Eating calories crammed into meals say 3 meals versus 5

lvft1213

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I’m starting to think it’s way more efficient to keep your body anabolic by eating 5 meals spread 3 hours apart. Massive difference I think
 

Resolve10

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I’m starting to think it’s way more efficient to keep your body anabolic by eating 5 meals spread 3 hours apart. Massive difference I think
Difference? For muscle gain maybe a tiny difference, but I doubt most people would even notice the miniscule differences.

Outside of the extremes meal frequency is probably best determined by what is most sustainable and easiest to follow based on schedule, preferences, and probably total food volume.
 
ValiantThor08

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Do what is least stressful. If you get enough energy and protein in 3 meals, keep it up.
 
YoungThor

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Three meals is fine, unless they’re so big that you’re getting super bloated. If that’s the case, eat smaller, more frequent meals. Three to five is probably ideal, and anything over that is a little excessive.
 

bradleyt1

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And there I was wasting years of my life stresses out trying to eat 6 micro meals that do nothing but leave you hungry after an hour but you know.. I had to wait exactly 3 hours on the dot before I could eat the next meal because thats what was taught
By the ifbb lol.. Jesus Christ..
 

lvft1213

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And there I was wasting years of my life stresses out trying to eat 6 micro meals that do nothing but leave you hungry after an hour but you know.. I had to wait exactly 3 hours on the dot before I could eat the next meal because thats what was taught
By the ifbb lol.. Jesus Christ..
These meals are 1000 calories a piece I wouldn’t call that micro. I have a fast metabolism and pretty sure I go catabolic fairly quick regardless of gear that’s the point of spreading the meals out
 
YoungThor

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If you were stranded somewhere for 48 hours, and as a result, consumed zero calories, there’s a good chance you still wouldn’t have burned up any muscle at all. You’d have burned fat and lost water weight for sure. I guarantee you are not becoming catabolic between meals (unless you are doing daily triathlons).
 

lvft1213

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If you were stranded somewhere for 48 hours, and as a result, consumed zero calories, there’s a good chance you still wouldn’t have burned up any muscle at all. You’d have burned fat and lost water weight for sure. I guarantee you are not becoming catabolic between meals (unless you are doing daily triathlons).
Ok I’m real ocd about that stuff going catabolic
 
YoungThor

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It’s pretty normal to be ocd about that stuff when you’re into bodybuilding. And the fitness industry loves to make us ocd about it because then they can come up with bull shyt theories, like you have a “30 minute protein synthesis window” after your workout, so you have to pack a protein shake when you go to the gym. That’s a prime example of making us ocd, when in reality your protein synthesis is going to be double your baseline level for anywhere from 24-48 hours after a workout. The same is true for the bodybuilders and companies that recommend 8 meals a day. It’s extremely hard to get in 8 meals in a day, but those bodybuilders and companies conveniently sell you meal plans and such. Anyway, what I’m saying is that making bodybuilders ocd is very profitable for certain people.
 

lvft1213

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It’s pretty normal to be ocd about that stuff when you’re into bodybuilding. And the fitness industry loves to make us ocd about it because then they can come up with bull shyt theories, like you have a “30 minute protein synthesis window” after your workout, so you have to pack a protein shake when you go to the gym. That’s a prime example of making us ocd, when in reality your protein synthesis is going to be double your baseline level for anywhere from 24-48 hours after a workout. The same is true for the bodybuilders and companies that recommend 8 meals a day. It’s extremely hard to get in 8 meals in a day, but those bodybuilders and companies conveniently sell you meal plans and such. Anyway, what I’m saying is that making bodybuilders ocd is very profitable for certain people.
10/10 insight but I have weird thyroid issues which might possibly make that catabolism a reality since I feel I go hyperthyroid but it’s not shown on blood tests except for the last one low TSH. But I was taking biotin which I heard can effect it so idk. 4 meals daily seems great tho
 

Gator762

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It’s pretty normal to be ocd about that stuff when you’re into bodybuilding. And the fitness industry loves to make us ocd about it because then they can come up with bull shyt theories, like you have a “30 minute protein synthesis window” after your workout, so you have to pack a protein shake when you go to the gym. That’s a prime example of making us ocd, when in reality your protein synthesis is going to be double your baseline level for anywhere from 24-48 hours after a workout. The same is true for the bodybuilders and companies that recommend 8 meals a day. It’s extremely hard to get in 8 meals in a day, but those bodybuilders and companies conveniently sell you meal plans and such. Anyway, what I’m saying is that making bodybuilders ocd is very profitable for certain people.
Yeah look at the dudes making gains with IF - I think there has been a study that killed that eating every 2-3 hour theory.
 
xR1pp3Rx

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everyone is different … you may be the guy whos body prefers to eat every 3-4 hours.. no biggie do what works best for you~
 
Mathb33

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I see everybody here saying how it makes no difference for muscle growth.. do we see any bodybuilders/athletes/ifbb pro eating 3 meals a day? No they are eating every 2-3 hours. When you’re on Anabolics it does make a difference. I’ll keep doing what the pros are doing and what the top coaches are recommending.
 
xR1pp3Rx

xR1pp3Rx

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I see everybody here saying how it makes no difference for muscle growth.. do we see any bodybuilders/athletes/ifbb pro eating 3 meals a day? No they are eating every 2-3 hours. When you’re on Anabolics it does make a difference. I’ll keep doing what the pros are doing and what the top coaches are recommending.
meta analysis on the subject doesn't agree with you. however like I said there is reasons one would want to eat like that. Im personally not going to compete and find my body seems to do real well running a IF style diet. who knew.. all those yrs of eating 6 meals a day didnt really make me or break me. and i do mean years!
 
YoungThor

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@Mathb33 not everything the pros do is the best thing for them. For example, Ronnie Coleman is probably the greatest bodybuilder ever. Does that mean his insane training method is the best way to train? I believe he was the best bodybuilder ever in spite of how ridiculously he went about training. If Dorian Yates at 10 meals a day, was his physique the result of that eating style, or could he have achieved equal, maybe even better results, by eating 5 meals a day? It’s hard to say for sure. But we need to keep in mind that the pros sometimes do strange things and believe that that’s the reason they are on that level but the same or better results could also be achieved with less hassle.
 
Mathb33

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@Mathb33 not everything the pros do is the best thing for them. For example, Ronnie Coleman is probably the greatest bodybuilder ever. Does that mean his insane training method is the best way to train? I believe he was the best bodybuilder ever in spite of how ridiculously he went about training. If Dorian Yates at 10 meals a day, was his physique the result of that eating style, or could he have achieved equal, maybe even better results, by eating 5 meals a day? It’s hard to say for sure. But we need to keep in mind that the pros sometimes do strange things and believe that that’s the reason they are on that level but the same or better results could also be achieved with less hassle.
For the vast majority of us, eating 3 big meals a day will not be optimal for muscle growth. 4-5? Okay sure. 3? No way this is optimal. I really don’t want to be a dick to you but can you or anyone can show me the physique they have achieved with 3 meals a day? Did you achieve an impressive out of the ordinary physique, out of your genetic potential eating 3 meals a day? I doubt it.
 

lvft1213

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Gonna be honest I really thing eating every 3-4 hours makes a massive difference to have that constant influx of fuel to keep glycogen saturated for muscle repair and protein synthesis I used to unintentionally fast til like 1pm and swore my body grows way better if I wake up at 8 am to break that fast and get the food in
 
Mathb33

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Gonna be honest I really thing eating every 3-4 hours makes a massive difference to have that constant influx of fuel to keep glycogen saturated for muscle repair and protein synthesis I used to unintentionally fast til like 1pm and swore my body grows way better if I wake up at 8 am to break that fast and get the food in
Exactly. I’m not saying the extreme
Of eating every 2 hours is NEEDED. but whoever here assumed that eating 3 times a day so (8am-12pm-6pm and then don’t eat until you sleep) will yield the same benefits is completly wrong. I’m waiting to see anyone having beyond natural genetic kind of physique to show me he’s achieved that with such a diet. Not happening
 
aaronuconn

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..

“Although the initial results of the present meta-analysis suggest a potential benefit of increased feeding frequen- cies for enhancing body composition, these findings need to be interpreted with circumspection. The posi- tive relationship between the number of meals con- sumed and improvements in body composition were largely attributed to the results of a single study, calling into question the veracity of results. Moreover, the small difference in magnitude of effect between fre- quencies suggests that any potential benefits, if they ex- ist at all, have limited practical significance. Given that adherence is of primary concern with respect to nutri- tional prescription, the number of daily meals con- sumed should come down to personal choice if one’s goal is to improve body composition.”
 
aaronuconn

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..

“Although the initial results of the present meta-analysis suggest a potential benefit of increased feeding frequen- cies for enhancing body composition, these findings need to be interpreted with circumspection. The posi- tive relationship between the number of meals con- sumed and improvements in body composition were largely attributed to the results of a single study, calling into question the veracity of results. Moreover, the small difference in magnitude of effect between fre- quencies suggests that any potential benefits, if they ex- ist at all, have limited practical significance. Given that adherence is of primary concern with respect to nutri- tional prescription, the number of daily meals con- sumed should come down to personal choice if one’s goal is to improve body composition.”
But also this quote:

“This meta-analysis had several limitations. First,the vast majority of studies analyzed were conducted in a sedentary population, so the findings may not apply to athletes or those involved in structured physical ac-
tivity programs. Indeed, the one RCT that investigated the effects of meal frequency in an athletic population showed a favorable effect on body composition from more frequent feedings”

And this:

“Second, it is not clear if the results of this analysis apply to diets that include higher daily protein intakes. Virtually all of the studies on this topic to date used low to moderate amounts of protein. The one exception, a study by Arciero et al, did show significant improvements in body composition when an energy-equated high-protein diet (approximately 34% of total calories) was consumed in 6 versus 3 daily meals.”
 
aaronuconn

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In conclusion, we need a large, probably relatively long-term study done on trained individuals consuming a high protein diet.
 
YoungThor

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@aaronuconn good posts. It’s my personal guess that 4 or 5 is ideal, but you can still achieve good results with 3, but anything above 5 is probably not going to make a huge difference. This is my opinion. I don’t believe splitting up your daily calories into 8 small meals is somehow better than eating the same amount of calories in 4 meals for example. But if someone enjoys having 6-10 meals a day, have at it.
 
xR1pp3Rx

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In conclusion, we need a large, probably relatively long-term study done on trained individuals consuming a high protein diet.
here in lays the problem with meta.. but hey we take what we can get when it comes to human studies.
 

swimfan65

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Three meals is fine, unless they’re so big that you’re getting super bloated. If that’s the case, eat smaller, more frequent meals. Three to five is probably ideal, and anything over that is a little excessive.
I just like to cook and eat animals..with hot sauce..often..lol
 

swimfan65

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Personally..when I was powerlifting and doing 8k in cals a day..i couldnt do it in 3 meals. However I was 340lbs. I had to eat every 2 to 3 hours just to get the cals down. Depends on your goals.
 
aaronuconn

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Personally..when I was powerlifting and doing 8k in cals a day..i couldnt do it in 3 meals. However I was 340lbs. I had to eat every 2 to 3 hours just to get the cals down. Depends on your goals.
Yeah 8k calories a day is a whole different story lol. Not sure many people could do that in 3 meals
 
aaronuconn

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Personally..when I was powerlifting and doing 8k in cals a day..i couldnt do it in 3 meals. However I was 340lbs. I had to eat every 2 to 3 hours just to get the cals down. Depends on your goals.
Yeah 8k calories a day is a whole different story lol. Not sure many people could do that in 3 meals
 
Cmseabee24

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here in lays the problem with meta.. but hey we take what we can get when it comes to human studies.
That’s part of the problem you have to do your own study and find what works for you. You can read every study out there but there are so many variables from person to person that aren’t listed in those studies.
 

bradleyt1

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meta analysis on the subject doesn't agree with you. however like I said there is reasons one would want to eat like that. Im personally not going to compete and find my body seems to do real well running a IF style diet. who knew.. all those yrs of eating 6 meals a day didnt really make me or break me. and i do mean years!
Yeah bro same **** with me.. I feel like I wasted years and potential health lol.. now it seems not only has the diet craziness toned down but also a lot of these you tubers now preaching such little amounts of gear. Like every forum and information years ago said test at least 500mg per week for a noob when meanwhile 250mg puts you supra-physiological.
 

lvft1213

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I like fouad abiads Q n A he doesn’t seem like he would bullshit says most dudes run test 750-1250, eat meals every 3 ish hours, better to stack then high dose compounds some really good view points
 

johnny412

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meta analysis on the subject doesn't agree with you. however like I said there is reasons one would want to eat like that. Im personally not going to compete and find my body seems to do real well running a IF style diet. who knew.. all those yrs of eating 6 meals a day didnt really make me or break me. and i do mean years!
what is your eating schedule?
 
xR1pp3Rx

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usually start eating ice cream about 4 in the PM and finish as much of that as I can before a giant bowl of cereal. and then conclude with a few twizzlers ... what of it? 🤨😜
 

johnny412

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usually start eating ice cream about 4 in the PM and finish as much of that as I can before a giant bowl of cereal. and then conclude with a few twizzlers ... what of it? 🤨😜
lulz...how boring of you :-(
 

bradleyt1

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usually start eating ice cream about 4 in the PM and finish as much of that as I can before a giant bowl of cereal. and then conclude with a few twizzlers ... what of it? 🤨😜
Are you being serious? Cuz I myself have some type of sweet every night these days.. but years back forget it.. I was like a robot.. chicken, rice, oats, egg whites.. would never deviate. Like I still eat al those things to get all my meals in the day but have some junk during the night.. I never really eat the junk mid day because I fear it will kill my appetite for all the meals.. what’s your take on that?
 

johnny412

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Are you being serious? Cuz I myself have some type of sweet every night these days.. but years back forget it.. I was like a robot.. chicken, rice, oats, egg whites.. would never deviate. Like I still eat al those things to get all my meals in the day but have some junk during the night.. I never really eat the junk mid day because I fear it will kill my appetite for all the meals.. what’s your take on that?
No he was being a smartass...
 

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