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Meal Management: Portion Size and Frequency
by
Jeff Porter

Lil' Miss Abby

This article will focus on the amount and types of calories that you intake.   What we eat, and how we eat it are just as critical as what we burn, and how we burn it. 

Two key things to consider with caloric intake: frequency of meals, and size of meals.

Frequency of Meals

You want to feed your body a consistent stream of quality nutrients that will allow you to maximize your energy and maintain a steady blood sugar level.  Research has shown that an effective way to maintain a stable blood sugar level is to eat small, frequent meals that contain both protein and carbohydrate and limited “good” fats (not saturated).  The frequency of these meals should be every 2 1/2 to 3 hours, meaning that most of us should eat 5-6 small meals per day.  The frequent meals will even out blood sugar levels and not cause the insulin response that can lead your body to defend and store fat.  In addition, amino acids, the building blocks for muscle, are not stored in the body, so infrequent meals can lead to difficulties in growing muscle mass. 

The Protein Diet Fad

There is no doubt that restricting carbohydrates can lead to weight loss, and diets such as the Atkins Diet have become quite popular amongst our population.  However, this is some controversy surrounding this related to the health aspects of such a high protein/high-fat diet.  Aside from those issues, the item of caution with restricted carbohydrate diets is that they tend to slow down the metabolism and can likely lead to a loss in muscle mass.  When the body looks for energy to burn, it will burn carbohydrates first, followed next by fat and then protein.  If the fat burning is too slow to provide enough energy, your body will start burning protein (glucogenisis) – which we don’t want.   I would just caution that if you are considering a diet such as Atkins, that you avoid the saturated fats, include low-glycemic carbohydrates in your diet, and implement a weight-training aspect to your workouts and lifestyle.  

Size of Meals

Next, our 5-6 meals per day need to be small.  Portion sizes should be less than what we are typically used to.  In fact, perhaps we should consider them 5-6 snacks per day.  Each of these should contain a portion of protein and carbohydrate.  The question in our society today is how big these portion sizes should be.  Over the past 20 years, portion sizes at meals in America have grown tremendously. In fact, American portion sizes are much larger today than they are in other continents such as Europe (see, insert). 

A rule of thumb is that portion sizes should be roughly the size of a clenched fist.  Other thoughts about meals: 

• Buffet Style is Bad:  prepare your plate for the meal with all portions on it before you sit down (eliminate the standard dinner time buffet – this will help prevent the desire to go for second helpings). 
• Let your Brain Catch Up:  Our bodies have elaborate hunger management systems built into them (something we know does not work right in those with PWS).  These pathways help regulate our appetite.  Consider that this mechanism is a bit delayed, so that it can take up to 15-20 minutes or more after we eat our small meal before our body determines that it is no longer hungry.  If you eat until your appetite goes away, you have likely over-eaten.  After you eat your portions, wait at least 20 minutes with out eating anything (drink water if you want to) and see if your appetite doesn’t go away by then.
• Protein & Carbs Go Together:  Try to avoid snacks that only consist of carbohydrates.  Eating protein along with the carbohydrates will help slow the digestion of your meal and help prevent that un-wanted spike in blood sugar and the corresponding insulin response.

These guidelines are merely that, guidelines, but if followed, can lead to lower caloric intake and ultimately an opportunity to lose a few pounds or maintain an ideal weight.