Small Frequent Meals (SFM)

Small Frequent Meals (SFM): Burn More Calories, Stabilize Blood / Insulin Levels, Increase Metabolic Rate / Energy Levels, Preserve Muscle Mass Diet-Induced Thermogenesis (DIT)

A change in eating habits, from two or three large meals a day to five or six small meals, is one of the weight-loss secrets of the Body Change 84 Day Fat To Fit Program. If you are on a reduced calorie diet and you eat five to six small meals per day versus only two or three larger meals, you will lose more fat and (most dramatically) preserve or gain more muscle.

Want to Lose Weight? Eat Small Meals More Often.

There are a variety of metabolic explanations for why the small, frequent meal (SFM) pattern of eating is effective to fat loss.

SFMs tend to stabilize both blood sugar and insulin levels throughout the day.
- This is an important part of the process because blood sugar and insulin levels greatly affect:
  - Fat storage
  - Energy levels
  - Metabolic rate
  - Satiety (feeling full)
- When blood sugar levels spike after a big meal fat storage is promoted because blood sugar must be kept under very tight control by the body.
- If glycogen reserves are full, excess blood sugar is stored as fat.
- These spikes will also cause an over- production of insulin, which will usually lead to a rebound hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) effect a few hours after your meal.
- This can instigate hunger and cravings, cause you energy levels to crash and may slow your Metabolism.
Moderate and consistent blood sugar levels will:
- Smooth out energy levels
- Keep insulin levels more constant
- Help keep your metabolism humming
- Enhances satiety levels

Diet-Induced Thermogenesis: A Controlled Diet Burns More Calories

There is another benefit of SFM that most people simply don’t think about. This is Diet-Induced Thermogenesis (DIT,) the increase in heat production by the body after eating. Basically, this means that certain types of foods burn more calories to digest than others.

When we have a meal, our body temperature tends to rise. This is because we need to expend energy to digest food, and to absorb and assimilate nutrients.
Consequently, the calories available from food may not correspond exactly to the calorific content described on a food label.
It is estimated that diet-induced thermogenesis uses between 5 and 10 per cent of a meal's total energy, but the exact amount varies with the type of food.

Our bodies seem to be relatively inefficient at utilizing carbohydrates. Less energy is available from carbs for storage and growth due to the amount of energy needed to digest them.

Diet-induced thermogenesis burns up to 23 out of every 100 calories of complex carbohydrates eaten.
Only 3 out of every 100 calories from fat are burned.
This is one reason fatty meals are so fattening!

As stated earlier, every time you have a meal your body burns energy in order to process the food eaten

This increase in DIT energy lasts between three or four hours.
Therefore, a small meal every few hours keeps your metabolic rate consistently higher.

SFMs Keep Vital Nutrients Readily Available

Another important mechanism of the SFM effect is the consistency of nutrient availability it produces. You see, by eating a mixed meal every few hours you keep abundant doses of quality proteins circulating in your blood stream at all times.

This constant protein availability means that it is not necessary for your body to break down muscles to supply amino acids for other vital functions in your body such as enzyme production and organ maintenance.
This supports an anabolic environment for your muscles throughout the day-which preserves muscle mass even during low calorie periods.

Feel Better! Look Better! No More Excuse!

To learn how to get started on your path to better physical, mental and emotional health, stop in at the Body Change Wellness Studio.

We offer free consultations to show you what our 84 Day Fat To Fit Program can do for you, Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, (812) 234-9136.

CALL (812) 234-9136

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