You Ask, I Answer: Dieting & Meals

How many times a day should I eat if I want to lose weight?

-- Michelle Haskins

Orlando, FL

While it is true that eating every few hours helps keep our metabolism running efficiently, don’t get lost in trivial details.

At the end of the day, weight loss is simply the result of consuming fewer calories than you did before.

Let’s assume that in order to lose weight, you need to eat no more than 1,800 calories a day. Whether you want to break this up into three 600-calorie meals or six 300-calorie meals is up to you.

What’s most important is that you don’t consume more calories than you should.

Some people find that all snacking achieves is mindless eating that results in an overload of calories. Others, though, believe that planned snacks are great at curbing hunger and preventing binge-eating.

To lose -- and keep -- weight off successfully, you need to find the rhythm and style that works for YOU. Whether it's eating three larger meals or six smaller ones a day, or working out before lunch or right after work, your focus should simply be on cutting down on fat and sugar-laden snacks, eating more whole foods, and making physical activity a part of your routine a few times a week.