Research
Macro partitioning
Regular meal patterns and larger, less frequent meals maximize the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) compared to irregular or frequent small meals.
Try eating fewer, larger meals rather than grazing throughout the day. Regular, larger meals may trigger a higher thermic effect of food (more calories burned during digestion) and help manage hunger signals better than frequent small snacks.
ModerateSupportsLOW confidence
Research suggests that consuming regular meals (vs. irregular meals) is associated with greater TEF... Preliminary research suggests that the cumulative TEF may be greater for eating several large meals rather then distributing calories over smaller meals.
Why this rating
The paper notes this is 'preliminary research' and limited to healthy females.
Source
Using Metabolic Testing to Personalize Behavioral Obesity Treatment
Leonard H. Epstein et al. · Obesity Science & Practice · 2025
DOI 10.1002/osp4.70065
narrative_reviewCited 1×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Prioritizing protein intake maximizes the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), thereby increasing total energy expenditure compared to high-fat or high-carbohydrate diets at equal caloric levels.Good
- Measuring Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) and adjusting caloric goals based on weight loss-induced metabolic adaptations prevents weight loss plateaus and optimizes energy balance.Moderate
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- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
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