In the recent times people are more interested in getting slimmer by losing weight, without bothering about their overall health. More than you lose weight the aim should be make healthy living a habit so that you benefit in the long run throughout your life. One such healthy habit is eating smaller portions of meals on a regular basis.
Most of us have grown up eating three meals a day – breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon and dinner in the night. But, have you ever imagined, what if you eat around five to six small meals a day what could be the difference? Do, you know that in order to lose weight and stay healthy for long we need to boost our metabolism and eating smaller meals regularly is a great way to do it?
People should eat smaller portions of food during her counselling and says that there is more to do so, other than just boosting metabolism and losing weight. She shares with us some benefits that we all can reap with eating smaller portions on a regular basis.
- It helps keeping blood sugar levels stable
The body turns the food that we eat, especially the carbohydrates into glucose – the body’s primary source of energy. The equation is quite simple. When we eat larger meals the level of glucose in the body rises and thus in pour blood stream. This causes our pancreas to release more of insulin to use these glucose by the cells. The more is the glucose the more insulin the pancreas releases, leading to a condition called hypoglycemia. This further causes hunger, as more releases of insulin from the pancreas signals the brain to get more glucose and thus more food, mainly sugar.
This can be easily countered by eating smaller meals and controlling the high and low sugar levels in the body.
- It promotes healthy weight loss
There are two things that works for weight loss by eating smaller portion and frequently. Firstly, as discussed earlier it controls glucose and insulin, thereby, lesser cravings and the second is reduction in overall calorie intake.
Weight loss happens with a simple formula – intake of lesser calories than the body burns, which in turn breaks down the stored fat and thus weight loss. This creates a calorie deficit in the body, resulting in weight loss.
- You have higher levels of energy in the body
As per studies conducted on the subject, it has been found that eating smaller portions of meals boosts the body’s energy levels and productivity levels. Having bigger gaps in between meals can cause irregular energy spike cycles and crashes, which makes us feel depleted and energy less at times. Having frequent and small meals maintains an evenly an higher levels of energy, which further helps in higher activity levels that is good for the body and overall health.
- Helps fight chronic and serious health problems
It has been observed that eating small and eating frequent helps fight chronic and difficult ailments like diabetes and heart diseases. As it helps better regulation of blood sugar levels and also it has been linked with reduced cholesterol levels. However, it is always advised to check with your physician first before reducing portion sizes and particularly if you have been on medication for any medical reasons.
However, it is also a fact that eating smaller portions of meals is just not enough to attain total health benefit. It has to be supported by eating healthy and nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables. Eating small is just a step forward towards good health and a habit that leads us towards overall wellness.
By: Dietician Sheela Seharawat