Why is eating five times a day not healthy?

Although many of the concepts he defends are based on issues supported by science, he assures that he does not intend to lecture and that it is possible to obtain information both for and against what he defends. It is not in vain that one of his axioms is that we should not give more importance to what scientific studies say than to the signals of our body. With him we talked about body signals and some of the beliefs that often separate us from them.

What are the myths about nutrition that are the hardest to dispel?

I think the ones that are most problematic are those related to fat and, in particular, to Fear of fat. And this has to do with the information that came out, particularly in the seventies and eighties, which emphasized the fact that they were dangerous or bad for health. In fact, they are afraid of consuming it not only because of this, but also because they believe that this is what makes them fat the most. And it might make sense if we think about what we store is fat and what we want to get rid of to lose weight is fat. But the reality is that eating fat does not increase our obesity.

But then, what causes our obesity to increase?

Fat gain depends on the total energy balance of the day being positive, which means we have a lot of energy in our diet. And that can come from both fat, carbohydrates and protein. And we must not forget that hormonal problems caused by stress can also affect this fat increase. Therefore, we do not need to be particularly afraid of fat consumption.

What would happen if we eliminated fat from our daily lives?

The first thing that will happen is that we will become malnourished because we will not provide the body with the resources it needs to build its structure or balance its hormonal system. But it will also be difficult for us to stay satisfied throughout the day, so we will be constantly hungry.

What place does the fear of cholesterol have in the fear of fat that you have mentioned?

We have always heard that cholesterol It was bad and we had to be careful about the cholesterol levels. But it is an essential molecule for life that we can provide to the body from foods in which it occurs naturally such as eggs, meat, fermented dairy products, cheeses or butter.

The problem is that we associate healthy eating with eating chicken fillets, white fish and salads and this causes us to stop eating a lot of foods that are healthier than we think.

In fact, fear of salt This may be one of the most common misconceptions, as it mentions that it can cause high blood pressure but it does not mention that lack of salt in the diet can also affect hydration as it makes us thirsty. Helps in controlling and gaining energy. It is not unusual for people who barely eat salt to feel more tired. And in this, as in the rest of foods, it is important to develop a critical sense and not take nutritional information as black or white. You have to see in which cases it makes sense to limit it or not because if it is reduced without reason it can be harmful to the health of that person.

Additionally the issue of sugar and its alleged connection with energy creates a lot of confusion…

Although it is true that in the short term, foods that provide sugar provide energy, in reality they generate a relationship that can even be described as dependence. What happens is that we often confuse high point energy with stable energy levels. It is best to keep a constant energy level. But sugar alone produces constant cycles of high and low energy and is also related to emotional instability. In fact, for many people, understanding the impact food has on emotions comes before and after.

It is important to understand that fat provides greater energy stability than sugar.

Regarding meal timing or frequency, what misconceptions do you think are the most common?

Eating five meals a day is often advocated, but this is not healthy. Two or three meals a day are more than enough for an average healthy person to get the necessary nutrients, get the regulation right from a hunger and satiety standpoint, and reduce inflammation.

What is most effective for losing weight?

One of the big mistakes made in this sense is to put all people in the same bag and assume that we all need the same thing. If you are a physically active person with a reasonable fat percentage, you can remove a few extra kilos that you have gained at a certain stage by exercising more or less. But that context is not the same as the one that developed obesity For many years, the formula of eating less and exercising more will not work, because there are hormonal disorders and metabolic problems that do not work properly and there is inflammation and stress. We will talk about a multifactorial problem that is not just related to food.

What I mean by this is that some of the methods that are often recommended for losing weight can actually have the opposite result. You may initially be able to lose weight by cutting down on food and exercising, but we have to keep in mind that the body has mechanisms to counter this and this will lower your metabolism and make you hungrier and hungrier. Will make. This usually happens with people riding this type of bicycle. They lose weight and quickly gain it back.

More than losing weight, what I propose in the book is to understand weight loss Not in terms of eating less and exercising less, but in terms of eating what is necessary to nourish yourself and getting the exercise necessary to be well regulated internally. It’s about focusing on the medium and long term, avoiding cycles of constant weight loss and gain, and looking for foods that satiate us rather than being permanently concerned.

Why do some people keep gaining weight even if they eat less?

On the one hand there is the energy you give him and on the other hand what both your hormones and your brain send, depending on what they find necessary. The brain and hormonal systems of people who continue to gain weight from eating less recognize that the priority is to store and save fat because they sense there is a shortage and they must save that energy for when they need it. But what happens is that the person, in addition to eating less and gaining fat, feels so tired that he or she is no longer able to complete the day’s tasks, let alone exercise, making everyday life a chore. It becomes an unbearable challenge.

Eating less puts stress on the body. But if you give it enough energy and give it the nutrients it needs, the body recognizes that accumulating fat is no longer such a priority and this will make you feel more energetic, able to carry on with your daily life and even That you will also get extra energy. Exercise, something that will in turn help you improve your metabolism levels.

The point is that these changes take a while Time, You can’t go from zero to a hundred in three months. When we realize that the purpose is to take care of ourselves and create habits that we can maintain over time, it will make real change possible, which is not something temporary. This is a change of mentality.

And where should we start making these changes?

The truth is that you have to do things at the same time. Just changing the diet does not work. If I told you now to have breakfast, for example, two eggs with avocado, protein and some vegetables with some cheese and dinner to have some vegetables with fish and boiled potatoes; Maybe it will be good for you. But you don’t know why you are doing it or what effect it has. But if I explain to you the reason why choosing a certain food for breakfast will keep you focused, satiated and energetic or why certain foods make you more emotionally stable or even why certain foods make you You will understand why you stop sleeping after practicing mindful eating because you will find meaning in what you do. When information about what is recommended to be eaten or avoided is accompanied by why, it is easier to assimilate and explain what is being done. We need to understand and assimilate things.

nutrition This goes far beyond satisfying hunger or staying alive, because with our nutritional decisions we can have a great impact on our energy, our emotions, our physical performance or even our cognitive performance. The goal is that we freely want to nourish ourselves in a certain way because we know it benefits us intrinsically.

Have you noticed that the people you advise are interested in the “why” or do they usually prefer that you tell them what to do and that’s it?

This paradigm shift that invites us to understand why things are done requires more initial effort, but then does the opposite as it becomes almost automatic which does not generate stress and tension.

The person who says he just wants you to follow a diet will likely feel stressed about the diet itself because he doesn’t know how long he has to do it nor does he know whether it will be effective. Why is it or not effective? And the worst thing is that when the diet allegedly ends, he does not know how to continue it. Thus food remains a source of stress.

But if the person puts initial efforts in understanding when, how, what and why certain things should be eaten, then later he will find that everything is easy and he will be able to incorporate it in his life better.

the concept of mindful eating What I propose is not concerned with ‘mindfulness’, as it may initially seem, in which you are invited to eat in a certain way, with greater awareness or with being present, but rather with With being aware of what the body needs to function. Appropriately, what nutrients do those foods provide and what effect do those foods have on emotional state, energy, comfort or digestion and how all this can lead to greater awareness of food choices. If you don’t do something consciously, you can’t accept it or change it if you want.

What is good nutrition?

The main problem comes from not knowing what really nourishes us. This means that the healthy dishes taken as reference in some photos actually provide us with little nutrition. And I also defend the view that vegetables provide very little of what our bodies actually need.

The body needs a good amount of vitamins and minerals, a good amount of healthy fats, a good amount of high quality protein, and to this we add extra vegetables and fiber as supplements, perhaps it will all make more sense.

But the most important thing is to adapt it to your lifestyle. If I spend the whole day sitting in an office, I may need less carbohydrates, but if I am an athlete and do two workouts a day and also lead an active life, I will need more carbohydrates. It’s about understanding how to nourish ourselves based on what we need.