Do You Really Need Three Meals a Day?
I’ll be honest; I have an unpredictable eating pattern. I love to snack throughout the day, don’t like putting effort into cooking something and I even skip meals until I’m so hangry, I’m practically feral. Three meals a day is a rare victory.
I’m not alone. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the proportion of people consuming three meals a day declined significantly from the 1970s to 2010 (73% to 59% in men, and 75% to 63% in women). I’d venture to guess those numbers have gone down even more in the 12 years since that survey, as stress and burnout has reached a fever pitch in recent years. An informal poll of my friends this year revealed that only 9 out of 25 eat three square meals a day.
Is it so important to have frequent meals? Why aren’t two meals (or the popular OMAD) safe? And if it’s so important, why is it so hard? I talked to a nutrition expert and dove into the research to find out. Here’s how my own eating habits have transformed for the better.
Excerpted from CNET
