The 6 Meals A Day Myth
Do you certainly have to eat 6-8 small meals to keep your metabolic rate rise so you melt fat all day and keep a constant stream of nutrients flowing to sculpt lean muscle?
If you've been around the fitness scene for any amount of time, or have read any diet books or articles, you would think the answer to this one is an easy yes " but the truth is
The 6-8 meals a day Advice Is A Cock-and-Bull Story!
The advice is based on studies completed around the thermic effect of food (TEF). You see, each time you eat, your body uses more or less 10% of those calories (total) to give power just to digest the food...
When this was realized, people misunderstood the research by saying the more you eat (frequency) the more calories you'll burn all day but then again this was an error for the reason that the math doesn't work out.
* Six small meals of 300 calories (6-300) = 1800 calories total.
* Every meal you burn 10% of calories = 30 calories burned with each 300 cal meal
* Total cals burned by reason of TEF = 180
Therefore weigh that to a normal diet of 3 heavy meals:
* 3 Large Meals of 600 calories (3-600) = 1800 calories total.
* Each meal you burn 10% of calories = 60 calories burned with each 600 cal meal
* Total cals burned due to TEF = 180
So you see, if the calories are equal, it doesn't matter how you cut them up " you're still burning the same amount of calories and changing your metabolism the exact same way no matter how you eat frequently.
Will Eating More Frequently Bring About More Lean Muscle Gain?
The quick answer is not at all. Eating protein continuously in reality triggers your body not to produce it as much. Eating more total calories WILL result in building extra muscle but the meal frequency has not much to do with it.
More critical for lean muscle gain is the timing of your meals, specially the post workout meal needs to be first-rate to let people know that you're getting high-quality nutrients into your body when it needs them the most.
Will Eating A Smaller Amount of Meals Cause Muscle Loss?
Lots of guys who lift weights believe (and I used to) that not eating 6-8 meals per day will put your body into a catabolic state. Which means because you're not eating a lot of food and keeping the levels of amino acids in your blood high your body will use your muscle tissue as fat.
This is not true either at least not to the extent that you've heard. Because even if you just eat one big meal per day, it can take up to 12 hours to digest" steadily releasing amino acids into your bloodstream the whole time.
When Must You Eat 6-8 Meals
So as to achieve a LOT of weight " you need to boost your calorie intake to gain weight and put on muscle, thus if you're an extra-large guy and you have to eat 5,000 calories a day to put on mass it might be easier on your stomach and digestive system to consume 5,000 calories broken up into a set of lesser meals.
If youre utilizing a lot of energy " If you're an advanced athlete who burns a ton of energy like Michael Phelps who eats up to 12,000 calories per DAY and eats like an elephant. Similarly guys in the military in boot camp regularly eat as much as possible when they get the chance but still result in losing weight
If you enjoy it " Some people might feel more satiated eating 6-8 smaller meals per day grazing for their food intake. I'm not one of those people but more power to you if you are.
I believe being aware of this will surely help you feel improved in your search for better fitness, I know I believed this cock-and-bull story for a LONG time because nearly each and every one suggests it.
What Do I Do For Myself?
I execute infrequent fasting. And I ENJOY it. I vary between a warrior diet style eating schedule (when I'm keeping my weight) and the lean gains eating style when I'm concentrating on gaining muscle mass.
