As long as caloric requirements are met and the diet is balanced, there is nothing terribly wrong with three meals per day. On the other hand, mare frequent small meals (4-6 per day) may reduce feelings of hunger and prevent binge eating. Another argument favoring more frequent meals is the fact that food itself stimulates basal metabolism in most individuals.
A more sustained metabolism can be achieved by eating more frequent meals, while remaining within caloric requirements.
Whether or not you need food supplements if you eat a balanced diet is a source of much, controversy. It is not safe not to eat supplements. You could have an inconsistency in your diet, you could have a nutrition deficiency that you didn't even notice. This is true for everybody. We need protein supplements, we need carbohydrate sources like my Carbo Energizer, we need B-complex vitamins so we can metabolize the other stuff.
Keep the food groups in mind, understand the basic principles, and it's not hard to eat healthy! You don't need to walk around with a calculator, or to keep referring to a book. The longer you eat what's good for you, the better your body will respond. It will begin to tell you when you need more and when you've eaten enough.
That doesn't mean we're opposed to reading books. Commonly Used Portions by Bowes and Church is a fine reference that will help you figure calories, fat, protein and carbohydrate amounts in different portions of different foods. Fad diets are about as useful nutritionally as fad haircuts or fad shoes or fad anything else. One diet that's no fad is the Pritikin diet. The Pritikin Institute set it up along with very sound nutritional guidelines, and it's a good regimen for those who want to learn healthy eating habits. However, we believe the protein content of this diet is too low.
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