Why 6 meals anyway? [Forum Archive]

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Why 6 meals anyway?

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Posted by: ShaqFu

So why are bodybuilders suppose to eat 6 small meals a day instead of the normal 3 anyway?

What are the pros and cons of only eating 3 times a day and making each of those meals twice the size of the ones from my 6-a-day diet?

Posted by: Fluid

Constant supply of aminos, energy, nutrients, etc. The 6-a-day diet? LOL...

Posted by: Dr. Pain

From w8.......

a) you need to increase your meal frequency. Eating three times a day is not good enough....Aim for 5-6 smaller meals, spaced 2.5-3 hrs apart, w/ a good balance of protein, fat, & slow-burning carbs in each meal. By eating more frequently, you are telling your body it doesn't need to store the food you give it...it's going to readily have food coming in, on a regular basis, so it can start shedding fat. Every time you eat, your body has to work to digest that food, your body temperature increases, and your body has to work to regulate itself.....this is an increase in metabolism....which means your body is burning extra calories.

This was in response to cutting......we have posts here debating this issue for both cutting and bulking...the controversy lies in "rate" of gastic emptying, amino peptide absortion and positive nitrogen balance.....

Most aminos leave the system in about 3 to 3.5 hours....faster in some metabolisms....L-leucine and one other amino being the exceptions.....

So suppose you W/O'd really hard today (repair start immedi8ley...aminos are needed constantly)....and tomorrow...your body wants to adapt/grow....maybe at "nap time, lol" and you haven't eaten in 4 hours........you may have just wasted your W/O.....

Posted by: gopro

The simple answer...b/c it works! I have experimented with 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 meal per day approaches and have found that 6-7 works best for both hypertrophy and dieting phases.

Posted by: ShaqFu

OK, DP and Fluid.. the Amino absorption issue is a valid point.

But for the sake of the argument, what would say you if I went ahead with 3 meals a day, 5-6 hours apart but halfway between each of them I take a scoop of a cheap Amino Acid supplement and maybe a multi-vitamin. (a slight hassle, but not nearly as inconvenient as 6 meals).

There's got to still be more cons right?

Posted by: Dr. Pain

A shake is better.......it will have 40-50 grams of aminos, it will be less expensive, and much more effective...than say 5-10 grams of aminos.

Posted by: ZECH

Besides the Amino factor, eating 6 times per day keeps your body in a "burning" mode. You are constantly digesting food and burning calories which helps speed up your metabolism!!

Posted by: ZECH

And you could throw in several "shake" meals if you want.

Posted by: BUSTINOUT

Originally posted by Corri
OK, DP and Fluid.. the Amino absorption issue is a valid point.

There's got to still be more cons right?

Why does there have to be mor cons?

Sounds like you are looking for an excuse to find a shortcut. GP hit the nail on the head..."Because it works". It's that simple. You need ot have a better understanding to how the body works when it gets a constant supply of food as apposed to when it does not.

But if you must have more cons, here are a few...

Inconvenient to prepare more meals
More trips to the bathroom
Costs more money
And a few more I am forgetting.

You can call them cons, other's just call it the price you pay.

Posted by: gopro

Originally posted by BUSTINOUT
Why does there have to be mor cons?

Sounds like you are looking for an excuse to find a shortcut. GP hit the nail on the head..."Because it works". It's that simple. You need ot have a better understanding to how the body works when it gets a constant supply of food as apposed to when it does not.

But if you must have more cons, here are a few...

Inconvenient to prepare more meals
More trips to the bathroom
Costs more money
And a few more I am forgetting.

You can call them cons, other's just call it the price you pay.

I was about to come on here and say just about the same damn thing as you! You beat me to it, but as long as it was said I'm happy

Posted by: Tank316

con. buying more clothes because you have gotten bigger or leaner..........yes, i am the smartass around here, but they love me...........ah i think

Posted by: ShaqFu

I asked because I really just don't know.

As for cons I meant I want reasons why eating only 3 is a bad idea.. as in the arguments I got from the first two posts.

"Because it works" isn't actually saying anything.

Posted by: gopro

Well Corri the pros of eating 6 meals per day as opposed to eating just 3...as well as the cons, sort of have an inverse relationship to oneanother.

-6 smaller meals will provide a more steady flow of nutrients than just 3

-6 smaller meals will keep metabolic rate higher than just 3

-6 smaller meals will keep a more steady flow of amino acids than just 3

-6 smaller meals will keep insulin levels more steady than just 3

-etc.

So I guess the cons of just 3 meals is the lack of benefits that 6 meals will provide. With 3 meals per day, muscle growth and fat loss will be slower and far less efficient.

Posted by: cornfed

In practicality, say you eat 3 meals of 800kcals...your body is more likely to be unable to use the massive influx of kcals and therefore store them as fat. Say you spread your calories out as 6 meals of 400kcal... now isn't that more logically usable? Your body is relegated by protein absorbtion and P utilization, as well as the metabolism's tendency to slow after huge meals. Just a few random thoughts

Posted by: Prince

Originally posted by Corri
"Because it works" isn't actually saying anything.

depends on who is saying it.

Posted by: gopro

Originally posted by Prince
depends on who is saying it.

True!

Posted by: ShaqFu

Originally posted by Prince
depends on who is saying it.

Yeah, that's a good point.. you're right.

And thanks for the input boys.

Posted by: BUSTINOUT

Happy eating/growing!

I myself get bored from eating all the time, so I have to make adjustments sometimes. When I just can't stuff enother thing in my face, a good tasty shake usually gets me by. A little peanut butter and/or flax in your shake will help add some extra calories too.

I will tell you though, when my meals are more frequent, I feel like I will die if I don't get my next meal and that forces me to eat. If I am skipping meals and miss my "food window", it becomes alot easier for me to miss the following meals. And as a result, my workouts suck hind tit too.

Posted by: cornfed

Right on

... and I get fuqqing pissy w/o eating, too

Posted by: tidalwaverus

Originally posted by BUSTINOUT
Happy eating/growing!

I will tell you though, when my meals are more frequent, I feel like I will die if I don't get my next meal and that forces me to eat. If I am skipping meals and miss my "food window", it becomes alot easier for me to miss the following meals. And as a result, my workouts suck hind tit too.

Boy is that every true I been on a 6-7 meal a day since 5-12-02

at work I have to take my breaks to eat a little or

I can't beleive how my body is so used to it.

Also they are right I lost 50 lbs. so far, mostly inches like about 12" oh and new nothing feels better than smaller new levi's.
It's the one thing that reminds you daily I'm proud of me.

my body don't like it when I have a cheat meal or even a few beers (SB sunday) how many cals in new castle?

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Why 6 meals anyway?

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