How to Eat 7 Small Meals a Day

A light, small meal every 2 to 3 hours is the way to go.

Eating small frequent meals can help you ward off hunger, according to DiagnoseMe.com. This in turn prevents your body from going into starvation mode and holding on to calories as a defense mechanism. Eating small meals at frequent intervals throughout the day also helps stabilize your blood sugar. Not only does this keep your energy levels steady but it might help prevent diabetes.

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Step 1

Create a schedule to help you figure out the times you need to eat. The schedule doesn't have to be too strict. For example, you can schedule meal two mid-morning or between 9:00am and 10:00am. Give yourself some flexibility so you can account for the unexpected, whether that means traffic jams or a late presentation at work.

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Step 2

Eat your first meal as soon as possible after you wake up. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to eat seven meals in a day. For example, if you sleep an average of eight hours a day, it means you'll have to eat a meal every 2.2 hours that you're awake. Eating breakfast early on will help you fit in all seven meals.

Step 3

Figure out how many calories you should be eating a day and then divide that into seven meals. You can use a calculator like the one available at FreeDieting.com to help you figure out calorie requirements based on your age, sex and whether you want to gain, lose, or maintain your weight. For example, if your recommended intake is 2,000 calories per day, each small meal should be about 285 calories.

Step 4

Carry food with you or explore the restaurants around you so you can buy a single meal at lunch time and then split it up for the afternoon meals. Chances are you won't be able to take time off to eat every two hours, especially if you're at work. Depending on how many calories your meal should be, easy things to carry include small sandwiches or wraps, fruits, veggies with a hummus dip, yogurt, low-fat mozzarella sticks, crackers and peanut butter or even a handful of nuts.

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