Bigger meals, fewer snacks?

A few things came up this past week:

1- Losing weight with bigger meals and fewer snacks…

And

2- Why do I have more energy when fasting?

So let’s take the first one.

1- Losing weight with bigger meals and fewer snacks…

Well, if you consider that when you snack, you probably opt for things that are

→ Palatable

→ Low volume (snacks are often dry, lack water, and low volume. The volume of a food impacts how filling it is.

→ They are calorie dense rather than nutrient dense

→ Moreish

→ Can often mean you skip meals..

→ often low in protein (which helps keep you full)

–. Often low in fruit and veggies (which are high in water and nutrients)

I could go on.

So considering this.

If you cut out snacks

And opted for a bigger meal

→ you will probably enjoy your food more (perhaps sit down and eat it, be more present and mindful)

→ Be able to enjoy the foods you like, be it a wrap or maybe some potatoes with your meal and STILL be lower in calories than if you snacked…

In fact, it is something I do a lot. Bigger meals, fewer snacks.

It ensures I can eat with the kids in the evening without stressing too much about what we are having. Saves me time and energy.

This brings us on to this:

2- Why do I have more energy when fasting?

You might just simply have more energy from

→ not having to think about food all day…sounds simple, but if you got from 3 small meals / snacking all day to just ‘i eat 2 meals’..that is easier to plan..

→ Now you are having fewer snacks and bigger meals, you may be ‘spending’ more calories on nutrient dense foods which in turn give you micronutrients and potentially more energy

→ Finally, during your fasting periods you may be going into ketosis a bit and using fat as fuel. Some people not this to benefit focus and energy