How important is it to eat 6 meals a day?

[Jacked Daniels]

I know if you want to lose fat, you should eat around 6 smaller meals a day instead of 3 large ones.

However, I am trying to figure out a schedule for eating and lifting right now, considering work and school, and by 6 or 7PM I am only eating my 4th meal.

People also say you shouldnt eat after 7 or 8PM if you are trying to lost fat. So here is my dilemma. If I am only on my 4th meal by 6 or 7, do I eat another meal at 9or so? Or do I just deal with 4 meals or so, in order to abide by the 'no eating after 8' rule??????

[Jacked Daniels]

bump

[.Kiw.Da.Wabbit.]

From all that I have read, six seems to be the magic number. The reasoning is that our bodies won't need about 2-2 1/2 hours in between meals for proper digestion but no more than 3-4 for sustained energy levels. Hence, the normal 2 to 3 meals that most people eat contribute to fat storage and going up to 7 or 8 meals per day doesn't give the body time for proper digestion.

Following a six meal per day plan can go something like this:

8:00 AM
10:30 AM
1:00 PM
3:30 PM
6:00 PM
8:30 PM

There, you have six meals 2 1/2 hours apart and your last meal probably 2 hours or so before bed time. If your bed time is earlier, start earlier. If you have a hard time getting 6 meals in, then try it gradually. Possibly eat 4 or 5 spread out over longer periods of time and work your way up to 6. The key is planning. When you plan for a few minutes, you can see that setting up specific times to meet all of your criteria is not terribly difficult.

Good luck!

[Jacked Daniels]

From all that I have read, six seems to be the magic number. The reasoning is that our bodies won't need about 2-2 1/2 hours in between meals for proper digestion but no more than 3-4 for sustained energy levels. Hence, the normal 2 to 3 meals that most people eat contribute to fat storage and going up to 7 or 8 meals per day doesn't give the body time for proper digestion.

Following a six meal per day plan can go something like this:

8:00 AM
10:30 AM
1:00 PM
3:30 PM
6:00 PM
8:30 PM

There, you have six meals 2 1/2 hours apart and your last meal probably 2 hours or so before bed time. If your bed time is earlier, start earlier. If you have a hard time getting 6 meals in, then try it gradually. Possibly eat 4 or 5 spread out over longer periods of time and work your way up to 6. The key is planning. When you plan for a few minutes, you can see that setting up specific times to meet all of your criteria is not terribly difficult.

Good luck!

i understand the logic behind eating 6 meals a day... my question was, how important is it, in regard to getting that many meals in a day, compared to the importance of not eating at night time.

I cannot follow the exmaple time schedule you wrote above because of my classes, time i go to sleep and time i wake up is different. I'm just wondering, if by 6 or 7, i have only eaten 4 meals, should i eat my 5th and maybe 6th meal, or is it too late to do so, considering youre not supposed to eat at night since you are not active???????????? (i will probably goin to bed by 1 AM).

[and1_balla52]

It's not important to eat 6 meals a day. It's redundant. It's stupid. I think it is retarded personally. if your goal is to lose fat, why would you want to eat 6 times. That is like sayin eat more lose more, and we all know it's calories in vs calories out.

[.Kiw.Da.Wabbit.]

The actual time of day doesn't make a difference. It's more your personal schedule.

For instance, the person going to bed at 9 P.M. probably shouldn't eat past 6 or 7 P.M. if you're set on not eating in the hours previous to bed. In addition, the "complex carb cut-off" (again, if that's what you're doing) would be more like 2 P.M. to 3 P.M.

If you're going to bed at 1 A.M., then add 4 hours to each of those times.

[ellipticer]

It's not important to eat 6 meals a day. It's redundant. It's stupid. I think it is retarded personally. if your goal is to lose fat, why would you want to eat 6 times. That is like sayin eat more lose more, and we all know it's calories in vs calories out.

Lose your fat, then come back and talk ****, OK? Go starve yourself.


Original poster:

Start eating earlier or put only 2.5 hours inbetween your meals. It is OK to eat an hour or two before bed, just make it protein/fat.

[.Kiw.Da.Wabbit.]

It's not important to eat 6 meals a day. It's redundant. It's stupid. I think it is retarded personally. if your goal is to lose fat, why would you want to eat 6 times. That is like sayin eat more lose more, and we all know it's calories in vs calories out.

What you do, though, is you take your maintenance level, let's say 3,000 just for simplicity's sake, and multiply it by 80%. This should give you a pretty good "cutting" level to work with. Then, you divide it by how many meals you are going to eat throughout the day.

2,400 / 3 = 800
2,400 / 4 = 600
2,400 / 5 = 480
2,400 / 6 = 400

Whether you are eating 3, 4, 5, or 6 meals per day, you're taking in the same total calories. If you're not doing it this way, you are plainly going about it in the wrong way. Eating six 600 calorie meals will put you 600 calories above maintenance via your description.

[checkyourhead]

'no eating after 8' rule??????

This isn't a rule, for the last time. You should always eat right before bed. Also, the number of times per day isn't as important as the time in between meals. You should never go more than 4 hours without food unless you are asleep. 2.5 to 3 hours is better.

[Stand Ablaze]

I know if you want to lose fat, you should eat around 6 smaller meals a day instead of 3 large ones.

However, I am trying to figure out a schedule for eating and lifting right now, considering work and school, and by 6 or 7PM I am only eating my 4th meal.

People also say you shouldnt eat after 7 or 8PM if you are trying to lost fat. So here is my dilemma. If I am only on my 4th meal by 6 or 7, do I eat another meal at 9or so? Or do I just deal with 4 meals or so, in order to abide by the 'no eating after 8' rule??????

You don't have to eat 6 meals a day. It's definately more benficial, but it's not like your not going to burn fat if you don't.

The no eating after a certain time is a load of bollocks and should just be forgotten, eat when you need too, if it helps you get 6 meals then good. Its rare for me to eat 6 meals a day, rather I sometimes eat 3, sometimes I'll eat 5, but usually it's 4, and it hasn't affected me.

[Worldwide]

It doesn't have to be a sit-down meal where you bring out the fine china for christsakes. How about a Meal Replacement Shake? Fruit and Nuts? It's called "eating on the go" bro. Hell, you can have your six meals down by 7pm. Get one more (slo pro) right before bed and you're all set.

Good luck!

[CourtneyD]

I eat within 30-45 minutes of bed every night and I weight 115 pounds. It won't make you fat so long as it fits in your needs.

I eat 7 times a day. It's great for keeping my energy up, preventing cravings/hunger, you name it. It could be as quick and easy as some soymilk and an apple; don't make it sound like a hard feat.