To lose weight you should plan on eating 5 or 6 meals per day. Spread your calories over the entire day to keep your metabolism reved up. Most people do just the opposite by skipping breakfast to save calories and only eating lunch and dinner. This is a big mistake when trying to lose weight.

The key to fat loss is keeping a stable blood sugar level through the day. This is accomplished by eating quality foods such as whole grain, vegetables, fruits or meat every 2 or 3 hours. If you are a woman, you can spread out 1500 calories or more through the day, eating 200 – 300 calories per meal.  Men can spread 2000 calories through the day by eating 300 – 400 calories per meal.

A stable blood sugar through the day will burn more fat and make you less susceptible to binging and eating the wrong foods. The way to keep your blood sugar stable is through small meals. A breakfast of oatmeal or cereal and may be a fruit or cottage cheese. You can even start the day with a protein shake and a fruit and stay well below 300 calories for the meal.

Snack on a fat burning fruit like apples or berries 2 hours from breakfast or drink a protein shake with a fruit. Stay within 400 to 500 calories for lunch and have a snack 2 hours after lunch of nuts or energy bars like Atkins Advantage or Zone Bar.

Boneless chicken breast and brown rice make an excellent late afternoon snack. Stay with 400 calories for dinner and try to have another snack 1 or 2 hours before bed. Your body will go without food for about 8 to 10 hours while you sleep and during your initial wake up time, then it’s time for breakfast to stoke up the metabolism again.

The trick to eating 5 or 6 meals per day is to eliminate junk foods and eat plenty of complex carbs through whole grain, vegetables, fruits along with a good source of protein from lean meats, fish, egg whites or supplemental protein drink. By eating every 2 or 3 hours you will never feel deprived and always satisfied, so weight loss is much easier.