Eating every 2-3 hours a bunch of bs or beneficial?

[LoveCompeting]

We all know its scientifically proven the body can break down way more protein than 25-30 grams at a time. So why the need to eat every 2-3 hours? Wouldn't it be ok if a guy just ate when hungry? No matter if thats every hour or every 2-3 hours? As long as he is hitting his macro's each and every day?

 

[christ83189]

We all know its scientifically proven the body can break down way more protein than 25-30 grams at a time. So why the need to eat every 2-3 hours? Wouldn't it be ok if a guy just ate when hungry? No matter if thats every hour or every 2-3 hours? As long as he is hitting his macro's each and every day?

I literally need to eat every 2-3 hours or i get hangry lol

 

[jdwaca]

We all know its scientifically proven the body can break down way more protein than 25-30 grams at a time. So why the need to eat every 2-3 hours? Wouldn't it be ok if a guy just ate when hungry? No matter if thats every hour or every 2-3 hours? As long as he is hitting his macro's each and every day?

Depends on many factors. For this sport, the most important factor is getting in the proper amount of food. Example: for a 200lb man, imagine trying to hit 300g protein split between just 3-4 meals. Not a lot of people can eat 100g protein at 1 meal, plus other macronutrients. Aside from the volume, your body won’t be able to process all of that food. It will store what it needs to. This is counterproductive in terms of bodybuilding. By eating frequent, smaller meals, you’re allowing your body to process smaller amounts more frequently, thus keeping your internal processes going constantly.

It there a place for a “macro”, eat when hungry, just be healthy diet? Yes. Just not in bodybuilding. You will not find a SUCCESSFUL bodybuilder that eats like this.

 

[LoveCompeting]

Depends on many factors. For this sport, the most important factor is getting in the proper amount of food. Example: for a 200lb man, imagine trying to hit 300g protein split between just 3-4 meals. Not a lot of people can eat 100g protein at 1 meal, plus other macronutrients. Aside from the volume, your body won’t be able to process all of that food. It will store what it needs to. This is counterproductive in terms of bodybuilding. By eating frequent, smaller meals, you’re allowing your body to process smaller amounts more frequently, thus keeping your internal processes going constantly.

It there a place for a “macro”, eat when hungry, just be healthy diet? Yes. Just not in bodybuilding. You will not find a SUCCESSFUL bodybuilder that eats like this.

Good points there, I agree. But I also disagree that a person can't take in a little more than 25-30 grams of protein with each meal. For example if a guy wants to eat 8 ounces of chicken compared to 7 then go for it.

Also would it make that much of a difference if say a guy has his first meal of the day and an hour and a half later starts getting hungry and decides to eat his second meal instead of waiting another 30 minutes? Not saying they do this every single time but once in a while I don't think it would have that much of a negative impact on his diet. Since at the end of the day his macro's are hit perfectly.

 

[jdwaca]

Good points there, I agree. But I also disagree that a person can't take in a little more than 25-30 grams of protein with each meal. For example if a guy wants to eat 8 ounces of chicken compared to 7 then go for it.

Agreed. All of my meals are about 50g. Give or take a few. If I was 300lbs they’d be 65-70g. Lol

 

[LoveCompeting]

Agreed. All of my meals are about 50g. Give or take a few. If I was 300lbs they’d be 65-70g. Lol

I also added to my last post. Check it out and let me know your opinion and thank you.

 

[jdwaca]

Good points there, I agree. But I also disagree that a person can't take in a little more than 25-30 grams of protein with each meal. For example if a guy wants to eat 8 ounces of chicken compared to 7 then go for it.

Also would it make that much of a difference if say a guy has his first meal of the day and an hour and a half later starts getting hungry and decides to eat his second meal instead of waiting another 30 minutes? Not saying they do this every single time but once in a while I don't think it would have that much of a negative impact on his diet. Since at the end of the day his macro's are hit perfectly.

Honestly, probably not. If you’re getting hungry, you’ve processed most of what you ate at the previous meal. A couple of my meals are close together like that and I’ve noticed zero difference. I used to wait exactly 3 hours. Now, sometimes it’s 2, 2.5. Doesn’t matter much in my opinion. I just try to space them out according to my day. Even in prep I’m a little flexible with timing. Just try not to squeeze in 5 meals by noon. Lol. That would make for a hungry evening.

At the end of the day, it depends on your goals. If you’re just living a healthy lifestyle you can get away with more flexibility. If you’re serious about the sport, and about competing, you have to be on more of a scheduled regimen. Both styles have their place.

 

[LoveCompeting]

Honestly, probably not. If you’re getting hungry, you’ve processed most of what you ate at the previous meal. A couple of my meals are close together like that and I’ve noticed zero difference. I used to wait exactly 3 hours. Now, sometimes it’s 2, 2.5. Doesn’t matter much in my opinion. I just try to space them out according to my day. Even in prep I’m a little flexible with timing. Just try not to squeeze in 5 meals by noon. Lol. That would make for a hungry evening.

At the end of the day, it depends on your goals. If you’re just living a healthy lifestyle you can get away with more flexibility. If you’re serious about the sport, and about competing, you have to be on more of a scheduled regimen. Both styles have their place.

Well for me personally my goals have changed recently. After doing a couple shows earlier this year I made the decision to go back to enjoying the gym for what it is. To create a healthy lifestyle for myself. Enjoy the gym, enjoy lifting, enjoy my life. I may compete again in the future, I may not. I have a good job that pays the bills and that is my future. Competing will always be something I do because I enjoy it but thats if I choose to enter another show someday. Now its all about just lifting because I enjoy going to the gym and eating a healthy diet. I went a year without doing anything but being involved in contest prep, nothing else. Gave up a social life, didn't even allow myself to consume alcohol and ate strictly clean. Now since the shows are over its nice to enjoy a little more flexibility and I plan on keeping it that way. Staying dedicated 85 - 90 % of the time of course.

 

[jdwaca]

Well for me personally my goals have changed recently. After doing a couple shows earlier this year I made the decision to go back to enjoying the gym for what it is. To create a healthy lifestyle for myself. Enjoy the gym, enjoy lifting, enjoy my life. I may compete again in the future, I may not. I have a good job that pays the bills and that is my future. Competing will always be something I do because I enjoy it but thats if I choose to enter another show someday. Now its all about just lifting because I enjoy going to the gym and eating a healthy diet. I went a year without doing anything but being involved in contest prep, nothing else. Gave up a social life, didn't even allow myself to consume alcohol and ate strictly clean. Now since the shows are over its nice to enjoy a little more flexibility and I plan on keeping it that way. Staying dedicated 85 - 90 % of the time of course.

It’s definitely a full time job! I’m about done for the year and ready for some time off and good food!

 

[LoveCompeting]

It’s definitely a full time job! I’m about done for the year and ready for some time off and good food!

Yeah it is a full time job! You gotta give 100 % if you are gonna be successful as a competitor. Hey I'm not disappointed as I finished top 5 in my first show (Masters 35 and over) in mens physique. Natural show btw but hey nothing to be ashamed about. I keep my trophy in my living room as a reminder of my hard work and dedication.

 

[The Solution]

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What is important, though, is hitting your total daily macronutrient and calorie requirements. There’s no need to worry about what time you eat your meals or how many calories you have with each one. As long as you eat hit your total macronutrient and calorie requirements at the end of the day, you’re perfectly fine. Keep in mind though that just because meal frequency is irrelevant doesn’t mean you should only eat 1 or 2 meals a day now. My recommendation would be to eat at least 4 meals per day Spaced 4-6 hours apart to allow for optimal MPS (Muscle Protein Synthesis). If you have a larger intake doing 5 meals may be beneficial for digestion and making sure you do not get bloated. If you are on AAS on Gear and have an increased protein intake spreading out more meals and spacing out protein would be of a concern due to the drugs and anabolics you are using. For any natural spacing out food and taking advantage of Muscle Protein Synthesis will be key.

The best diet is the one you can "Adhere" or "modify" to suit your lifestyle. If you want to cram your food into a small window by all means do so, but it may not be "Optima" from a MPS or protein synthesis standpoint.

From Brad Schoenfeld

The primary takeaway from the research is that you don’t need to worry about slamming a protein shake the moment you finish training. It’s okay to chill out for bit, do what you need to do, and then consume your nutrients.

We estimate that there is approximately a 4 to 6 hour window in and around the workout. The specific timing ultimately depends on when you have a meal prior to training.

Thus, the closer your meal to the training bout, the longer the window following the session. Now there certainly is nothing wrong with consuming nutrients immediately after training. And the limitations of current research leave open the possibility that there may be a small but significant that could be meaningful if your goal is absolute maximization of muscle mass.

 

[jdwaca]

Yeah it is a full time job! You gotta give 100 % if you are gonna be successful as a competitor. Hey I'm not disappointed as I finished top 5 in my first show (Masters 35 and over) in mens physique. Natural show btw but hey nothing to be ashamed about. I keep my trophy in my living room as a reminder of my hard work and dedication.

Hell yeah man!! That’s awesome. Top 5 first show is a big accomplishment! Congrats!

 

[AlexPowell]

If you eat a kilogram of beef a day then you'll always have enough free amino acids circling in your body that you don't go catabolic - provided enough calories are given. Every hour, once a day, doesn't matter