If you have a passing grade in school, that really doesn’t mean much. It could be a really low D that just got you by. If you are following a diet plan called “grazing,” then you still have a score of a low D in the big picture. So it is in your best interest to pass on the graze. And that will make your score jump to an A.
What is Grazing?
Maybe we should start from the beginning. Back in history, men were very busy. Well, women were too for that matter. But it was usually the men who did the work that brought home the cash and supported the family.
The last thing they had time to do was eat five or six times a day. They were lucky to get two solid meals into their day, and if they were even luckier, three. Fast forward 50 years or so and this thing called grazing emerged from the shadows.
People would spend all day stressing about what to eat for their next meal. It became fashionable to down one of these “small-frequent-meals” every 2 ½ to 3 hours. The reason why is because they had been programmed to believe that certain benefits would come to them if they went down this road. But unfortunately, they were lied to.
The Real Deal with Grazing
Sadly, the writing on the wall looked very promising to the unknowing. Eat six meals a day and you will have high energy levels, you will burn a lot of calories digesting your food and you will keep your metabolism elevated all day long! Plus, you will keep your blood sugar levels stable, which will prevent diabetes.
Even more sadis the fact that all of this parroting was not fact at all. In reality, it makes no sense whatsoever. Eat more and lose weight? Eat more often and stabilize your blood sugar levels? Eat more often and reduce the risk for diabetes? Wrong, wrong and wrong!
On paper, the theory of grazing might make sense. And it was always the supplement companies who made protein powders and meal-replacement shakes that pushed this agenda the hardest.
They wanted you to believe you can get into the best shape of your life by alternating between a whole-food meal and one of their shakes every day of your life. But the problem sets in when you simply fix your gaze outside to mother nature. That’s just not how the body rolls.
What really happens is, every time you eat a meal, even if it is balanced, you get a rise in blood sugar. Once this happens, you also get a rise in insulin, which yes, is a fat-storage hormone.
Since you are eating smaller meals, you may avoid the weight gain associated with pigging out. But you will not escape the insulin release. What this means is, grazing does not reduce the risk for diabetes. It actually increases it!
The Physiology
When you continually eat, your insulin levels stay elevated throughout the entire day. Your pancreas and liver never get a chance to relax and reset. That’s a pretty deadly combination of factors.
In turn, this actually increases your risk for diabetes and weight gain. Especially if you are not active.
Additionally, it takes a lot of time and work to consume six meals every day. Chances are, in an environment like this, you start eating at about 6 am in the morning and don’t finish until well after 7 pm. That’s a huge problem because it further throws off your natural circadian rhythm.
You are then more predisposed to weight gain, diabetes and fatty liver disease. And shockingly, there are people who literally wake themselves up in the middle of the night to pound down a shake or eat cottage cheese with protein powder blended in.
This is all due to them reading an article that states your muscles will atrophy during the night if you do not hit them with a dose of amino acids. What a bunch of nonsense!
It’s during sleep that your muscles actually grow and your body produces a natural amount of testosterone and HGH. By waking up and consuming food, you stop this process in its tracks. AND, you ask your pancreas to release more insulin. It’s bad news all around.
Clearing the Air
Here is something that needs to be addressed. Far too often, people think they can dodge the system by eating only protein and fat. Yes, it is true that carbs spike blood sugar and insulin levels quickly. But guess what? Protein does the exact same thing.
It’s not as pronounced and not as sharp of a rise, but it still happens. So if you wake up and have a cup of Greek yogurt with protein powder and then 3 hours later have two hard-boiled eggs and 3 hours later have a hunk of salmon on a bed of greens, you are still raising your blood sugar levels and doing your body an injustice.
The Resolution
Everyone is always looking for the next bio hack to improve their health and performance. And if you are doing HGH injections, it’s a good idea to join this mission. But, at the end of the day, you should always go back to the basics.
Never buy into the hype until you play the tape all the way to the end. Grazing might work fantastic for horses and other four-legged animals. But you only have two legs. Keep it simple and you won’t go wrong.
Eat two or three meals a day, make each meal balanced with protein, carbs and fat, and do not eat in between them. Follow that simple rule and your body will come into balance as well. And balance makes perfect.
