A post by Skwigg recently highlighted to me thoughts which had been sitting (nay, rattling) around in the back of my head for a good few months now. In her post, Skwigg talks about how she now follows an “intuitive eating” method of ‘diet’: i.e., she eats what she knows what’s good for her – in suitable portions – when she’s hungry, rather than cramming food into her mouth every 3-4 hours.

(I’m doing her post something of a disservice here by condensing it so inelegantly – do yourself a favour and read it completely, she puts it much more intelligently than I am able to.)

Like Skwigg, I have following the 5-6 meals a day plan before, often for months at a time, and while it does work – there are plenty of people who will attest to that (just take a look at Adam Waters or Tom Venuto’s success stories for examples) – but it became increasingly obvious to me that while I have managed to lose 15-20lbs using this method, it doesn’t suit my personality.

And at the end of the day, your personality – and the resilience of it and your mental state – will play a huge part in how long you can cope with a strict dietary plan.

Here is what doesn’t work for me:

• eat six meals a day
• of specific nutrients and number of calories
• at specific timeframes
• and with specific nutritional goals depending on the day of the week (be it a workout day, cardio day, or rest day)

Here is what I’ve found does work for me:

• eating what I know is a healthy amount, when I am hungry
• eating a healthy balance of food (veg, fruit, wholegrains, proteins)
• not worrying that I am hitting specific calorie targets (“low” days and “maintenance” days)
• not keeping an obsessive log of what I ate, and when
• fasting intermittently (typically twice a week for 18-24 hours at a time) to provide a calorie deficit to aid in fatloss. See Eat Stop Eat (www.eatstopeat.com) for more information.

Before this becomes overly negative of the 6-meal-a-day plans that are out there, I should stress they are generally partnered with solid workout plans, or a focus on building muscle and shredding fat.

However, personally I have found they can become stressfull to adhere to, do not provide me with a healthy relationship with nutrition (although books such as Burn The Fat are, in my mind, essential reading to understand the impact certain foods have on certain people). The danger I find is that these plans make no suggestion that other methods may work better for certain people.

It’s up to you, naturally, to decide what’s good for you.

Personally I find the 3 squares a day (occasionally with two snacks, if I feel hungry for them), with two 18-24 hour fasts a week, the ideal nutritional method for me.