[WAFB33]

Well, I have heard numerous things about this, and have tried the search function. I have found great recipes on here and great grocery list. But with all this new ways to cook and food to buy, the question still remains: When to eat it. Obviously, eat anything too much and youll put on weight. Moderation is key as with anything. But my main question, I have always heard 6 meals/day....but could never figure out how often to eat...when to stop eating...etc....whats the general rule of thumb? Im looking, like most on here, to lean out with lean muscle mass, no slop,...dreams of six packs....etc etc etc

if this was on the search function a few pages deeper, im sorry,...im just trying to find some help

[Marauder23B]

good rule of thumb is eat every 3 hours, in moderation, not pig out

[wenispinkle]

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1025241

thats a good article on meal frequency and how often you should eat. personally i try to eat every 3 hours but i also realize that if im training or at work when im supposed to eat its probably not going to make any difference.

[Team Dragonfire]

anything but 3 meals... divide the number of hours you are awake by 5 or 6 (15 hours awake means eat every 3 hours, 18 hours awake = every 3-4 hours.. etc.)

[stevus]

You can only digest so much protein at one time. That's why the bodybuilders eat every 2-3 hours. Personally, I love the "many meals" way. As soon as I feel slightly hungry, it's time to eat. 3 meals is torture cuz I'm starving by meal-time and then I over-eat.

[abarlament2]

Originally Posted by stevus

You can only digest so much protein at one time. That's why the bodybuilders eat every 2-3 hours.

Bullshit.


Basically, as long as calories are the same, it won't matter much how many meals you are eating. It's easier to eat mroe often when you have a lot of food to go through during the day, so more meals when calories are high makes it easier to eat that many. On the otehr hand, if you are dieting hard, 3 meals could be better.

[Madmick]

Originally Posted by abarlament2

Bullshit.


Basically, as long as calories are the same, it won't matter much how many meals you are eating. It's easier to eat mroe often when you have a lot of food to go through during the day, so more meals when calories are high makes it easier to eat that many. On the otehr hand, if you are dieting hard, 3 meals could be better.

Untrue. You're the one with old information.

Eating every 3 hours stabilizes blood sugar and maintains the thermogenesis of digestion throughout the day- effectively increasing your ****bolism. So simply by eating more meals the shift in hormone balance will cause your body to more efficiently burn energy and be less likely to store that energy as fat.

Truly a battle it is. It's not just the "knife and the fork," but the spatula, too, isn't it?

[abarlament2]

Originally Posted by Madmick

Eating every 3 hours stabilizes blood sugar and maintains the thermogenesis of digestion throughout the day- effectively increasing your ****bolism.

The total TEF is related to the total amount of calories, not the number of meals it takes to eat them.

So simply by eating more meals the shift in hormone balance will cause your body to more efficiently burn energy and be less likely to store that energy as fat.

I personally haven't seen convincing evidence that eating the same amount of calories more often leads to increased fat loss. Have you? Care to share?

[TheFoo]

I just know it's easier for me to eat 3 meals. May be when I actually drop some weight I'll manage more, but at this point I'd rather eat more calories less often, eating 300-400 calories 5-6 times a day just means I'm hungry the entire day, instead of prior to meals...

[Matt Thornton]

Eating 6 times a day is just healthier in general, all theories on muscle gain or fat loss aside.

I'm not a parent (thankfully, I'm 17), but from what I know, babies who are fed a large amount in one sitting get lots of gas and indigestion, whereas a baby fed in little amounts throughout the day do not need to be burped as much.

How is it bullshit that your body can only digest so much protein at once? Are you honestly saying that if I downed an entire tub of whey protein, my body would digest that entire tub?