants immediately before the study was about 32.5. This indicator indicates obesity.
Focusing on the features of such a system, it is worth saying that experts note that two meals a day is more effective in the fight against excess weight due to the fact that the level of fat in the liver decreases, and the overall sensitivity to insulin increases. As a rule, such reactions are not observed in the body while following the six-meal system.
Nutritionists are convinced that not only the frequency of meals, but also the timing of meals is of no small importance when losing weight. Thus, in order to definitely get rid of excess weight, you need to have breakfast before 10 a.m. and have lunch no earlier than noon. Next, let's talk about the advantages of eating two meals a day for weight loss. Reviews will be presented at the end of the article.
Why should you choose two meals a day rather than split meals?
Many nutritionists contrast split meals with two meals a day and advise focusing on the first option. They justify this choice by the fact that a fractional daily diet is part of a healthy lifestyle and promotes weight loss without causing harm to the body. However, few studies have been conducted. Their results showed that the facts about fractional nutrition, previously considered reliable, are actually myths.
Myth 1. Small meals improve health
Nutritionists believe that when consuming small portions, less stress is placed on the body. This point of view is wrong. With a fractional diet, the body digests any food eaten throughout the day. He hardly gets any rest. This causes harm to the person. The body needs rest, because at this time processes of cleansing cells from harmful and unnecessary substances take place in it.
In order not to cause harm to the body, it is best to choose two meals a day for effective weight loss. If you ignore this recommendation, there is a risk of encountering inflammatory processes and diseases due to the body’s lack of time to cleanse itself.
Myth 2. Small meals speed up metabolism
Fractional nutrition has almost nothing to do with metabolism. Acceleration of metabolism occurs in the body only during the digestion of food.
Myth 3. With fractional meals it is impossible to overeat
With fractional meals, a person eats every 2–3 hours. He eats food until the feeling of hunger occurs, when the body does not need food. This is overeating. In addition, when eating fractional meals, some people forget about what the portion size should be and eat more than they should.
Myth 4. Small meals help you lose weight the fastest
British scientists specifically conducted a study on the topic of fractional nutrition and weight loss. The results showed that the number of meals had no effect on extra pounds. Weight depends on calories consumed. When the calorie intake is low, the body begins to use fat reserves. Physical activity plays an important role.
Myth 5. Small meals help reduce appetite
Nutritionists say that increasing the number of meals helps reduce appetite. However, American scientists from the University of Kansas Medical Center have proven that this information is unreliable. Each meal is associated with eating the usual amount of food, but you have to eat a small portion. As a result, a person feels less full.
If you eat 2 times a day, you can lose weight quickly. This is what many people who adhere to a two-a-day diet say. However, this does not mean that this diet is ideal for everyone. The only way to know whether two meals a day is appropriate is through personal experience. If there is no effect, it is recommended to use some other diet.
IMPORTANT! Informational article! Before use, you should consult a specialist.
Advantages over fractional meals
Armed with the results of the latest nutritional studies, European diabetes research experts are ready to completely refute the previously untouchable postulate about the benefits of six split meals a day for such patients. Thus, at the Prague Experimental Medical Institute, during an experiment involving fifty people aged 35 to 70 years old with diabetes, people alternately tried to adhere to one of the following two diet options:
- The use of fractional frequent meals, that is, six times a day exclusively in small portions.
- Using two meals a day in the form of a hearty breakfast and dinner, without an intermediate snack.
Against this background, the caloric content of the daily volume of food consumed in both cases of the diet was 500 calories lower than the volume of daily energy expenditure. Thus, both programs offered to participants can safely be called means of losing weight, with the only difference being the dietary regimen.
Classical ideas about proper nutrition undoubtedly lean in favor of the first option, against the background of which there are completely no long intervals between meals, which often create a beastly appetite. However, it should be remembered that in this situation we are talking about patients with diabetes, and in this case the priority is to achieve control over the total glucose concentration and body weight.
Clinical data that was collected from real patients led the researchers to conclusions that were the opposite of what they expected. Over the twelve weeks of the trial, participants who ate two meals a day to lose weight lost an average of three and a half kilograms. As for patients taking the same amount of food in fractional form, the weight loss was only two kilograms.
The decrease in liver fatty infiltration rates for the first group was about 0.03%, and for the second group 0.02%. In addition, it was in the subjects who ate only twice a day that the sensitivity to insulin of beta cells increased to the greatest extent, and the total concentration of glucose decreased, along with the content of C-peptide and glucagon in it.
Thus, the benefits of two meals a day are obvious. Therefore, we can safely say that it is the two-meal system, and not split meals, that makes it possible to more effectively achieve compensation for diabetes in patients, gaining greater control over the biochemical parameters of the blood and the sensitivity of pancreatic beta cells to insulin.
How can you make your diet easier?
Eating two meals a day for weight loss due to long breaks between meals is usually accompanied by a feeling of hunger.
To reduce the suffering of a hungry stomach, you should adhere to the following rules:
- Eat animal protein foods for dinner. Eating meat is the best way to relieve hunger. It takes the longest to digest, so the stomach will remain full for a long time, and the onset of hunger will be delayed for as long as possible.
- If hunger overcomes you and lunch is still far away, drink clean still water. This allows you to temporarily deceive the stomach and reduce hunger pangs.
- With short-term fasting, the feeling of hunger does not disappear over time. This is one of the body's defense reactions, so it is impossible to get used to it. Be prepared that if you eat twice a day, you will have to endure hunger pangs every day. They are much easier to tolerate if you associate them with losing excess weight. After all, sucking in the pit of the stomach is evidence that the process of losing weight is underway, and this cannot but rejoice. In this way, you can learn to perceive unpleasant sensations as pleasant.
Minuses
According to reviews, two meals a day for weight loss is not suitable for everyone.
Leafing through the pages of history, many may have a logical question about why our ancestors ate rarely and for them it was considered good, but when we eat food once or twice a day, then this style of eating is bad. What difference is there? Many scientists can answer this question. Research has proven that 41 percent of people who skip breakfast at least once a week significantly increase the risk of obesity and overeating. This is the whole point.
When our ancestors ate, they simply satisfied their hunger, but when modern people eat, it is about getting pleasure. This is where the passion for high-calorie, delicious food, gastronomic delicacies and delights arises.
For a healthy person, it is not the factor of rarely eating that is dangerous, but how exactly he eats when he gets to the food. A diet based on overeating and excess can provoke a number of different diseases such as gastritis, stomach ulcers, myocardial infarction, pancreatitis and other unpleasant diseases.
This is the main harm of eating two meals a day.
A large amount of food that enters the body at a time significantly overloads the cardiac and vascular system along with the endocrine glands, and this, in turn, is fraught with problems in the functioning of organs such as the heart and gastrointestinal system. Another consequence of rarely eating food is the rapid accumulation of extra pounds.
A long break between meals forces people to snack on the run, and not the healthiest food is chosen for this purpose, but chips along with hamburgers, cookies, chocolate, candies and other components of a happy life.
Sociological surveys prove that people very often choose carbohydrate, and at the same time fatty or starchy foods for a snack. Receiving energy from it, the human body stores extra calories in reserve, which gradually leads to metabolic disorders and rapid weight gain.
The two-meal menu for weight loss will be presented below.
Which diet is best?
If we remember our distant ancestors, then rare meals were more natural for them. Their life was spent in constant physical labor, and food for them was not pleasure, as for most modern people, but a means of satisfying hunger. It’s quite difficult to imagine a person from the past chewing something every 2-3 hours.
For many peoples, the main meal took place in the evening before going to bed, when the day's work was completed. It was believed that a full stomach was an obstacle to fruitful work, so during the day hunger was satisfied by drinking herbal teas or milk, and snacking on fruit.
From a physiological point of view, it was previously considered more correct to eat food only after a feeling of hunger arises. In this case, the gastrointestinal tract completely completes one digestion cycle and prepares to accept a new portion of food for processing.
The recommendations of modern nutritionists ignore the body's signals, because they prescribe eating every 2-3 hours, even before the feeling of hunger appears. This makes it easier to tolerate dietary restrictions when losing weight. However, according to some scientists, eating 5-6 times a day is contrary to physiology.
There is an opinion that eating 2 times a day is more consistent with the physiology of digestion, because it allows you to feel the feeling of hunger and then satisfy it. In addition, it is closer to the regime that our ancestors used for many centuries.
Weight loss product
Scientists have provided further important information for everyone who wants to lose weight quickly. It turns out that in order to quickly get rid of extra pounds, you just need to switch to two meals a day. According to new research by scientists, consuming two large portions of food daily is more beneficial for weight loss than six small ones with the same number of calories. One of the experiments, which was carried out by American scientists, involved 40 volunteers. The study was based on previous studies that disproved the theory that small portions of food contribute to active weight loss.
Previously, experts confirmed that through frequent snacks throughout the day you can control your appetite. By the way, scientists call the basic condition for the correct eating regimen, as noted earlier, the obligatory intake of breakfast. This should not be skipped, as taking it promotes the correct metabolic process.
Doctors also note that the benefits of two meals a day are obvious, since this diet makes it possible to reduce the percentage of fat formed in the liver, as well as increase the body's sensitivity to insulin. But no matter how much a person wants to achieve ideal forms, there is still no need to indulge in long thoughts about extra pounds and the possibility of losing them. British scientists recently reported that thinking about weight loss and dieting takes about one year of each person's life.
Women count calories every day and think about their diet for about twenty minutes a day. And men, in turn, think about it not much less, namely about 18 minutes every day.
Approximately 20 percent of Europeans count their calories using smartphones. And another 10 percent of people count daily calories on special websites. Thus, scientists have stated that for modern people, counting calories is a very important part of life. By the way, the British are still considered the fattest among Europeans.
Let's figure out how to switch to two meals a day.
Transition to a new system
People are not offered any clearly defined daily calorie intake, since in each individual situation it must be strictly individual. To begin with, they recommend simply calculating your usual norm, gradually reducing it so that the new limits are at least 500 calories less than usual.
As noted earlier, as part of this method of losing weight, people do not have to make any specific restrictions in their diet. The most important thing is to ensure that a person has two low-calorie and dense meals a day.
Two meals a day diet menu
As has already been established, this style of eating can promote rapid weight loss. As part of this system, the menu must include vegetables in various forms. For example, the following product options are suitable:
- Steamed vegetables along with boiled or baked dishes.
- Eating raw fruits, for example, in the form of fresh salads.
- Eating unsweetened fruits.
- Use of low-percentage dairy and fermented milk products and drinks.
- Moreover, you should not forget about protein foods. For example, it is worth including meat in the menu along with fish, poultry and seafood.
Here is a sample menu of two meals a day for weight loss.
For breakfast: oatmeal with milk with a piece of butter, 2 boiled eggs, a tomato, 2 rye bread, coffee.
Lunch: solyanka, chicken breast in sour cream, buckwheat, vegetable salad, dried fruit compote.
The two-meal menu should be varied, so adjustments can and should be made regularly. You should also try to choose exclusively lean varieties of meat, avoiding frying in vegetable oil or any other fat.
Basic diet rules
A diet based on two meals a day can help you lose weight if you follow several rules:
- Energy consumption must be greater than energy consumption. This rule applies to all diets. It is recommended to lead an active lifestyle - go to the gym, do physical exercises at home, etc. You can also just go for a walk regularly. Experts have proven that 1 hour of walking outside can replace a short workout.
- When following a diet, you need to strictly eat 2 times a day. Snacking between meals is not advisable. In cases where the feeling of hunger is severe, you are allowed to eat some low-calorie product.
- You should not eat a lot of food at one time. Uncontrolled consumption of food nullifies the effectiveness of two meals a day and negatively affects health.
- It is recommended to exclude fatty, sweet and starchy foods from your daily diet. It is best to boil, steam, or bake food, avoiding frying in any fat.
Results of two meals a day
It has been repeatedly proven that this type of nutrition can promote rapid weight loss and, as a rule, in this case the results exceed all expectations. According to a new study, eating twice as large meals leads to greater weight loss. The results of eating twice a day for weight loss are stunning.
This system, among other things, helps reduce fat in the liver, increasing sensitivity to insulin, which is also an advantage over other options for taking products.
Hunger and weight loss
Many people also use meals 2 times a day for the purpose of losing weight. Due to the long time interval between two extreme meals, weight loss with two meals a day occurs at an accelerated pace.
If, for example, you have dinner at 19:00, and then, skipping breakfast, have lunch at 12:00, then 17 hours will pass between meals. All this time, the body will not receive fuel from the outside, so to ensure physical and mental activity it will have to draw energy from its own resources. This means that reserves from the fat reserve will be used, and the body will begin to lose extra pounds.
However, modern nutritionists have many objections to this method of losing weight. In their opinion, when a feeling of hunger occurs, the body rebuilds its metabolism into an emergency energy-saving mode. At the same time, the adrenal glands secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which blocks fat burning and triggers catabolic processes, in which muscle tissue proteins are used as an energy source. As a result, fat reserves are jealously guarded, and muscle tissue is thrown into the furnace of energy metabolism.
Thus, according to many nutritionists, with two meals a day, it is not fat that is burned, but muscle, which leads to weight loss while simultaneously increasing the percentage of body fat. It is not known whether studies have been conducted to confirm or refute this claim, but the fact that weight loss occurs at a rapid pace when eating twice a day has been confirmed repeatedly.
Be sure to read: How is belly drying done for men and women?
However, if weight loss with two meals a day actually occurs not due to fat, but due to muscles, then there is little good in this.
Large portion at a time: is it good?
The question of how often one should sit down at the table is something of a bone of contention among all current scientists and doctors. But, of course, as many people exist on the planet, there are so many different opinions. Most specialists and doctors advise sticking to the old-fashioned way of eating only three meals a day, which is a classic of the old Soviet dietetics.
Other experts recommend a fractional system, when each meal is planned 2.5-3 hours after the previous one. This results in five to six meals a day. But some experts (according to their reviews on the Internet) are united by one opinion that two meals a day is harmful and stupid. Thus, this proportion of experts speaks out against rare meals. In this regard, people who, due to certain circumstances, eat in this way are promised heavenly punishment, ranging from problems with the digestive system to malfunctions of vital organs and systems.
But this will not happen if you follow the procedure for providing two meals a day.
Less food - more health. What are the benefits of eating infrequently?
The abundance of products on store shelves and the absence of the problem of purchasing food saved us from thinking about where the food in the refrigerator comes from. All this led to the emergence of new nutrition rules and all kinds of diets. But, as you know, too much is not good. And in the case of food, this rule also works. What should you give preference to if you want to lead a healthy lifestyle and eat right? In this article, we will consider one of the methods of recovery - fractional nutrition and therapeutic fasting, which, by the way, are experiencing a rebirth today.
Fractional nutrition is one of the favorite ways of proper nutrition among nutritionists and gastroenterologists. Its meaning is simple - we eat often, but little by little. However, this approach is not typical for human nutrition during its evolution. As a rule, people ate infrequently at different periods of their existence, because they had to obtain food by, for example, hunting or fishing. But here the loot is not sausage in the refrigerator; you can’t just pick it up and eat it. Therefore, frequent meals are an innovation invented by man himself. Today, for us, food is an accessible habit, but at the same time addictive. For many of us, refusing to eat is tantamount to punishment or a real test. But if a few years ago we were advised to take small snacks between main meals, today scientists agree that such a diet can cause significant harm to health.
Small meals lead to insulin imbalance
By taking a normal meal, we, without noticing it ourselves, trigger a whole mechanism of action literally at the cellular level. Our body needs not only to digest and assimilate everything, to get rid of the remnants, but also to process the energy received. And for this we have the hormone insulin. It is he who is the main distributor of energy. In this case, insulin is produced at every meal, and not just when consuming sugar. Given the importance of this hormone, it is necessary to remember to maintain its balance. The fact is that with frequent consumption of food, and therefore the production of insulin, the so-called “imposition” of energy on the body occurs. For his own safety, he includes a protective mechanism. Its essence is that the sensitivity of cells to insulin decreases each time. Insulin resistance occurs, which is a characteristic feature of many chronic diseases, including obesity, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes and others. However, this process is not immediate and depends on a number of factors, such as the level of stress, amount of sleep, physical activity and genetic characteristics.
Changes in diet equal changes in the body
What does a decrease in the number of meals lead to? First, cells become more sensitive to insulin. There is enough time to expend energy, which means there is no need for protective mechanisms. Thanks to this, insulin levels decrease, and with it excess weight decreases.
Secondly, when you reduce the number of meals you eat, you burn fat, not sugar, to replenish energy. At the same time, our body does not suffer from such a restructuring at all, since it is physiologically adapted to this. Fat as a “fuel” for energy is much more useful and effective than sugar. Thanks to its combustion, the body experiences less oxidative stress and inflammatory processes, which lead to chronic diseases and premature aging. Studies of dosed fasting conducted back in the 1990s, described by Stanislav Tsivinsky, showed that with a decrease in the amount of food, the appearance and general condition of women improve. Thus, during experiments, an 18-year-old patient, who looked older than her age, managed to regain the appearance characteristic of her age after just the first 3-day fast. Another test subject, a 38-year-old woman, used intermittent fasting for a long time and thanks to this she acquired the appearance of a 26-27 year old.
Thirdly, the immune system is restored and strengthened. It turns out that food digestion is accompanied by various inflammatory processes and stress. This is why during illness our appetite often decreases. Therefore, fasting gives the immune system the opportunity to recover and “calm down.”
Thus, in 2009, a study was conducted aimed at studying the consequences of intermittent fasting and light physical activity, described in the article “The associated effects of dosed fasting and moderate physical activity as a means of improving health in middle-aged men.” The subjects were men aged 30-45 years. During the experiment, it was possible to determine that daily physical exercise of various types and dosed fasting “contributed to a significant decrease in total body weight, a significant improvement in a number of indicators characterizing functional performance and physical fitness.” In addition, there was a positive effect on the mental state of the study participants, their concentration levels significantly improved.
Finally, reducing food intake helps improve the condition of chronic diseases. One of the mechanisms operating at this point is autophagy or “self-eating.” By the way, the Nobel Prize was awarded for the description of this process.
Transitional diet - a bridge to freedom from food
For many of us, refusing another meal is like torture. This is understandable, often the feeling of hunger is accompanied by such unpleasant symptoms as headache, mood swings, irritability and dizziness. But they all signal that blood sugar levels are changing noticeably. And as a result, insulin levels. In turn, this is a sign that the body is not able to use fat deposits as energy, but only uses sugar. Moreover, by sugar we mean not only sweets, but also other products familiar to us: cereals, flour products, root vegetables. Therefore, in order for the body to learn how to burn fat again, their consumption must be limited or eliminated altogether.
As a transitional diet that can help you get used to a new eating schedule, the maximum consumption of vegetables, herbs, fish, eggs, and grass-fed meat will work. The duration of such a diet is individual and for some it is very painful. However, the result is worth it. Improved overall physical condition, clarity of thinking, improved memory and weight loss are not a complete list of what you will get after reducing the amount of food you eat. And you also get freedom! Surprisingly, this is true. Now you will be free from constant thoughts about food. The need for scheduled lunches/breakfasts every 3-4 hours will disappear by itself. Now the question will be different: is there or not at all! But, most importantly, such a restructuring will not be accompanied by negative emotions. The body will simply automatically switch to burning fat. This means you will have enough energy and a sense of joy.
"Hungry Windows"
For healthy carbohydrate metabolism, it is necessary to maintain a six-hour interval between meals. If you manage to withstand it easily, then your body knows how to burn fat without using sugar, and has the ability to recover. According to scientists, the most optimal interval between dinner and breakfast is 12 hours. However, intermittent fasting is becoming increasingly popular for health purposes. Today there are several types of it, and therefore you can choose the one that suits you specifically. For example, this is a 12-hour fast (we have dinner at 7 pm - we have breakfast no earlier than 7 am) or the so-called “eight-hour window” between meals, thanks to which you will only have to eat twice a day. However, this method is suitable for already prepared people.
No sudden changes
Proper fasting is one thing, the correct way out of it is another. Yes, if you limit yourself to food for no more than a day and a half, then you won’t have to make any special efforts to return to food again. You should start with light foods such as broths, cooked vegetables or egg yolks. But sugar-containing foods should be avoided to prevent spikes in blood glucose levels. You should start eating a full meal 15-30 minutes after the first snack. This will give a signal to the body that everything is fine and there is no need for a defensive reaction. You should eat until you are completely full, but deliberately and slowly!
Food culture of former peoples
Previously, many peoples ate only one meal a day. Their only meal of food was postponed until the evening. In those days, there was a consensus that work was simply incompatible with a full stomach. In order to maintain reserves of energy and strength during any work, it was possible to consume only fairly light foods in the form of herbal teas, juices, fruits, and so on. Actually, this is exactly what the diet of most Persians and other Mediterranean peoples was like.
The ancient Hellenes, who were the creators of world culture, ate food twice a day, which corresponds to the latest trends and current gastronomic fashion. The statement of their great philosopher, the well-known Socrates, has even survived to this day, who believed that only barbarians eat more than twice a day. The famous American figure in alternative medicine, naturopath and healthy lifestyle promoter Paul Bragg also observed exclusively two meals a day, consisting of lunch and dinner.
But his opinion was disputed by the authors, who called for eating at least three times; against this background, the first intake of food should occur strictly after physical activity (light warm-up or a walk in the fresh air). Eating breakfast immediately after waking up was then considered bad manners, and the romantic dream of many women about bringing coffee to bed was an empty whim. A good breakfast, according to the opinion of those times, should consist, first of all, of seasonal fruits, and in addition, tea from herbs or the fruits of all kinds of plants. No buns or sweets were even taken into account.
The benefits or harms of eating two meals a day can be debated endlessly.
Hunger and longevity
The famous American healthy lifestyle promoter Paul Bragg devoted a significant part of his life to studying the effect of hunger on human health and life expectancy. He hypothesized that short-term fasting has the ability to rejuvenate the body.
Be sure to read: Benefits of a fasting day on bananas and reviews
Paul Bragg regularly arranged fasting days for himself and for many years adhered to two meals a day, but not to lose weight, but to rejuvenate his body. The American naturopath's diet consisted of only lunch and dinner. In his opinion, long breaks between meals (the time interval between dinner and lunch was at least 16 hours) mobilize the body's forces responsible for longevity, as a result of which the aging process is inhibited.
Paul Bragg's hypotheses were partially confirmed in studies that were carried out after his death.
Experiments on mice have shown a correlation between poor nutrition and life expectancy in experimental rodents. And although similar studies have not been conducted on humans, the idea of increasing life expectancy through short-term fasting seemed very tempting to many.
Many people around the world, including many famous personalities, adhere to two meals a day precisely for the purpose of rejuvenation. Whether this diet will help them live longer is unknown, but they do not consider the daily feeling of hunger to be too high a price to pay for the illusory hope of living a longer life.
How to eat right?
The optimal food intake regimen for a two-meals-a-day diet should not be viewed as dogma. Living conditions, along with habits, circadian rhythms of each individual - absolutely all of this leaves its mark on the mode of food consumption. But there are still gold standards for a healthy and active life that suit everyone. And they are dictated taking into account the realities of the modern century. Thus, no matter what method of eating is chosen, including when organizing two meals a day, you must follow these rules:
- You need to eat regularly and exclusively on a schedule. Absolutely every intake of food must be preceded by special reactions in the body, we are talking about the secretion of saliva and gastric juice, and, in addition, bile and pancreatic secretions. That’s why it’s so important to eat at the same time every day. This will certainly contribute to an optimal regime in the process of digesting food and assimilation of its nutritional components.
- You should only consume healthy and living foods. As a rule, the basis of a healthy diet is cereals, along with vegetables and fruits, meat, poultry, fish, vegetable fat and dairy products. In cooking, the main priority is given to stewing, boiling, baking, grilling and the like. There is no special school for two meals a day.
By the way, it is worth saying that the most beneficial diet for every person is the one in which during breakfast and lunch a person consumes about two-thirds of the calories of the daily diet. And directly at dinner, less than one third. Now let's look at the opinions and comments of experts, as well as people who use a two-meal system.
We will consider reviews of two meals a day below.
Reviews
Despite many different studies and evidence, you can read many reviews on the Internet in which doctors state that this method of eating is not at all the most optimal way to control your appetite, and in some places it can even, on the contrary, lead to weight gain. Other experts are increasingly inclined to a different version, according to which to lose weight you need to eat heavily, but twice a day.
But still, one cannot deny the fact that many people openly criticize the idea of \u200b\u200btwo meals a day. Reviews confirm this. In particular, experts note that many people, at least due to their daily routine, do not have the opportunity to eat a lot for breakfast and lunch, and even deny themselves dinner.
It is noted that such meals require a lot of time, since the standard fifteen-minute lunch break is often simply not enough. In addition, in the morning, people are often afraid of being late for work, so they have to eat small sandwiches very quickly and literally run out of the house. In this regard, after a hard day at work, it is not so easy for many to deny themselves the long-awaited, leisurely and nutritious dinner.
However, absolutely any method of losing weight involves some inconvenience. As people who switched to two meals a day report in their comments, in any case, a person losing weight has to constantly adapt to new rules for eating. It is noted that against the backdrop of all this, it is necessary to change your eating habits, give up something, and, on the contrary, get used to something, and so on.
