Fractional nutrition is a mode of eating at regular intervals in small portions.
system fractional nutrition originally invented by doctors for the complex therapy of diseases gastrointestinal tract. According to doctors, with this diet, the load on the digestive tract is reduced, which has a positive effect on the course of the disease. Also, fractional nutrition was recommended as a measure for the prevention of diseases of the digestive system.
Currently, fractional nutrition is more often used in the context of the fight against excess weight. This nutrition system solves two of the most important problems that prevent you from getting rid of excess weight: overeating and hunger.
Almost any diet aimed at weight loss has a number of severe restrictions that lead to feelings of hunger. And it is difficult to control it, and sooner or later it leads to breakdowns, and we eat, as they say, “to satiety” - we pass it on.
A hungry body is in a state of stress. During times of stress, the body begins to store reserves in case of more difficult times, and even with a low total calorie intake, hunger can provoke the body to accumulate fat.
Fractional nutrition allows you to control hunger and appetite, which makes it possible not to overeat, but to consume the amount of food that the body needs for normal functioning. Moreover, with proper preparation of a fractional diet, it is possible not only to take weight under control, but also to significantly reduce it to normal levels.
At the heart of fractional nutrition
The principle of fractional nutrition has a scientific basis. If the time interval between meals is significant (more than four hours), then the body begins to produce special hormones that are responsible for the appearance of hunger. And hunger stimulates appetite, which makes you eat more than your body needs.
If you reduce the time between meals, then the body does not have time to produce the hunger hormone. The brain, not receiving a signal of hunger, is constantly in a state of satiety. A well-fed body, according to nutritionists, consumes an average of 15 percent less.
Principles of fractional nutrition
With fractional nutrition, everything is important: what to eat, how to eat, when and how much. Due to strict adherence to the rules, there is a decrease in daily calorie intake, and this is a direct path to weight loss.
The optimal mode of fractional nutrition is five to six meals a day with an interval not exceeding four hours. Breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner - most of the children attending kindergarten grew up on this diet. The second breakfast (lunch) and afternoon snack in adult life is usually called snacks.
Fractional nutrition implies restrictions on the volume of food. The volume of one serving should not exceed the volume of one glass - 250 ml. In order not to complicate your life every time, measuring the required amount of food, get utensils, for example, bowls of the required volume.
With fractional nutrition, you should give preference to dishes with low calorie content, if the goal of such a diet is to lose weight. A cake with a volume of 250 ml and a vegetable soup of the same volume have different calorie content and a different effect on the figure.
You can't skip breakfast. It should be satisfying, contain carbohydrates. The perfect breakfast is porridge with fruit.
This breakfast will give you an energy boost. long time, which will allow the body not to experience hunger, the brain to work productively.
In general, all nutritionists advise all carbohydrate foods - cereals, potatoes, bread, sweets - to be eaten in the first half of the day, and proteins with fiber should be transferred to the second half of the day. So carbohydrates, which provide energy, have time to be spent and are not deposited in the form of fat on the body.
It is important not to skip meals, even if you have no appetite. This is a guarantee that you will not experience hunger, which will force you to eat large portions to satisfy it.
Do not give up hot food. At least one of the meals - lunch or dinner should be hot. This does not mean that for lunch you will eat the first, second and compote - you need to make a choice in favor of one dish.
Dinner is better to make protein - lean meat, fish, poultry, boiled, baked or steamed - the perfect dinner.
In the summer, in the heat, when a hot dinner is not happy, you can eat cottage cheese. It is better to give preference to fat-free or low-fat. To digest protein, the body spends up to a quarter of the energy received, so eating low-fat protein foods contributes to weight loss.
It is advisable to combine meat, fish, poultry with fresh vegetables, mostly green. The volume of vegetables should be on average three times larger than the volume of meat or fish. If at such proportions a feeling of hunger appears, then you need to reduce the volume of vegetables in favor of protein foods, but the total serving volume should not exceed 250 ml.
There are different opinions about what to eat in snacks. Some nutritionists advise eating raw vegetables and fruits - this is low-calorie and healthy. Other nutritionists advise not to abuse fruits: fruit acids provoke the production of digestive juices and whet the appetite. In addition, fructose is the type of energy that quickly turns into fat if it is not used up.
The ideal snack is skim cheese, cereal loaves, natural yogurt and kefir. Sweets, fast food, sugary drinks are bad choices.
When planning a menu for the day, remember that you need to provide your body with all the necessary substances: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, micro and macro elements: food should be varied.
Fractional nutrition aimed at losing weight should be combined with feasible physical activity. If there are no contraindications for health, then you need to go to the gym or swimming pool. Everyone else needs to change their lifestyle to the extent possible: use the elevator less, walk at least one stop on the way to and from work, take a walk before bed, and not lie on the couch in front of the TV.
Fractional nutrition, in principle, does not have strict prohibitions on the composition and quality of products. Therefore, sometimes you can treat yourself to sweets, if you wish. For example, eat marshmallows or marmalade in one of the meals. But it should be remembered that the more often you allow such "pampering", the less will be the effect of fractional nutrition.
With fractional nutrition, the rule “chew food 40 times” is more relevant than ever. The slower the food intake, the faster satiety occurs, and perhaps the body will be able to be satisfied with a smaller amount of food with a lower calorie content, which means that the effect of losing weight will be more pronounced.
Switching to fractional meals is better on weekends. In a calm environment, it will be easier to rebuild yourself psychologically and your body physiologically than in everyday work.
Difficulties of fractional nutrition
With such a seemingly simple nutrition system, fractional nutrition has its own difficulties. First, it will require responsibility and even pedantry. You will have to control yourself, exactly following the clock, sometimes even force yourself to eat in the absence of a feeling of hunger.
Secondly, an illusion can be created that you can eat everything five to six times a day, and weight loss will come. This erroneous opinion of many people led to the fact that they gained weight and became disillusioned with fractional nutrition.
Fractional nutrition is not suitable for achieving quick results. If you urgently need to lose a couple of kilograms in a couple of days, then fractional nutrition will not help.
With fractional nutrition, you will have to pay closer attention to oral hygiene. Frequent meals provoke the production of acids in the mouth, which have a detrimental effect on tooth enamel.
Diet is a difficult stage in a woman's life. Gather your will into a fist, be patient a little, get the desired number on the scales, and exhale with relief, because this nightmare is over. As a result, with such difficulty, the defeated kilograms slowly return, and everything starts anew. Breaking this vicious circle becomes an unattainable dream, for the implementation of which all new diets are being tested, but with the same result. And the chest opens simply - you don’t need to drive yourself into strict limits, you just need to eat right. Today we will talk about one of the basic principles of nutrition, namely, what fractional nutrition means, how it can help or harm your health.
Fractional nutrition: what is it and what is it eaten with?
The principle of three meals a day is familiar from childhood, and it seems indisputable. The menu should consist of breakfast, lunch and dinner, period. This scheme has become widespread due to convenience, because the first and last meals are taken at home, and only lunch needs to be organized at work. But for our body, a three-time table is absolutely not physiological, and here's why:
- Digestion and absorption of essential nutrients takes 1.5-2 hours, after which their level in the blood begins to progressively fall, and the mechanisms for the synthesis of hormones responsible for the formation of hunger are triggered. At three meals a day the intervals between meals are 4.5-5 hours, and during this time the feeling of hunger becomes pronounced.
- Being for several hours in conditions of energy deficiency, the body seeks to create a reserve for the next such period. As a result, appetite is played out, and a person, obeying him, eats more than his norm.
- The daily amount of food, divided into just three servings, is quite voluminous, which leads to stretching of the walls of the stomach and the need to eat a lot of food each time to achieve saturation.
- Psychological discomfort from hunger experienced in between meals, makes snacking under the influence of a momentary desire. As a rule, easily accessible, but far from healthy meals- fast food, flour and high-calorie foods.
Obviously, under such conditions, maintaining a normal weight is extremely difficult, especially for people whose work is not related to physical activity. Only consciously restraining yourself from overeating, and making efforts to suppress appetite, you can maintain harmony. But the aspect of psychological comfort is still relevant.
The way out of this situation is proper fractional nutrition, which allows you to avoid hunger even when the calorie content of food is less than normal. In this case, you will not notice a decrease in the amount of food, and here's why:
- The intervals between meals are no more than 3 hours, which means that the hunger hormone (ghrelin) does not have time to reach its maximum, and you sit down at the table with a slight appetite, easily satiating yourself with a small portion.
- Metabolic processes have a constant influx of energy, which means that the mechanisms for saving and creating fat reserves are not activated.
- A relatively stable level of glucose in the blood, without a critical decrease or increase, guarantees activity throughout the day. You will experience a surge of energy, and spend the day actively, spending more calories.
- The stomach adapts to small portions, its walls contract, resulting in satiety even after a light snack.
- The constant work of the gastrointestinal tract, in which there are no overloads, ensures thorough digestion and absorption of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
The listed beneficial effects are not a discovery or fashion trend, because the usefulness of fractional nutrition was known and used in practice at the beginning of the 20th century by the author of dietary tables Pevzner M.I. Therefore, in medical sanatoriums of various profiles, in addition to the main meals, patients were offered a second breakfast, an afternoon snack and a glass of milk before bedtime.
It does not matter for what purpose you plan to use this option for building a diet. Fractional nutrition is not a diet itself, but only a way of organizing that is suitable for both those who want to lose weight, and patients with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, or completely healthy people who want to keep fit.
The meaning of this technique is that the total amount of food is divided into 6-8 meals, while the weight of each serving is reduced. There is nothing difficult to understand in this, but still some rules should be known and observed, namely:
- The frequency of meals. The standard scheme involves six meals a day, but there are variations that offer eight or ten times the division. At the same time, 3 main meals are preserved - breakfast, lunch and dinner, between which light snacks are added.
- Diet calories. The daily amount of calories for those who are struggling with extra pounds should be less than the physiological norm. If you do not aim to lose weight, then the calorie content should be equal to the calculated standards. To calculate the optimal caloric intake of the diet, use the Mifflin-St. Geor formula, adjusted for the coefficient of physical activity.
For smooth and safe weight loss, nutritionists advise reducing the caloric content of food consumed by 15-20%. In order not to complicate your calculations, use automatic online calculators that will calculate both the basal metabolic rate and the number of calories recommended for weight loss.
- Portion size for fractional meals. The amount of food you eat at a time should fit in the palm of your hand. On average, for women, this is the volume of one glass. If you have chosen for yourself an eight-time regimen, then slightly reduce each serving.
- Meals are unequal in size. Breakfast, lunch and dinner take up approximately 70% of the total diet, and the remaining 30% are non-main meals.
- The distribution of nutrients is uneven. The menu should be designed in such a way that carbohydrates are in the morning, leaving proteins and fiber for the afternoon.
- Drinking mode also has not been canceled. 1.5-2 liters of water every day is a prerequisite, which must be consciously monitored. Reviews of fractional nutrition for weight loss suggest that sometimes water is simply forgotten due to the frequency of food.
At first glance, it may seem that the list is quite large, but if you decide to organize fractional meals for yourself, the principles will be observed subconsciously after they become a habit.
How to change your diet?
Even understanding the basic principles, at first you will have to make some efforts in order to rebuild the usual algorithm. Some people find it easier to change everything in one fell swoop, and having discovered fractional nutrition, the essence of fractional nutrition and its principles, they immediately change the entire model of building a diet. Others require an adaptation period, during which they will gradually get used to the new rules. If you belong to the second category, then proceed as follows:
- Plan the start of a new diet for a vacation, or at least a day off that you can devote entirely to this issue.
- At the first stage, do not change the usual number and range of dishes, just divide them into more meals.
- Plan what hours you will eat and stick to the plan. For example, if you wake up at 7 am, then the schedule will look like this: breakfast at 8 am, second breakfast at 11 am, lunch at 2 pm, afternoon tea at 5 pm, dinner at 8 pm, and before bed ( at 10.30) - a light snack.
Don't rely on your memory
Set reminders on your phone so you don't forget your plans. If the time has already come, and the appetite has not yet woken up, still eat something symbolic - a couple of nuts, one dried apricots or an orange slice.
- After the frequency becomes a habit, start reducing portion sizes to the recommended palm size.
- The final step will be the transition to healthy foods and a balanced diet. If you ignore this stage, keeping fatty and high-calorie foods on the menu, simply switching to fractional nutrition for weight loss, the reviews of those who are losing weight are not at all encouraging, talking about a zero result of effort.
A good old way to trick your subconscious into making it easier to switch to smaller portions is to buy smaller dishes. The contents of the palm will fit perfectly on a saucer instead of a plate, and a glass of soup will seem sufficient if you eat it not with a tablespoon, but with a dessert spoon.
How to make a menu: examples of fractional nutrition
Once you get used to cooking or choosing food on a whim, it's hard enough to do it 6 times a day. Salvation will be a pre-compiled menu, according to which a set of products will be purchased. By transferring the diet to paper, the existing imbalance becomes obvious, and it will not be difficult to correct it. Take some time for yourself and write down several menu options for yourself, alternating which you can eat varied. When planning your diet, do not forget about what fractional nutrition for weight loss is, and adhere to the following recommendations:
- Make a list of foods that should be included in your diet. It's in without fail there should be protein products (chicken, turkey, lean fish), eggs, dairy products (cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, milk, low-fat cheese), sources of slow carbohydrates (muesli, cereals, whole grains), fiber (vegetables and fruits). It is most convenient to determine the weekly requirement for each of the listed nutrients and distribute it by day of the week.
- The daily amount of calories for a girl who wants to lose weight should be 1200-1600 kcal. It is better to take the largest share of calories for breakfast and lunch, without overloading the body in the evening.
- In the morning, it makes sense to give the body an energy boost in the form of slow carbohydrates. Boil any porridge in water or make toast from whole grain bread. An excellent addition to the morning meal will be fruits, berries, as well as juices or smoothies from them.
- For lunch, prepare yourself a serving of protein (for example, boiled or baked chicken fillet), fresh or stewed vegetables, and salads from them. Feel free to simplify your life and take with you to the office for lunch what is left after dinner. If you are used to eating first courses during the day - do not deny yourself, light vegetable soups are also welcome.
- Dinner should be mostly fiber and protein, so meat or fish with a salad is the best. A dinner option can be cottage cheese or cottage cheese unsweetened casseroles. But fruits have no place in the evening diet, because fructose, although natural, is still sugar.
- For a second breakfast and afternoon snack, prepare yourself dried fruits, nuts, fresh fruits or vegetables. Well, let everyone in the office crunch cookies, and you a cucumber or an apple, spring and short skirts will show who was right.
- Before going to bed, drink a glass of kefir, fermented baked milk or natural yogurt. In principle, milk is no worse in terms of weight loss, but after 30 years lactose intolerance often develops, provoking fermentation and gas formation in the intestines, which worsens well-being and sleep quality.
When planning your diet for the first time, you will have to try and spend some time. But among those who have opted for fractional meals, reviews and results speak to the feasibility of such efforts. Yes, this is not an express diet, thanks to which you could get rid of a dozen kilograms in a month, but your weight will decrease steadily and physiologically, and the result will be sustainable.
The information provided will be incomplete without mentioning possible harm fractional nutrition. On the net, you can find damning articles proving the unjustification or even the danger of frequent meals. As a rule, the evidence base in such studies is very lame. To date, official medicine has no reliable data on the possible damage to health with fractional nutrition.
Today there is a lot of information about fractional nutrition. Adherents of this direction argue that this technique allows not only to lose weight and maintain it within certain limits, but also to significantly improve health. Why this happens and how to eat so as not to harm your body and read in our article.
Fractional nutrition: what are its benefits
The essence of the system is that food should be taken in small portions, but quite often, every 3 hours. Large intervals between breakfast, lunch and dinner make you eat a lot more food than you need. In addition, many people use chocolate or fast food as snacks, and this cannot completely saturate the body; after a while, the appetite wakes up with even greater force. As a result, a person overeats and, as a rule, forms excess weight. To avoid these troubles, try to eat according to a new scheme.
Fractional nutrition does not allow a person to experience hunger, therefore, the body will work in its usual mode, will not experience stress and accumulate body fat in reserve. This scheme allows you to eliminate many diseases and cleanse the body of toxins and toxins, and, as you know, they are even in the body. healthy person a considerable amount.
By eating often and in small portions, you do not give time to produce a hormone that causes appetite, and, therefore, you will correctly approach the choice. right products. The body, confident that it will soon receive a portion of food, will not stock up on your waist.
It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle. And you have to stick to it all the time. But in order not to cause severe stress to the body, it is better to move gradually. Try to halve the volume of your usual dish for ten days. Once you get used to the portion size, continue to reduce it until the amount of food taken at a time will fit in your palm. At the same time, increase the number of meals. Many complain that this technique is not suitable if a person is at work all day, he will not go to lunch every three hours. But, if you approach the issue correctly, then in this case you can find a way out. Indeed, as a snack, you can take an apple or a handful of your favorite berries, and for this you do not need to go to lunch.
Fractional meals for a week
When compiling a menu for yourself, you need to remember the golden rule, which is advised by all nutritionists, trainers and other specialists. The body needs carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to function properly. However, the latter should only be complex, and they should be eaten in the morning. In more late time Include protein in your diet, accompanied by starch-free vegetables.
For a snack, take natural yogurt, whole grain bread, fruits, vegetables, but in no case chocolate, fast food or fresh pastries.
Another important rule that must be followed is drinking regimen. During the day you need to drink enough clean water. The amount, calculated for each individually, is 40 g of water per kilogram of weight.
When losing weight, fractional nutrition will help protect muscles from splitting, and, on the contrary, utilize fat.
When compiling a menu for a week, try to have meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits in it. Below we present sample menu with fractional nutrition for a day, then you yourself will be able to modify it and develop your own diet.
Fractional meals for a month
Decide on drinks, try to drink green, black or herbal tea with honey, but coffee should be limited. A soluble drink retains water in the body, which can lead to swelling.
Here is a sample menu for the day with fractional meals:
8.30 - start the day with complex carbohydrates, cook yourself any whole grain porridge for breakfast.
11.30 - as a first snack you can eat yogurt, it is better if it is natural product no added sugar or preservatives.
13.30 - it's time for lunch. Now refresh yourself with a small piece of lean meat or fish, prepare a salad of fresh vegetables as a side dish.
16.30 - you can have a snack with an apple, salad, tea without added sugar.
18.30 - dinner time. You can treat yourself to boiled or stewed meat, fish, with a vegetable side dish. You can eat eggs 2 times a week.
20.30 - last snack. Drink a glass of kefir, fermented baked milk or bifidok. A fermented milk drink, drunk shortly before bedtime, will help you avoid the unpleasant feeling of hunger in the evening.
And one more little tip. If you decide to switch to fractional meals, change the dishes. Buy small and neat cups, then even a small portion of food will look more voluminous.