Of all the rules for leading a healthy lifestyle: do not move and eat at least 5-6 times a day - it is the latter that is most often ignored. Long breaks between meals due to being overly busy are a common occurrence for most workers. As a result, many of them eat less often, consume much larger portions of high-calorie foods, and gain weight.

Nutritionists and sports medicine specialists recommend that people who are prone to obesity pay attention to fractional meals for weight loss. Reviews of those losing weight advise not to perceive this system as another debilitating diet, but to become familiar with the mechanism of its effect on the body and just change your pattern of intake and the amount of food consumed. What does this give to a person and how to use fractional meals for weight loss? Easy, useful and accessible to everyone!

What is the fractional nutrition method?

The myth that you can save calories by eating 1-2 times a day is wrong. Long breaks between meals cause a ravenous appetite, promote high-calorie snacks (tea with sweets and buns or fast food), as well as the accumulation of fatty tissue in the body.

On the contrary, split meals 5-8 times a day in small portions calm the body, help it adapt to proper and fast metabolism, normalize weight and improve well-being. It’s not for nothing that this healthy diet was invented for people suffering from gastrointestinal diseases. Very soon, nutritionists realized that fractional meals cope well with excess weight and consolidate the result for a long time.

Fractional meals for weight loss: rules

There are two types of fractional meals. The first method assumes that a person will eat, at the first sign of hunger, very small portions of low-calorie foods (for example, pieces of fresh non-starchy vegetables with 30-40 g of boiled beef or chicken breast). The serving size will be no larger than a matchbox, but the number of meals can reach 8 times. The disadvantage of this practice of fractional nutrition may be the inability to distinguish physiological hunger from psychological or ordinary feelings of thirst.

Therefore, a method involving 5-6 split meals a day for weight loss has become more popular, the advantages of which are due to clear planning of the diet and time intervals. Breakfast within 40-60 minutes after waking up with the presence of difficult-to-digest complex carbohydrates is considered mandatory. It will help “wake up” your metabolism and speed up its reactions throughout the day. Three-hour breaks between meals and snacks will prevent the body from getting hungry and slowing down the metabolism.

How to create a fractional meal menu? Which products should I include?

The menu is distributed so that there is a period of time between meals of no more than 2.5-3 hours, while the calorie content is constantly reduced to the required norm. The daily dose of calories that fractional meals allow for weight loss is regulated by reviews of those losing weight at 1200-1600 kcal. It is not recommended to decrease or increase it on your own, since an increased nutritional value of the diet will lead to a waste of efforts to lose weight, and a decreased amount will lead to the body panicking and saving calories “in reserve.” In this case, the person’s well-being will noticeably deteriorate. Weakness, nausea, malaise, insomnia are the main companions of incorrect calculation of calories, and weight will not decrease.

Of the required 5-6 meals, you need to provide 3 for meals, 2 for light “snacks”. Those with a “sweet tooth” can only enjoy a teaspoon of honey or 3-5 dried fruits (dried apricots, prunes) in the first half of the day. Fruits are also best eaten before 15:00. In the afternoon - only non-starchy vegetables, green apples (unsweetened varieties) plus protein foods. The serving size ranges from half a glass to a whole glass, which must be strictly adhered to. Great for snacking: vegetables, yoghurts, cheeses, fruits, nuts, eggs.

Variety is key

To supply the body with a sufficient amount of vitamins, minerals and natural fiber, you need to include vegetables, legumes, fruits and berries in your diet. You need to drink at least one and a half to two liters of filtered or still mineral table water per day, but do not mix it with meals, that is, drink it before or after meals. The combination of protein and allows fractional meals for weight loss. The menu for the day and week should be varied, and certainly include carbohydrate-containing foods (including fruits) for the first half of the day, proteins and vegetables for the second.

With fractional nutrition, omega-polyunsaturated acids are required to consume to start the process of lipolysis (breakdown of fats). They are present in many seafood, fish oil, sesame oil, flaxseed oil and olive oil. Coconut oil is the leader among similar products in terms of speed of metabolism. When creating a menu, you need to give preference to healthy foods: fruits, vegetables (without starch), quality protein (lean beef, chicken breast, eggs, milk, cottage cheese and other fermented milk products, cereals, whole grain bread, legumes).

What foods are best avoided when eating frequently?

Despite the loyalty of the diet that fractional meals allow for weight loss, reviews of those losing weight do not recommend including processed foods, sausages, mayonnaise and ketchup, fatty, fried, and overly spicy foods. It is also necessary to give up the well-known “enemies of slimness”: baking, various confectionery products and fast food.

This system allows you to combine protein and carbohydrate foods in one meal, however, if you eat them separately, the weight loss process will be more effective.

What are the advantages of a fractional power system?

Thanks to frequent meals, a person does not have to go hungry! This is the only technique that works under the motto: “If you want to lose weight, eat!” Instead of debilitating restrictions, strict prohibitions and deterioration of well-being, it offers normalization of metabolic processes, general improvement of the body and an easy path to a beautiful, slender figure. At the same time, the personal experience of many girls describes the transition to fractional meals for weight loss as unnoticeable. A gradual reduction in caloric intake does not allow you to suffer from hunger; replacing foods with healthier types improves the function of the gastrointestinal tract, which helps not only to part with extra pounds, but also to further maintain the achieved result. Athletes use fractional meals for cutting - getting rid of excess fat while maintaining and increasing muscle mass.

Is fractional nutrition combined with physical activity?

This is one of the main advantages of this weight loss system. Fractional feeding is excellent for the drying process. Despite the slow weight loss, due to the replacement of dense muscle tissue with lighter fatty tissue, during training the volume of the body decreases, it becomes more prominent and graceful.

Who knows everything about fractional meals? The advice given by fitness trainers and athletes is aimed at reducing the amount of fat in the body and increasing muscle tissue. It is impossible to become a bodybuilder by working out on a home gym or 2-3 times a week in the gym, so you should not be afraid of the appearance of overly trained muscles. But it will be easy to remove fat from problem areas through sports and general weight loss.

Sample fractional meal menu for the day

In many grateful reviews from those who, after losing weight, switched to fractional meals as the healthiest system, it is recommended to include any of the porridges in breakfast: buckwheat, oatmeal (cooked in water) or muesli with “zero” yogurt, a sandwich with bran bread and low-fat cheese, as well as fruit (orange or apple). For a snack, you can satisfy your hunger with 1-2 grain breads, a pear and green tea without sugar. For lunch - half a serving (150-200 g) of soup in vegetable or low-fat meat (preferably secondary) broth, 100 g of boiled fish, chicken breast, beef or veal. Instead of soup, you can eat the protein product with a vegetable side dish or assorted greens and fresh vegetables.

In the afternoon, many of those losing weight eat low-fat cottage cheese, tea without sugar and several dried fruits or 20 g of nuts. If you have a split meal, you can have a boiled chicken breast (veal, lean beef, fish, 2 egg whites or rabbit meat) with a side dish or a salad of non-starchy vegetables (cabbage, cucumbers). Before going to bed, you can drink 0.5-1 glass of “zero” kefir.

When a baby is born, mothers and doctors often adhere to a feeding schedule of three hours all day long. The child receives everything he needs and actively develops. But as people grow older, they stop using physiologically correct nutrition.

The results make themselves felt in the form of excess or underweight and the appearance of health problems. For gastritis and other types of gastrointestinal diseases, it is recommended to use split meals. It can also lead to weight loss, which will not harm the body. The diet, especially in the form of a mono-option, is exhausting and puts a lot of stress on the liver.

The essence of the power system

Fractional nutrition is a kind of system that implies that a person can eat everything, but in small portions. A regular diet involves a lot of restrictions, which causes psychological discomfort in a person. Hence the constant breakdowns. This system gradually adjusts the body to the desired mood by changing the portion volume.

Basic Rules:

• meals should be 5-6 times a day;
• It is advisable to set the breaks between them approximately the same in time;
• The serving size should be no larger than what fits in the palms of a person's hands.

Considering that everyone’s palms are different depending on their age and build, the serving size will also differ.

The mechanism of fractional nutrition allows the liver to function better, because the organ manages to cleanse the blood of substances received with food. Equal intervals between snacks do not overload him. This is not possible with any other diet. For gastritis, the established regime allows you to avoid changes in acidity levels.

The diet can be customized taking into account personal preferences for types of foods. If there are certain diseases, then an additional diet should be followed. If you have gastritis, it is not recommended to eat spicy food, even if you use fractional meals. It causes harm in any case. The first results of using fractional nutrition can be seen after a month. Even skin tone and hair condition will change.

Transition to fractional meals

If you suddenly switch to a new nutrition system, it will become stressful for the body. The operation of internal systems may be harmed. It is recommended to gradually switch to a new diet and change portion sizes. This requires:

• determine a sample menu for the week;
• set meal times taking into account your work schedule and sleep patterns;
• within 2–3 days, accustom the body to the new schedule while maintaining the serving volume;
• reduce the size of the food intake to the required amount within 3–5 days.

Those who made the transition to this system say that the body itself quickly refuses the excessive portion size. Therefore, it is possible to change the size of dishes quickly when a person gets used to eating by the hour.

Some nutritionists advise performing a liver cleanse before starting to use a new nutrition system. This allows you to better cope with the resulting load and get weight loss results faster. Already in the first month you can lose up to 10% of your current weight. This does not mean that everyone who switched to the new system achieved this effect. Much depends on the initial parameters.

Nutritional Features

Fractional meals assume that the main meals are breakfast, lunch and dinner at set times. There should be snacks in between. For them, you should not choose chips, chocolate bars or drinks that can harm the liver or stomach if you have gastritis. It is advisable to set the body up for proper absorption of proteins and starches. For this:

• For breakfast you should eat starchy foods and dishes: porridge, muesli, herbal tea;
• at lunch you need to saturate your body with proteins in combination with vegetables or fruits; consuming starchy substances is undesirable;
• At dinner, the consumption of protein foods increases.

Proteins take longer to digest. This gives a long-lasting feeling of fullness, so a person does not overeat before bed. This is especially important for gastritis, because In case of such a disease, eating should be completed at least 2 hours before bedtime. Any diet recommends this.

Servings of salads and fruits should be used as snacks. You should be careful with the latter: they can increase acidity in gastritis. It is better not to use fatty salad options. The portion size of main meals should not be large. You should get no more than 2 thousand kcal per day.

What to include on the menu?

Those who switch to fractional meals should draw up a menu in advance for each day or for the week in advance. This will allow you to plan the purchase of the necessary products, indicating an approximate list. For some, a table with the menu for the week helps. Visual perception enhances the mood. After all, a new diet causes a certain amount of stress in a person.

Breakfast options:

• 200 g of porridge, preferably from whole grain cereals;
• 150 g muesli;
• 150 g baked potatoes with herbs.

You can supplement your breakfast with nuts and large fruits.

The day is always energy-intensive. This is taken into account when choosing dishes. Suitable for lunch:

• vegetable broth soup (200 ml);
• boiled or steamed vegetables (200 g);
• vegetable salads, to which it is appropriate to add nuts and legumes, if there are no contraindications from the liver (150–200 g).

For dinner, for example, you can prepare one of the following dishes:

• boiled or stewed vegetables;
• rice with corn as a separate dish;
• casserole with tomatoes, peas and sesame seeds;
• zucchini.

The compiled table will allow you to rearrange positions for other days and make the diet more varied. To enhance the results that fractional meals provide, the weekly menu should be reviewed every month.

Example for daily snacks:

• avocado salad with carrots;
• cabbage salad with green cucumber, corn or carrots;
• 30–40 g dried fruits or nuts;
• 150–200 g fruit salad.

The serving size of any salad should not exceed 200 grams per day. If you have gastritis, you should not drink freshly squeezed juices, although in other cases they are acceptable as snacks. Preference should be given to products that are not capable of harming the liver.

The system allows you to solve many problems. The usual diet is not capable of activating the internal forces of the body, only giving an impetus for this. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it for gastritis, for which it is not so much the size of the dishes consumed that is important, but the frequency of meals. The condition of the liver, which will switch to a new mode of operation, can be understood by the skin. It will become more pink, less acne-prone, and defects will appear less frequently. This is another bonus, in addition to other benefits for the liver, stomach and the body as a whole, which can be obtained by changing the principles of nutrition and switching to a fractional system.

For those who want to lose weight, fractional meals are attractive, first of all, because they do not impose the traditional prohibitions of strict diets. In addition, such a nutrition system does not require special preparation...

The main feature of fractional meals is that food must be taken not according to the usual pattern - breakfast, lunch, dinner - but much more often and in small portions. Thus, the time between meals remains not long enough to have time to become very hungry, and when there is no strong hunger, there is no “brutal” appetite, forcing us to overeat or lean on denser and higher-calorie foods. As a result, on fractional meals a person involuntarily begins to consume fewer calories, and, consequently, loses weight. In this article, we will introduce you to the basic rules of fractional nutrition, which will help you transition to a new “gastronomic” regime without harming your stomach and mood. So…

1. You need to eat 5-6 times a day. At the same time, food portions should be small. It has been proven that if you constantly feed the body, you can “inspire” the fat metabolism regulation system that there is always food, and the body will stop making strategic reserves. The absorption of nutrients is accelerated, and much less is deposited on the waist.

2. Interval between meals. The largest should not exceed 4 hours. The minimum interval must be at least 2.5 hours. If the feeling of hunger appears earlier than the prescribed interval of 2.5 hours, it means that the previous meal was not nutritious enough - in this case, it is necessary to reconsider its quantity and energy value.

3.Eat at the same time. This will help the body digest food as efficiently as possible.

4. Properly distribute daily calories. If you eat six times a day, 25% of calories should be for breakfast and dinner, 35% for lunch, 5% for 3 snacks. If there are five meals a day, each time the daily calorie content should be 20%.

5. Drink water. With fractional meals, you need to consume at least 1.5-2 liters of water per day.

6. Do not mix water with food. Water should be drunk either before or after meals. The interval between eating and drinking should be from half an hour to an hour.

7.Preference must be given healthy foods: whole grain bread, dairy products, cereals, fruits, vegetables, fresh meat and fish. Avoid processed foods and sausages.

8. Volume of food. The energy value of the diet should remain at the level of daily requirements. The serving should not exceed the size of a palm or the volume of a glass.

9. Hot breakfast. It's better to start the day with it. Also don't forget about hot food for lunch and dinner. Between hot meals you can have a snack 2-3 times. What is important: morning meals should contain the maximum amount of carbohydrates from the daily norm. And during the day and evening you should try to eat foods containing proteins and fiber.

10. Snacks. Ideal foods for snacking: grain bread or crispbread, vegetable and fruit salads, just snacking vegetables and fruits, low-fat cottage cheese, natural sugar-free yogurt, sugar-free cereals and muesli. Chips, chocolates, seeds, and nuts are not suitable for snacking - they contain too much fat.

Proper nutrition. Menu for the week:

Fractional nutrition is not a diet, not a treatment course, as it may seem. This is eating not according to the usual pattern - breakfast, lunch, dinner - but eating in small portions five to six times a day.

So that between meals there are no more than four hours.

At the same time, you can only change the composition of your diet towards a healthy diet. And there is absolutely no need to limit the consumption of any type of food.

How it works?

The main merit of fractional nutrition is reduction in daily consumption calories.

If a significant amount of time passes between meals, special hormones are produced that stimulate appetite.

The more time has passed since the last meal, the more hormones there are and the stronger the appetite. And correspondingly, the more you want to eat at the first opportunity.

After all, a person usually overeats not because he needs everything that is on the table, but because he cannot stop.

If you eat more often, appetite hormones won't have time to work out, and you won’t want to pounce on food. Meanwhile, a constantly full body, according to various sources, requires approximately 15 percent fewer calories than being occasionally hungry. This is another comfortable feature of fractional nutrition, which distinguishes it from radical diets: you eat less overall, but you don’t starve at all.

Complete benefit

They like to prescribe fractional meals gastroenterologists. And such a diet quite successfully fights gastritis, colitis and even peptic ulcers. Indeed, small portions are better absorbed, do not overload the gastrointestinal tract and help maintain stable blood sugar levels.

By the way, drop in blood sugar increases the feeling of hunger and provokes overeating.

Are we losing weight?

A hungry body goes into “panic” and tries to put aside as much as possible. in reserve. If you constantly feed it, you can “instill” in the system of regulation of fat metabolism that there is always food, and it is not necessary to make strategic reserves. With constantly maintained fractional meals, the absorption of nutrients is accelerated, and much less is deposited on the waist.

In addition, with fractional meals easy to control not only the amount eaten, but also the composition of the diet. It is quite easy to exclude saturated fats and excess sugar from the diet - as components of a hearty meal of two or three dishes. But healthy vegetable oils will go great as a dressing for a snack salad.

And finally, fiber-rich foods that are so often ignored will become in demand in the diet: vegetables, whole grain products, muesli. Not only will they give you a feeling of fullness until your next snack, but they will also create a suitable environment for digestive bacteria in the intestines.

An important role is played by psychological aspect. Knowing that the next meal is in just 3-4 hours, it is much easier for a person not to overeat in reserve.

Let's wake up!

Many people probably know the feeling lethargy and drowsiness after a heavy meal. This is a completely natural state: the blood is sent for the long-awaited portion of nutrients to the intestines, leaving the brain, heart and muscles. Performance drops sharply, and the desire to move disappears.

If you do not overload the body with dense food, its tone naturally increases, and it begins to much more effective use the calories received.

In addition, split meals eliminate heavy dinners and problems with falling asleep on a full stomach, which allows you to fully rest during the night. And healthy sleep, according to scientists, this is another way of prevention gaining excess weight.

How do we eat?

Fractional meals do not mean that you are allowed a three-course lunch with compote five to six times a day. And you shouldn’t call the chaotic absorption of everything during the day fractional nutrition.

The energy value of the diet is should remain at the daily requirement level. The volume of food intake is quite simple to calculate. The serving size should not exceed palm or by volume - cup. In order to learn how to measure such a volume, you can get small bowls or saucers and measure portions with them. For snacks during the working day, small trays that are convenient to carry in your bag are suitable.

It's better to start the day with hot breakfast. Volume - as needed. Also don't forget about hot food for lunch and dinner.

A hearty breakfast, unlike a traditional cup of coffee on the run, allows you to maintain a feeling of fullness for several hours, even if this breakfast happened at six in the morning. Between hot meals you can have a snack 2-3 times. Nothing new - in childhood we also had a second breakfast, an afternoon snack and a glass of milk at night.

What are we eating?

It’s worth remembering right away that chips, chocolates, seeds and other nuts for snacking not intended. They contain too much fat, and they don’t give you a feeling of fullness for long. Burger and any other fast food are not suitable as a hot dish for the same reason.

Ideal snack foods: grain bread or crispbread, vegetable and fruit salads, just snacking vegetables and fruits, low-fat cottage cheese, natural sugar-free yogurt, sugar-free cereals and muesli.

There are no secrets: just follow principles of healthy eating and do not forget that the diet must contain vitamins, microelements and essential fatty acids in sufficient quantities.

How to start?

First, decide for yourself, For what you need to switch to fractional meals. If a person does not feel hungry with three meals a day and is in good physical shape, split meals are not necessary for him. Fractional meals are also not suitable for those who want to lose weight in a week, since losing weight with this regimen gives a stable but slow result.

Firstly, fractional nutrition does not imply a sudden change in diet or any restrictions other than the size of portions. Secondly, you need to get used to small portions and eating patterns, and this is not a matter of one day. Thirdly, with fractional meals, you can, of course, get rid of excess weight. But not in a week. After all, it takes time to accustom the body to burn the calories received, and not save them in reserve.

Try starting on the weekend when you Houses. Of course, on the one hand, here it is, the refrigerator. On the other hand, no one will stop you from accurately measuring the portion and eating it on time. And don't try to keep a strictly regulated break between meals. For some it may be 4 hours, for others it may be 3. Find a regime that is comfortable for you and break your daily diet into smaller and more frequent portions.

For the busy and overearned there are reminder functions in phones and computers, making it easier to measure time between meals. And over time, you yourself will begin to feel hungry at the right time.

Our experts advise writing down everything you eat during the day. This helps analyze nutrition and identify imbalances. Visit our website and get access to other personal services.

The question of what to eat in order to lose at least a little weight has occupied many people for a long time.It would probably be quite fair to add one more question to this question - what diet will help you get rid of excess weight, and at the same time from a considerable number of other problems that are very closely related to weight.

There are many sad jokes and no less sad anecdotes about this, since excess weight has long ceased to be a reason for joy, but is known as the basis of a huge number of troubles, both in personal life and at work, and, naturally, with health. Just look at the recommendation (joking, of course) to stick to the “Russian style” diet and eat only once a day, but from the very morning until the evening...

But this is really a joke, since neither study nor work will “fit” into such a schedule. But another food option has long become not only popular, but, unfortunately, widespread - coffee in the morning, nothing at all in the afternoon or some snacks on the run, and in the evening - a lot of everything in a row to compensate for everything not eaten during the day. Recently, as a life-saving way to get rid of both kilograms and many health problems, you can increasingly hear about fractional meals.

You can often find seemingly impeccable information on the issue of “fractional nutrition: for andagainst." However, is this information really as impeccable as it seems at first glance?

What is fractional nutrition?

Fans and fans of diets should immediately understand that fractional meals are not a diet, and certainly not a treatment course. In fact, fractional nutrition is the principle of distributing food throughout the day. To make it clearer, let’s consider the classic version of the daily menu: in the morning a person should have breakfast, in the afternoon he will have lunch, and the evening is the traditional time for dinner.

Total - three meals a day, and this does not count tea at work, coffee with clients or with friends, snacks on the go and small snacks “whatever God sends”, which has become quite common in recent decades. That is, a person may well chew and swallow throughout the whole day without noticing it. And why not “diet in Russian”?

But, returning to the classic three meals a day, which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, we can say that today this is very often not the best option either.

Why? But because modern people very rarely manage to correctly distribute the calorie content of the daily menu. Breakfast is a cup of coffee or a sandwich, which is swallowed almost on the run. Lunch - how it turns out: either a business lunch in the nearest cafe, or a hamburger and fries from a fast food restaurant, or a pack of waffles with tea right at the workplace...

But in any case, only the mentioned business lunch can claim the name “lunch” from this list. How many people can afford this? Tea with a sandwich, chips and the same hamburger... But it can be even cooler: in the morning - coffee (if you have time), in the afternoon there is no time even for any memories of food, but in the evening you can “break away” and make up for everything not eaten during the day.

And what in this case should be called fractional nutrition? Traditionally, fractional meals mean frequent meals in small portions. What does "frequent" mean?

This means that you should eat fractional meals up to six times a day. Yes exactly! But the portions should be very small. Many people don’t even imagine how you can eat six times in one day. In fact, it’s not that difficult: Breakfast at 8 am, second breakfast at 11 am, lunch at 2 pm, afternoon tea at 5 pm (traditional English cup of tea), light dinner at 8 pm, and half a glass of kefir or herbal before bed tea.

In a word, the schedule is clear, but how to implement it and what should you eat during each meal?

Attention! When switching to fractional meals, you should definitely consult a nutritionist or gastroenterologist and get the necessary recommendations.

Benefits of fractional meals

To talk about the benefits of fractional nutrition, that is, about its “pluses,” we should remember a little about human physiology, or more precisely, about what happens to the body if food is not supplied for too long.

It's no secret that long breaks between meals cause activation of the endocrine system, which begins to intensively produce appetite-stimulating hormones, for example, ghrelin - a person feels hungry. And the more time passes after eating, the more active the hormones are and the stronger the appetite. Here it is necessary to note that a hungry person can eat much more food than is necessary for the normal functioning of the body. This is how overeating occurs, which not only causes excess weight and/or obesity, but also causes many diseases of various systems and organs of the body, including diseases of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract.

Attention! A hungry person eats a large amount of food because it is very difficult for him to stop - the brain sends signals of satiety not immediately after food enters the stomach, but only after some time.

It becomes clear that the less the feeling of hunger, that is, the less hunger hormones are produced, especially ghrelin and neuropeptide Y, which is known as a powerful stimulator of food activity, the less a person eats during meals. As for ghrelin, it stabilizes existing fat deposits in the body, since increasing the level of this hormone activates enzymes that promote fat storage and practically prevents the consumption of fat deposits.

According to scientists, if the body does not experience hunger, then it requires less energy, and accordingly, fewer calories are required (by about 15%, and sometimes up to 20%).

Attention! The great benefit of fractional nutrition is that a person with this diet is not hungry, so he does not have to eat more than what the body requires.

It is very important that with fractional meals, that is, when a person eats often, but in small portions, food is absorbed by the body much better and the gastrointestinal tract is not overloaded.

Attention! The constant intake of small portions of food into the body helps maintain stable levels of many vital substances in the blood, especially regarding sugar levels. It is known that one of the reasons for the appearance and intensification of the feeling of hunger is a decreasein blood sugar levels, which may well become another reason for overeating.

It is important to note that fractional meals are very important for those people who suffer from any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. It is known that in the treatment of diseases such as gastritis of any etiology, colitis and peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum, whatever their nature, not just dietary nutrition is prescribed, but a fractional diet is required, in which food enters the stomach in small portions and often.

Fractional nutrition and weight loss

It is known and has been repeatedly proven in many studies that the body perceives fasting as a danger and therefore tries to store as much fat as possible in reserve, that is, after any period of hunger, the regulation of fat metabolism is significantly disrupted, since the body tries to accumulate as many reserves as possible in case of new force. majors. But what if there is no hunger? And what kind of hunger is there with regular six or even eight meals a day? An organism that constantly receives some useful substances, some kind of food, does not feel hunger, and therefore does not put aside reserves - there is no need for this.

Moreover, if fractional nutrition is organized correctly, then the metabolism accelerates, and all the nutrients necessary for the body are absorbed not only faster, but also in the right way, that is, they are converted into energy, and not into fat deposits.

During research, it was found that small portions of food that the body receives with fractional nutrition are digested by the stomach and absorbed by the entire digestive system much faster, in addition, all the necessary substances, including those essential for the body, are also absorbed faster and more efficiently, that is, more complete.

It is very important that with fractional meals it will be very difficult to have a full lunch during each meal - it will never fit in. Therefore, almost always next to the fractional power supply there is also a separate power supply. In any case, the question of the compatibility of foods that should be eaten in one meal becomes very important, and almost everyone comes to this.

What is the result? And as a result, if you monitor the compatibility of products on the menu, all the nutrients in their food, including fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, micro- and macroelements, will be processed in the gastrointestinal tract even faster and more thoroughly, that is, they will be absorbed even better .

It’s interesting that if split meals are organized correctly, that is, you don’t have to cram full plates into yourself through “I can’t” every time you eat (and such “times,” as you know, with split meals there are at least six, or even eight, per meal). day), then split meals can really help with proper weight loss - you don’t feel like eating, and every time you eat a mere trifle.

It is very important, especially for losing weight, and for the functioning of any body in general, that fractional nutrition helps the entire body cleanse itself and get rid of toxins.

An equally important advantage of fractional nutrition is that this method of eating food significantly improves the intestinal microflora, eliminates putrefactive processes that can begin in the intestines, including as a result of constipation, which is much easier to combat with fractional nutrition. In a word, fractional meals are a great way to facilitate and, accordingly, improve digestion.

Separately, it is worth mentioning that fractional meals are an excellent way to naturally cleanse the entire digestive system and the entire gastrointestinal tract.

As a consequence of this cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract and the entire body, intoxication of the body decreases and then goes away, since harmful toxic substances are not retained in the body.

And, finally, as a result of more active metabolism (metabolic processes of the body), as a result of bringing the intestinal microflora into proper order, as well as as a result of the absence of intoxication processes, a person’s weight and, accordingly, volume begin to return to normal.

Attention! You should not make a fairly common mistake and excessively reduce the caloric content of your daily diet - in this case, the body may decide that it should replenish its reserves at the first opportunity, and weight loss may not work.

As for fractional nutrition and weight loss, it is appropriate to make a few more remarks. To lose weight correctly, without causing damage to your health, you need to distribute your daily calorie intake over the number of meals.

Suppose a person needs 1800 kcal per day (sedentary work in an office). If you divide this amount of calories into 6 meals, you get an average of 300 kcal per meal, and if there are 9 meals, then, accordingly, the average calorie content of one meal will be equal to 200 kcal. However, this does not mean that in the morning, in the morning and at lunch, the calorie content of a serving should be the same as in the evening.

And the products should be different. In the morning and in the first half of the day, it is better to eat slow carbohydrates, for example, porridge, which provide energy for a fairly long period of time.

And after lunch, it is best to eat something light and low-calorie and give preference to vegetables and fruits, as well as light dairy products.

It is very important that short pauses between meals will not allow hormones such as ghrelin and neuropeptide Y to become active, so the feeling of hunger will not have time to arise. As a result, overeating is practically excluded.

It is equally important that by receiving food in extremely small volumes, the stomach will gradually return to its normal size (as you know, the size of the stomach does not exceed the size of a handful), so the feeling of fullness will come much faster and much less will be eaten.

Scientists have found that fat cells are deposited in fat depots approximately two and a half hours after eating. But if food enters the body quite often and in very small quantities, then nothing gets into the fat depots - first weight gain stops, and then the accumulated reserves begin to be used up. It turns out that the shorter the intervals between meals, the greater the chances of not gaining weight.

It is very important that with fractional nutrition, metabolic (metabolic) processes in the body improve, so the body is gradually cleansed of toxins, which is also important for maintaining normal weight and for losing weight.

Attention! Even with fractional meals, it is very important to carefully monitor the calorie intake.

Established disadvantages of fractional nutrition

At the annual conference of the International Society of Endocrinology, which was held in Liverpool (UK) at the end of March, fractional nutrition researchers presented their findings to the medical community and talked about their observations.

It turned out that fractional nutrition has not only some advantages, but also some disadvantages. As follows from the results obtained, only those calories that the body receives with food are truly important for losing weight. The researchers concluded that fractional meals, which are often recommended for overweight and obesity and are used to reduce body weight, may not only be unhealthy, but also dangerous.

24 women with different body weights were invited to conduct the study - some were of normal weight, and some were overweight and obese.

A menu was developed for all participants in the experiment, the energy value of which was exactly the same for everyone. However, some participants ate two meals a day; others received the opportunity to eat in fractions, and their daily regimen included five meals. During the experiment, careful monitoring of the daily energy expenditure of each participant was carried out.

It turned out that the frequency of meals does not have any effect on energy expenditure, that is, on how many calories the body burns. Energy consumption was approximately the same for those who ate twice a day, that is, they ate rarely but a lot; and those who ate often and little by little.

But the saddest thing was that for the participants in the experiment who were obese and wanted to lose weight with the help of fractional nutrition, this was simply dangerous, since those participants in the experiment who adhered to the principles of fractional nutrition, but were overweight or obese, had a significantly higher level of endotoxins was detected, which pose a considerable danger to the body.

What are they, endotoxins? From the name itself it already becomes clear that these are some toxic substances. And this is true: endotoxins are toxic substances that are formed in the body during and as a result of the breakdown of many bacterial cells. It has long been proven that it is endocytokines that become a provoking factor in the body for the formation of inflammatory cytokines (very small signaling hormone-like proteins), which trigger inflammatory processes.

Several earlier studies have concluded that endotoxin levels in the blood increase when eating high-fat foods. And, as you know, it is the consumption of fatty foods that causes serious inflammatory reactions and the cause of type 2 diabetes, as well as diseases of the cardiovascular system.

In the same study, it turned out that if a person is diagnosed with obesity, then a dangerous level of endocytokines in the blood can be provoked, among other things, by partial nutrition.

The head of the research work was Milan Kumar Piya, who represented the clinic at Coventry University (UK). In her report, she named two main facts that were revealed during the study.

1. The first fact is that neither the frequency of meals nor the amount of food consumed during the day has the slightest effect on calorie burning and weight loss. In fact, for weight loss, only the number of calories that the body receives during the day is important.
2. The second fact is that since obesity itself is already associated with an obligatory increased level of substances such as endotoxins in the blood, and an increased level of endotoxins provokes inflammatory reactions in the body and causes disruption of metabolic processes in the body (metabolic disorders), then fractional nutrition is only a risk increases significantly. However, the reasons for this effect of fractional nutrition on the level of endotoxins have not yet been identified. But it is absolutely clear that fractional meals for obesity, and, possibly, for other diseases, are contraindicated.

As it became known, research in this direction will continue.

Several important rules of fractional nutrition

It is believed that fractional meals make it possible to better control both the amount of food eaten and the menu itself. However, in any diet and with any nutrition, it is very important to take into account some of the features of each eating style and the advice of nutritionists.

The first thing to remember when switching to fractional meals is the need to reduce the amount of sugar and so-called saturated fats. However, reducing does not mean eliminating completely. For example, why not indulge in a small piece of dark chocolate every now and then? Or not use quality butter in small quantities from time to time?

But still, when eating fractionally (in principle, as with any healthy way of eating), it is better to use high-quality vegetable fats: olive, sunflower or, for example, corn oil, which are perfect for dressing a wide variety of salads.

It is also very important to give up excess salt, which in large quantities becomes a very serious enemy to health. Not so long ago, nutritionists recommended limiting daily consumption of kitchen salt to four grams, but modern recommendations reduce this amount even more and suggest stopping at two grams. Some may find it too bland? But, firstly, this is a matter of habit, and secondly, the lack of salt can often be compensated for with lemon juice or aromatic herbs. By the way, children under three years of age do not need additional salt from the outside at all, because most products contain the necessary chemical elements.

The next rule of fractional nutrition is the presence of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains in the diet, which are rich in fiber and, in addition, are very useful for intestinal function and maintain a feeling of fullness for quite a long time.

Attention! With fractional meals, a very important role is played by the psychology of a person who knows that in just three hours (or a little more) he will eat again. So why overeat? But the result of overeating is decreased performance, lethargy and drowsiness, not to mention various diseases and excess weight.

The most important rule of fractional nutrition is constant monitoring of the energy value of the foods eaten, since this number should not exceed the daily energy requirement. If we are talking about the need to lose weight, then in this case the energy value of the daily menu should be slightly less than the daily energy requirement.

It is important to remember that the serving size during a meal should not exceed the volume of one standard glass, which holds 250 ml of water.

An undoubted advantage of fractional meals is that with this regimen, heavy dinners are completely eliminated, so sleep returns to normal very quickly.

Attention! If the body is not overloaded with food, then its tone increases, and the calories received, that is, energy, are spent much more efficiently and with greater benefit for the whole organism.

Another important rule of fractional meals is to definitely have breakfast, and breakfast should be complete and contain all the necessary substances, including carbohydrates. According to nutritionists, the main amount of carbohydrates should be consumed in the morning in order to feel full and energized. But during lunch or dinner, protein foods and foods containing fiber are better.

Attention! The feeling of hunger knows how to disguise itself: often a person who thinks he is hungry is actually just thirsty. In addition, a feeling of hunger, which in fact will be false, can be triggered by stressful situations or even fatigue.

When eating fractional meals, it is very important to ensure the correct drinking regime and drink at least one and a half liters of clean water per day, although in some cases it won’t hurt to drink even more.

With fractional meals, you will have to give up such dear and familiar snacks as crackers, chips, nuts, candies, and replace them with fruits or vegetables, for example, raw carrots or cucumbers.

As for dairy products, you should choose only natural products with a low fat content and without preservatives, sweeteners, or flavor enhancers.

Attention! Before switching to fractional meals, you need to consult with your doctor or nutritionist, who will be able to give the most detailed individual recommendations, because fractionated meals are not suitable for everyone.

conclusions

What is fractional nutrition? In no case is this a cup of coffee in the morning, a cake at work, a snack of a pie or a hamburger, a couple of packs of chips (so that you don’t feel dizzy from hunger), and only then a five-course dinner.

Fractional meals are small portions of healthy food that should be consumed strictly on schedule. Is it better to eat five, six, or even eight times a day, and not three times, as everyone (well, most) do? This is exactly the question to ask your doctor, because some people are much more suitable for a traditional diet, although for some, fractional meals are simply necessary. And the point here is not at all about losing weight - you can effectively lose weight without fractional nutrition. The fact is that each organism is very individual and has its own needs.

However, in any case, the main thing is not to overeat and monitor the caloric content of your daily diet. It is quite natural and completely unsurprising that fractional nutrition has its advantages, its disadvantages, and its immutable rules. And that is why it is better to consult on this issue not with a fashion magazine, not with a TV program, or even with girlfriends, but exclusively with a doctor.