The 'nibbler's diet'

May 31, 1999
Web posted at: 12:06 PM EDT (1606 GMT)

By Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D.

(WebMD) -- If you eat three square meals a day, you might find, especially as you get older, that you're gaining more weight than you want. Should you cut down on meals, and eat less?

The answer is no. In fact, you should eat more frequently, not less. The "nibbler's diet" has replaced the "three-squares" diet as a better way to manage weight, cut heart-disease and diabetes risk, and curb cravings. A study from the University of Michigan School of Public Health found that women who divided their food intake into several little meals and snacks throughout the day were leaner, with less body fat, than were women who ate the same amount of calories, but packed them into two-or-three big meals. Why nibbling helps weight management is poorly understood; one theory has it that dividing the same amount of calories into five-or-more little meals and snacks encourages the body to "burn" the food for immediate energy rather than store it in the hips and the thighs.

Eating breakfast and at consistent times each day also helps to curb hunger and prevents overeating later in the day. For example, researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. found that women who ate breakfast had an easier time controlling cravings and consumed less fat throughout the day, compared to breakfast-skippers. In fact, if someone tells a dietitian that he or she struggles with food cravings in the afternoon, the first question asked is usually "Did you eat breakfast?" More often than not this important meal was missed. Your best bet is to establish a consistent pattern of eating every four-to-five hours, which over the course of a few weeks will help reprogram your body's appetite and hunger clock.

The benefits extend beyond just weight management. Nibbling, compared to gorging on big meals, helps to improve cholesterol metabolism and keep insulin levels low. It also lowers total blood cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and improves insulin sensitivity. A person will notice benefits within weeks of initiating a nibbling style of eating. The trickle-down effect on health is a lowered risk of diabetes, heart disease (the number-one health concern for men and postmenopausal women), and possibly even cancers of the colon and breast.

But wait -- before you race to the vending machine with a license to snack, keep in mind that unplanned nibbling can make-or-break your weight-management efforts and health. The secret is not to add more snacks to your usual diet, but to divide your current food intake into five-or-six little meals, while continuing to emphasize fiber and nutrients, and to de-emphasize fat, sugar and salt.

In other words, have the oatmeal with raisins and orange juice for breakfast, but save the glass of milk and banana for the midmorning snack. Have a sandwich, raw vegetables and tomato juice for lunch, but save the dessert of yogurt and fruit for the midafternoon snack. Dine on spaghetti, salad and steamed vegetables in the evening, then have the slice of french bread and a cup of nonfat cocoa for a late-night snack. You'll probably find yourself both leaner and healthier.

RELATEDS AT :

How to Eat Healthily
Cholesterol Diet

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