It may seem like eating 5 meals a day is too much food, but portion size is what matters. Eating smaller portions of healthy foods throughout the day will change the way your body metabolises food. Rather than storing food as fat when eating 3 large meals a day, the body knows it will be fed again soon and can burn through any meal you send it's way and then move onto body fat. The body does exactly what you tell it to. If you miss meals and over eat, you are telling your body to store fat. If you are consistently eating nutritions foods, you are telling your body to keep on burning because your will get fed soon. Sounds out of the box, but you will see the results if you begin living this lifestyle. The main advantages of "5 meals a day" are:

1. Eating often helps to control appetite. If you give a long gap between your breakfast and lunch, what happens is you start feeling hungry before lunch break and so you are prone to overeat because you are very hungry. But excess food hampers the smooth process of metabolism that leads to health problems. So eating smaller frequent meals are the best ways to stay fit.

2. Blood sugar problems can be tackled best by eating frequently but in small quantities. When blood sugar falls, a person has the urge to eat. This in turn increases abdominal fat, hormonal imbalance and problems increase. Heavy meals increase the feelings of sleepiness which is detrimental to health. Frequent small meals cut out all such possibilities because you are never so very hungry that you will overeat. There is always some food inside you that will supply energy and necessary elements to keep going efficiently.

3. Eating small frequent meals increase concentration and affect moods. The glucose in food helps to remain calm and focused. Suppose you skip a meal and then fulfill it by eating more in the next meal, it will simply create havoc. Digestion process is disrupted and that will make you sleepy and lose concentration.

4. You gain muscle mass and at the same time reduce weight by eating small meals frequently. What you eat is used up by the body especially during workouts. So after exercises when you have the right foods in measured quantity, you replenish your muscle strength and at the same time lose weight.

Simple strategies to get maximum benefits from eating small meals frequently:
• Eat your breakfast without fail.
• Plan your meal times with at the least 3 hours gap in between.
• Include foods that maintain your required calorie counts.

Follow these simple rules and plan your diet menu scrupulously so that you feel and look good always.