Meal Frequency

[Ratcher]

I take two meals in a day...!!! And love to know others...

I eat three and I find it way better to lose fat, not like this studies inform. I wish they would do studies on actual athletes. Greg Plitt has one meal a day, look how fat he is..

[jimmyrae]

Meal one 9:00 A:M
3 cage free eggs, 1/2 cup oatmeal.

Meal two 12:00 P:M
Protien powder gold standard

Meal three 3:00 P:M
4oz chicken breast grilled, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup broccoli.

Meal four 6:00 P:M
4oz chicken breast grilled, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup broccoli

Meal five 9:00 P:M
8oz tilapia grilled, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup broccoli

Meal six 12:00 A:M
Protien powder gold standard

I take a multivitamin so I'm getting my vitamins. I'm new to all of this so any advise would help I already have a gym routine 3 days on 1 day off.

Protien 169 grams
Carbs 144 grams
Fats 33 grams

[Tommytwoguns]

Apologies for the question however the main thing I don't understand is that I was always taught protein couldn't be stored, and excess was always expelled.

The question being; surely (even if you train sufficiently) consuming large amounts of protein in one sitting would lead to the excess being expelled. Whereas eating frequently would lead to sufficient absorption as there would be little excess.

Where is the link changed or broken?

Many thanks.
T2G

[Jerzup]

Basically - yes. Cals and macro's = the most important thing.


No.


1. as many as you need to meet your goals (physique and athletic)
2. as many as you want to stay sane
3. what ever fits best into your lifestyle
4. no, it doesn't really matter

wtf.

[jimsmith9999]

Apologies for the question however the main thing I don't understand is that I was always taught protein couldn't be stored, and excess was always expelled.

The question being; surely (even if you train sufficiently) consuming large amounts of protein in one sitting would lead to the excess being expelled. Whereas eating frequently would lead to sufficient absorption as there would be little excess.

Where is the link changed or broken?

Many thanks.
T2G

Larger meals take longer to digest. The whole "can only absorb so much protein" has been largely debunked by science.

[JoshKoopman]

I try to eat every 3 hours, keep my calories the same at each meal, and have some of each macro in each meal.

[DavidUnderhand]

Meal one 9:00 A:M
3 cage free eggs, 1/2 cup oatmeal.

Meal two 12:00 P:M
Protien powder gold standard

Meal three 3:00 P:M
4oz chicken breast grilled, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup broccoli.

Meal four 6:00 P:M
4oz chicken breast grilled, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup broccoli

Meal five 9:00 P:M
8oz tilapia grilled, 1 cup brown rice, 1 cup broccoli

Meal six 12:00 A:M
Protien powder gold standard

I take a multivitamin so I'm getting my vitamins. I'm new to all of this so any advise would help I already have a gym routine 3 days on 1 day off.

Protien 169 grams
Carbs 144 grams
Fats 33 grams

Cycle your carbs would be my advice, if you weigh 237 though you should up protien and fats significantly. I go for 2.5g/kg bodyweight for protien and 1g/kg for fat and i started at 235.

[Psychophysique]

(Y) emma

[faithandfit]

Yupp I never and will never focus on eating every 2 hours. I prefer eating when I'm hungry!! Hitting those macros of course always! I just think it's crazy to focus so much and worry about missing "Meal number 3".

[mebrah]

Eating frequently is beneficial only because it makes proper nutrition practical. Eating all your macros in one sitting is just as effective from a bodybuilding perspective (digestive implications). You should focus on weekly calories/macros totals.

[pdt414]

"thus, in order to avoid refractoriness and maximize skeletal muscle protein synthesis it may be best to consume larger doses of protein that contain sufficient leucine to maximize mtor signalling and protein synthesis and allow enough time (4-6 hours) for post prandial amino acid levels to fall in between meals"

http://www.biolayne.com/wp-content/u...-Tech-2008.pdf

I haven't been on the forum in a while, but does this not show that there is a possibility that it would be better to space out your protein? I may be interpreting this wrong, or it may have been discussed. If so, I apologize.

[Miido]

Cant tell how thankful I am. This is a life saving thread. Now I don't have to worry about skipping a meal or eating every 3-4 hours.. F****** broscience lol

[MikeTheBiceps]

you opened my eye's thank you

[ArtistOfLife91]

This was awesome. I never post on the forums, I just tend to read and learn, but thanks for this thread Emma-Leigh! Respect from one Aussie to another!

You posted a study in this thread, which stated that eating PWO increases protein synthesis slightly, also, most people who follow IF (intermittent fasting) work their fasting around their work out, so they exercise fasted and break their fast with a PWO meal. Although eating frequency has no effect on metabolism, energy, etc, I am interested in finding out more about Nutrition timing around your work outs.

[Emma-Leigh]

This was awesome. I never post on the forums, I just tend to read and learn, but thanks for this thread Emma-Leigh! Respect from one Aussie to another!

You posted a study in this thread, which stated that eating PWO increases protein synthesis slightly, also, most people who follow IF (intermittent fasting) work their fasting around their work out, so they exercise fasted and break their fast with a PWO meal. Although eating frequency has no effect on metabolism, energy, etc, I am interested in finding out more about Nutrition timing around your work outs.

Start with this - http://www.jissn.com/content/10/1/5
It is a recent article on the subject.

[mahc8765]

Intermittent fasting FTW XD

[Emma-Leigh]

Intermittent fasting FTW XD

except when it isn't... and you get people with binge tendencies falling face first into binge eating disorders.

[roaas]

Eating several times a day (ex. every 2-3 hours) is simply to make it easier to consume the amount of calories you need when growing muscle. If you try to consume 3000-4000 kcal a day in two meals it will be one hell of a struggle (at least for me)

[wagiles10]

I see several reports of reduced energy expenditure from carbohydrates after a morning fast, and I see mention that this is compensated for by greater fat oxidation during that fast. Perhaps this could be applied in conjuction with a ketogenic diet for greater results.

[New2Rugby]

Eating several times a day (ex. every 2-3 hours) is simply to make it easier to consume the amount of calories you need when growing muscle. If you try to consume 3000-4000 kcal a day in two meals it will be one hell of a struggle (at least for me)

I tried consuming 2500 It felt terrible and i starved after my second meal

[Menon001]

Useful information..

[Rache04404]

Amen!

sawry, we were having fun.


For the record, i think meal frequency has very little impact on physique goals if daily energy and nutrient intake goals are met.

[Sypher187]

So Kris Gethin is lying in his video trainer ?

[pur3insanity]

Great info bro

[imhungry4444]

I'm bulking and I'm eating about 5 times a day counting PWO shake. I finish hitting all my macros at my 6:30 pm meal. Since I hit my macros, does that mean i should stop eating? Or is there a caloric allowance even after hitting my macros. I'm afraid if i go over my cal macro, I'll gain unnecessary fat. The problem is, i'm still pretty hungry always after my 6:30 pm meal.

[Jorge369]

Thanks for giving all the information together.

[shimply]

great info ..thanks for sharing this awesome post.

[Mrpb]

I'd say this is the consensus from everything I've read.

In that case, you haven't read enough.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mass...or-growth.html
http://www.simplyshredded.com/the-tr...t-protein.html
http://www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/...uart-phillips/

[dforster92]

Shoot for eating a small meal every 2 - 3 hours, with a balance of Carbohydrates, Proteins, and "Good" Fats

Meal frequency combined with size has NO relevance on weight gain or loss whatsoever. The only thing that contributes to gain/loss is the amount if calories consumed in a 24/hr period. The energy that your body has right now, is mostly because of food that you have eaten yesterday or the day before. It can take red meat up to 72 hours to fully digest. Your intestines are about 25 feet long to which most of your food has to travel down to be fully digested. In terms of nutrients, your body does not know what time of day it is and does not need carbs in the morning with protein at night. This is a wives tale. All that matters is x, and y, amounts of protein and fat in a 24 hour period to stay healthy. Carbohydrates are not essential macronutrients, only protein and fat are. Your body cannot create its own proteins and fats for energy, it has to come from food. On the contrary your body CAN produce carbs (glucose) via gluconeogenesis in the liver, hence why carbs are not essential. Meal frequency and composition should be more of a preference rather than a must do ultimatum.

And to address your last words about "good fats". There is little to no relevant studies that suggest that saturated fats are "bad" fats. The only difference is how the fat is broken down in your body. There is also no evidence to suggest that these fats contribute to high cholesterol. Your body has cholesterol receptors which will recognize a raise in cholesterol levels, and therefore produce less to keep a good HDL to LDL ratio. Therefore saturated fat and dietary cholesterol intake have no effect on blood cholesterol levels. Don't believe every news article out there about fats. Some doctors don't even have their facts straight.

[shaolingabe]

All very good information! Thanks for taking the time to do this work for all of us!