The traditional 3 meals a day simply won't do it for Burning fat. Every time you eat, your metabolism kicks in to start burning what you've eaten and you begin to break it down instantly, taking everything it has to offer,from energy to nutritional content.
While eating only 3 meals a day, your metabolism has time between meals to slow down. This is not very efficient for burning fat. Your goal here is to keep your metabolism going and burning as much as fat as possible. This is done by spacing your food out to 5 or 6 smaller meals a day, or by eating approximately every 2-3 hours. The advantage of this is 2 fold. First, it keeps your metabolism going, and second it will allow you to be less hungry during you next meal, in turn causing you to desire less food.
Also remember that it is important to eat the right combination of foods at each meal. 1 source of lean-protein, 1 source of starchy carbs, and 1 source of fibrous vegetable.