3 Mealtime Myths
1) Eating frequent small meals increases your metabolism and burns more calories.
Fact: Your metabolic rate is not affected by changing your meal frequency. The most important factor is your energy balance- how many calories you eat vs how many calories you burn through physical activity.
2) Eating frequent small meals reduces hunger.
Fact: The body has a naturally occurring hunger hormone in the gut- ghrelin and leptin, a satiety hormone that helps regulate when you feel full. These hormones are the main influencers of your feeding behavior. And some people have higher amounts of ghrelin than others. For some people, eating more frequent meals makes them more hungry.
3) Eating multiple times per day increases your muscle mass.
Fact: What you eat and how much you eat has more influence on muscle mass then how frequent your meals are.