I found this interesting.

[harbonah]

I keep seeing posts about bodybuilding myths and one of the most recurring points is that you don't need to eat 6+ times a day, While it may not be required to loose fat it seems it might be optimal.

Increased protein intake and meal fr... [Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013] - PubMed - NCBI

Protein-rich slimming diet works even better with six meals a day

 

[hardwork25]

Subbed.

 

[Whacked]

Sub'd

Here we go again with the meal fequency debate again

Sort of goes againsnt the I-F theories that have become popular as of late.

I'll defer to the board smarties

 

[methusaleh]

Eh, I don't need some study or uppity scientists to tell me when I need to eat...I know I will be hungry, very unpleasant to be around, and paranoid about catabolism, if I don't eat every couple of hours...

 

[Math33]

If i dont eat every 3 hours or so, i get paranoid and crazy

 

[harbonah]

If i dont eat every 3 hours or so, i get paranoid and crazy

Honestly for me its become such a habit my body seem to crave food at certain interleaves, but that is basically no different then pavlov's dogs.

 

[rj123]

I don't think every 3 hours is necessary but it does help me keep my diet on track and keep me away from junk food

 

[RecompMan]

Honestly for me its become such a habit my body seem to crave food at certain interleaves, but that is basically no different then pavlov's dogs.

I'm content with my 2 huge meals a day.

 

[harbonah]

I'm content with my 2 huge meals a day.

Same idea applies Pavlov's dogs

 

[veaderko]

Has I am sure this has been discussed on this forum a billion times, my thoughts are no you dont need to eat 6 times a day. If your theory is to keep "the fire burning" they why not eat every 15 min? or every 30 min?

Second, there are plenty of times that I dont eat any more then 4 times a day, including pre/post workout. It is all about what you put in your body. And this is where supplementation comes into play. I big idea behind eating so often is the fire burning thing, but many nutritionists actually feel you get the most out of your food this way by breaking up your daily macros so you can get the most vitamins and such out of the food you eat. But if you are like anyone else, you probably take a minimum of a multi-vitamin.

Bodybuilders that I know of, eat upwards of 10+ times a day just to fit all their macro's in. Have to eat big to get big. And there is only so much food you can fit in your body at any one given time.

 

[harbonah]

Has I am sure this has been discussed on this forum a billion times, my thoughts are no you dont need to eat 6 times a day. If your theory is to keep "the fire burning" they why not eat every 15 min? or every 30 min?

Second, there are plenty of times that I dont eat any more then 4 times a day, including pre/post workout. It is all about what you put in your body. And this is where supplementation comes into play. I big idea behind eating so often is the fire burning thing, but many nutritionists actually feel you get the most out of your food this way by breaking up your daily macros so you can get the most vitamins and such out of the food you eat. But if you are like anyone else, you probably take a minimum of a multi-vitamin.

Bodybuilders that I know of, eat upwards of 10+ times a day just to fit all their macro's in. Have to eat big to get big. And there is only so much food you can fit in your body at any one given time.

Well the study seems to indicate an advantage to eating more often, personal preference aside we want every advantage we can get right? It would seem there is something to that analogy of keeping the fire burning if you read the last paragraph of the article it says "clearly highlights the profound impact of increased dietary protein and meal frequency on thermogenesis and body composition."

Diet is not my strongest area but that being said I find this interesting as everyone keeps blasting the fire burning analogy. There might be a limiting factor to it hence the reason every 15 minutes would be of no more potential benefit. But then I know of no study comparing every 15 minutes to every hour, two hours, three hours...so on you get the point.

 

[veaderko]

Well the study seems to indicate an advantage to eating more often, personal preference aside we want every advantage we can get right? It would seem there is something to that analogy of keeping the fire burning if you read the last paragraph of the article it says "clearly highlights the profound impact of increased dietary protein and meal frequency on thermogenesis and body composition."

Diet is not my strongest area but that being said I find this interesting as everyone keeps blasting the fire burning analogy. There might be a limiting factor to it hence the reason every 15 minutes would be of no more potential benefit. But then I know of no study comparing every 15 minutes to every hour, two hours, three hours...so on you get the point.

Oh, I understand what you are saying. And in the end, I would say it boils down to what you like to do. I have a friend who also competes and is very strict with IF. I compete, and though I do try to eat often because simply I get hungry to, I am by no means on any set schedule. Obviously if you eat a very large meal and you are not use to this, you will probably bloat up and feel like you just had your 4th helping at thanksgiving. On the other hand you eat smaller meals, your body gets use to eating that frequent and you become hungry at those intervalls. I find that the study (which are done all the time) dont really give enough information to see. Every one is different, and react differently. For instance, I tried the IF approach to dieting, it works great. But I found that with my busy schedule of working full time, going to school full time plus other extra stuff, it just wasnt for me, but works great for my friend. So in the end, I guess I am trying to say is just find what works best for you and stick to that. A study is just a study done with a select group of people.

 

[rhoadx]

Well the study seems to indicate an advantage to eating more often, personal preference aside we want every advantage we can get right? It would seem there is something to that analogy of keeping the fire burning if you read the last paragraph of the article it says "clearly highlights the profound impact of increased dietary protein and meal frequency on thermogenesis and body composition."

Diet is not my strongest area but that being said I find this interesting as everyone keeps blasting the fire burning analogy. There might be a limiting factor to it hence the reason every 15 minutes would be of no more potential benefit. But then I know of no study comparing every 15 minutes to every hour, two hours, three hours...so on you get the point.

i think its the increased protein not the increased meal frequency causing higher thermogenesis. Protein does by far have the highest tef. Also what about the improved insulin sensitivity from longer fasting periods, which would have a better effect on body composition.

 

[Clemenza]

IF gives me growth gut.

 

[AZMIDLYF]

I honestly believe the total calories at the end of the day are what matters the most. I also believe it became multiple meals because these huge BB'ers just had to break things up in order to consume the amount they need...clean type of cals that is.

 

[hardwork25]

I honestly believe the total calories at the end of the day are what matters the most. I also believe it became multiple meals because these huge BB'ers just had to break things up in order to consume the amount they need...clean type of cals that is.

Heyyyyyy a logical common sense answer. Nice to see these.

 

[harbonah]

I honestly believe the total calories at the end of the day are what matters the most. I also believe it became multiple meals because these huge BB'ers just had to break things up in order to consume the amount they need...clean type of cals that is.

I do think that total calories would be the most important factor in determining if one will gain or loose weight and you are probably correct on how the diet started. But the question I think that is asked by this article is what is more efficient for weight loss? As rhoadx said it might be the increased protein frequency but I think more studies are needed to determine if this was the cause or simply the frequency of the meals consumed?

 

[D3platinum]

I do think that total calories would be the most important factor in determining if one will gain or loose weight and you are probably correct on how the diet started. But the question I think that is asked by this article is what is more efficient for weight loss? As rhoadx said it might be the increased protein frequency but I think more studies are needed to determine if this was the cause or simply the frequency of the meals consumed?

That's interesting to say the least. total calories imho very important, and to lose weight I'd say you got this query correct... that's something that needs to be studied too but needless to say, how frequent you take protes with your total calories .. a combo of both right in the middle.

 

[rockwholesale]

I've always done what seems natural and ate every couple of hours. I like to call it grazing. I still eat breakfast lunch and dinner but plan healthy snacks throughout the day to keep my metabolism pumping!

 

[DmitryWI]

It all depends on your goals. Are you trying to be healthy, lose weight, or build crazy muscles? Many studies regarding intermittent fasting show tons of health benefits such as increase in HGH up to 2000%, increase in insulin sensitivity, etc. I personally ate 5-6 times a day for years. But about 5 months ago I started IF and so far it is the best thing I have ever done for my body. I feel better, stronger, faster and the biggest thing is my blood pressure went down. I inherited high BP from my mom and I was never able to get it under control. 140/90 was my normal. Right now it is 110/75. I've never had such low BP in my entire life!!!

 

[TexasGuy]

Limiting returns and best practice...

Has I am sure this has been discussed on this forum a billion times, my thoughts are no you dont need to eat 6 times a day. If your theory is to keep "the fire burning" they why not eat every 15 min? or every 30 min?

Second, there are plenty of times that I dont eat any more then 4 times a day, including pre/post workout. It is all about what you put in your body. And this is where supplementation comes into play. I big idea behind eating so often is the fire burning thing, but many nutritionists actually feel you get the most out of your food this way by breaking up your daily macros so you can get the most vitamins and such out of the food you eat. But if you are like anyone else, you probably take a minimum of a multi-vitamin.

Bodybuilders that I know of, eat upwards of 10+ times a day just to fit all their macro's in. Have to eat big to get big. And there is only so much food you can fit in your body at any one given time.