Welcome back to our second edition of The Diet Wars!

We've already gone over the basics of intermittent fasting, so this week let's dive into the merits and demerits of eating every three hours, what’s involved in the day to day practice of this eating pattern and consider why it has become a widespread habit.

So who came up with eating every 3 hours anyways???…

Scheduled eating is a concept that’s existed for a long time, but this eating pattern was popularized by Mexican Author and Fitness Trainer Jorge Cruise as demonstrated in his best seller “The 3-Hour Diet”

So to give you a general concept of what scheduled eating is: Imagine running a marathon. If you ran hard at the start, you might reach exhaustion too quickly. Likewise, if you try to store all your energy until the very end, you may never make any progress. The key is setting an even pace that you can maintain throughout the entirety of the race. This same concept can be applied to eating habits.

Rather than consuming huge meals, consider the advantages of spacing your meals and which ultimately results in regulating energy levels consistently throughout the day. By scheduling your meals and snacks, and building a healthy diet, you can maximize your digestive health while preventing the development of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

The goal is to eat every 3 to 4 hours in order to keep your blood sugar consistent and for your stomach to optimally digest. Setting this schedule consistently across days can also help curb overeating which can lead to bloating or indigestion. In general, scheduling what and when you eat will help you maintain a balanced diet and create a more stable energy source, as your metabolism will be engaged at optimal levels all day long.

Scheduled Eating and The 3-Hour Diet: Are they  the same?

Short answer, NO.

The 3-Hour Diet is a FORM of scheduled eating.
Time-restricted eating is effective for weight loss, but it can also improve mood and blood pressure. Studies particularly point towards Early Time Restricted Eating.

That’s according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine that found that early time-restricted eating for a period of 8 hours between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. led to more effective weight loss, blood pressure control, and mood improvement in adults with obesity when compared with a group who ate in an eating window greater than 12 hours.

But not everybody can stick to the same schedule for their own motives and habits! When it comes to the timing of eating, experts say it is important for those attempting time-restricted eating to find a suitable eating window that suits their needs and lifestyle.

For individuals who don’t like to go to bed feeling ‘hungry’, this can be a difficult way of eating. Alternatively; for some individuals, beginning to eat later in the day, shifting the time restriction for example to noon to 8 pm works better than 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. It really depends on the person.

Now on this side, let’s look at The 3-Hour Diet, shall we???…

The 3-Hour Diet is a trademarked food plan that involves eating small portions of food every three hours throughout the day. This is a highly controlled plan with a regimented eating schedule. By eating at specific times throughout the day, Cruise says dieters keep their metabolism running on high, reducing body fat.

According to EveryDiet.org, the promise of the 3-Hour Diet is that by eating every three hours, dieters can lose belly fat and maintain a healthier weight. Dieters are told to:

• Eat breakfast at 7 a.m.
• Have a 100-calorie snack at 10 a.m.
• Eat lunch at 1 p.m.
• Have a second 100-calorie snack at 4 p.m.
• Eat dinner at 7 p.m.
• Soon after dinner, enjoy a 50-calorie treat

To follow the diet correctly, dieters must make sure they stop eating at least three hours before going to sleep and stick to the recommended portion sizes. Meals should average 400 calories; snacks, 100 calories; and dessert, 50 calories (like a Reese’s Mini), for a total of about 1,450 calories a day.

Cruise developed this diet based on the belief that if you go for more than three hours without putting food in your body, it goes into “starvation mode.” In other words, your body stores fat and burns muscle, slowing down your metabolism as if preparing for a period of hunger. Eating consistently will, according to Cruise, keep your metabolism moving quickly, helping you burn fat all day.

Pro’s and Cons of The 3-Hour Diet

• The 3-Hour Diet is all-inclusive.
• There are no prohibited types of food.
• Dieters can eat occasional fast food chicken, chocolate candy bars, bacon, and red meat.
• The diet relies on the concept that there’s no bad foods, just bad portions.
• It takes into account the undeniable fact that calories are what determine weight gain, and sets strict calorie limits for each meal and snack.
• It encourages eating a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fruits, and vegetables.
• One danger is that the frequent eating involved in the 3-Hour Diet can offer an opportunity for abuse, especially if you have problems overeating to begin with.
• If portion sizes aren’t controlled, frequent eating can actually cause you to gain weight.
• Another issue is that the 3-Hour Diet doesn’t address the necessity of exercise. Exercise is essential to overall health, as well as healthy weight loss.
  
  

Source:

• Scheduled Eating- Why It’s Beneficial and How to Start
  https://chear.ucsd.edu/blog/scheduled-eating-why-its-beneficial-and-how-to-start
• Effectiveness of Early Time-Restricted Eating for Weight Loss, Fat Loss, and Cardiometabolic Health in Adults With Obesity.
  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2794819?guestAccessKey=7bd58555-686e-4f5c-a08f-7c021e6c1029&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=080822
• How Eating Only Between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Can Help With Weight Loss and Blood Pressure
  https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-eating-only-between-7-a-m-and-3-p-m-can-help-with-weight-loss-and-blood-pressure
• The 3-Hour Diet
  https://www.healthline.com/health/3-hour-diet#the-promise