Why is 6 Meals a Day Better?

Nutrition
104

[quote]xtolgax wrote:
i hate to get in the way of this prolific pissing match, but a quick glance through this may shed some scientific light on the original topic:

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/intermittent_fasting.htm

it is by Alan Aragon, who has already been referenced in this thread as a generally smart guy.

feel free to return to the shitshow any time.[/quote]

I have read that, and I believe Alan has modified his position since publishing this article in the face of new information. I’ve seen other ask him on other boards about this.

thanks nonetheless, I always welcome intelligent input.

105

[quote]ajweins wrote:

ovalpline, you seem to be generally competent, so i’ll be nice.

I am sure ovalpine is glad to be enlightened by you and thanks you for going easy on him.[/quote]

not trying to be condescending, simply respectful. which i think is generous in light of his comments about me. nevertheless, i think he generally has good things to say.

106

[quote]Poetikaal wrote:
DUMPING 1000 calories into your gullet at a time is going to overload the GI system and not keep it efficient.[/quote]

1000 calories? That isn’t that much.

107

wow, this blew up overnight, lol.

why does everything have to be black and white?

meal frequency benefits are based on a continuum , not eat 3 OR 6 to see benefit from one or the other.

it’s like the people that say to increase strength you have to do 4-6 reps. No, reps are on a continuum as far as their benefits. You’ll get stronger to a degree by doing 15, just not as much as if you were to lift lower reps higher weight. hope that makes sense, I just woke up to find this thread in a pissing match :smiley:

108

Three meal a day proponents:

Do you accept that the PWO shake is a meal? (Technically it is defined as one in the more frequent meal crowd)

Most well-to-do muscle building enthusiasts take post-workout shakes if they have any type of knowledge on the subject. Why is this? Well, it is time tested and it works. There is also a lot of research done on the so called anabolic postworkout window when your body is receptive to nutrients.

By this argument, it doesn’t matter if you skip the post-workout shake, just as long as you make up the calories later. So, just eat one big meal in the morning, then nothing else the rest of the day, and the results will be similar, right? We know that this is simply not the case, and ingesting nutrients around the workout improves muscle protein synthesis.

But then again, you also do not accept nutrient timing, such as strategic elevations in insulin, which is anabolic, so I don’t know how effective this will even be to someone as hard-headed as yourself.

I also find it humorous how you tell other people not to be dogmatic, yet you state that we see people gaining a ton of fat if they eat 3 meals instead of 6. This isn’t what is thought at all. You can achieve results with 3 meals a day. The question is, could the results be better? Everyone can improve. We (like many, many others) believe that eating smaller meals more often is in fact an improvement.

You eat 3 meals a day at the dining hall with two shakes. Ask yourself: Could my results be better with cleaner food prepared by myself so I knew what was going into it? The answer is invariably yes, unless your college cafeteria happens to be Whole Foods. So, go get better. When you start improving the quality of the food in your diet, then we can talk.

109

ksommer,

  1. i never discounted nuterient timing OR the value of proper pre and post workout nutrition. however, consider this:

meal 1 - pre workout carbs+protein+some fat

meal 2 (largest of day) - post workout carbs+protein

meal 3 - mixed meal of p+c+f

or

meal 1 - breakfast

meal 2 - pre workout meal

meal 3 post workout meal

meal 4 dinner

where meals 2 and 3 could be combined into one on “off days”

see? nutrient timing right there. of course if you want to eat more that’s fine, but it really wont impact things either way, thats what im trying to get through your head. there is no reason one MUST eat so many meal. every reason people argue in favor of multiple mini-meals has been proven false (it doesn’t speed up the metabolism, sorry)

finally, I havent had a meal plan at the school cafeteria since freshman year, I do all of my own cooking, thank you (a crockpot comes in handy).

occasionally I want to get my “eat on” however, and in that case I may hit up the cafeteria for some pizza/pasta/sanwiches/ whatever.

110

I think a lot of the posters in this thread are taking what JMoUCF87 has to say in the wrong way.

He is thinking for himself, and finally questioning “the norm”, which (after reading this whole thread) is pretty darn rare these days.

Is anyone else tired of people backing their opinions with “It’s been scientifically proven”, “Studies have shown”, or “Just Google it” (as if I haven’t researched the topic before posting this question). I feel like we should start incorporating “critical thinking” classes into our school system…people just buy into to much crap these days. Why do you think sheister marketers are still selling millions of those dumb little ab machines.

It sounds like half the people posting in this thread read an article on why eating 6 meals a day is better for you, make it their religion, and when one man has a different opinion and speaks out about it, you trample over him.

I’d really like to hear from people who actually tried training on 3 meals a day for a reasonable amount of time, and then switched over to 6 with everything else being equal.

JMoUCF87 wasn’t being cocky or arrogant, he’s just thinking critically about things…Which I encourage more people to start doing.

Alright, im done:)

Peace guys

111

if anyone still needs “real world” examples of 3 meals/day working, once again I urge you to head on over to www.leangains.com and look around. if that isn’t enough for you, take a look at this guy:

http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_forum/pictures_pics_photo_body_image_performance/shredding_swedish_meat_cutting_for_competition

he’s also began eating fewer meals, and has had much success.

keep in mind there’s more than one way to skin a cat. You don’t have to be a slave to the tupperware container if you want a great physique.

112

[quote]ksommer wrote:
Three meal a day proponents:

Do you accept that the PWO shake is a meal? (Technically it is defined as one in the more frequent meal crowd)[/quote]

Well, I don’t use a pwo shake, but if a 3 meal per day proponent DID use a pwo shake, then yes it should be considered a meal IMO.

[quote]ksommer wrote:
Most well-to-do muscle building enthusiasts take post-workout shakes if they have any type of knowledge on the subject. Why is this? Well, it is time tested and it works. There is also a lot of research done on the so called anabolic postworkout window when your body is receptive to nutrients.[/quote]

Well first, PWO nutrition is overblown. Most of the studies out there use FASTED subjects when testing pre, intra and pwo nutrition. Pre WO nutrition is of utmost importanct. Now, I’m not saying a PWO shake doesn’t have its place, but not everyone necessarily benefits.

[quote]ksommer wrote:
By this argument, it doesn’t matter if you skip the post-workout shake, just as long as you make up the calories later. So, just eat one big meal in the morning, then nothing else the rest of the day, and the results will be similar, right? We know that this is simply not the case, and ingesting nutrients around the workout improves muscle protein synthesis.[/quote]

I don’t think anyone here recommends 1 meal per day. And yes, ingesting nutrients around your workout does increase protein synthesis. No one can argue that. So, what’s your point?

[quote]ksommer wrote:
But then again, you also do not accept nutrient timing, such as strategic elevations in insulin, which is anabolic, so I don’t know how effective this will even be to someone as hard-headed as yourself.

I also find it humorous how you tell other people not to be dogmatic, yet you state that we see people gaining a ton of fat if they eat 3 meals instead of 6. This isn’t what is thought at all. You can achieve results with 3 meals a day. The question is, could the results be better? Everyone can improve. We (like many, many others) believe that eating smaller meals more often is in fact an improvement.[/quote]

Why? What purpose does increased frequency serve (if we are leaving out the fact that some people can’t fit all their nutrients into 3 meals, ok) if it takes the body more than 3 hours to assimilate nutrients?

113

[quote]ksommer wrote:
Three meal a day proponents:

Do you accept that the PWO shake is a meal? (Technically it is defined as one in the more frequent meal crowd)

Most well-to-do muscle building enthusiasts take post-workout shakes if they have any type of knowledge on the subject. Why is this? Well, it is time tested and it works. There is also a lot of research done on the so called anabolic postworkout window when your body is receptive to nutrients.

By this argument, it doesn’t matter if you skip the post-workout shake, just as long as you make up the calories later. So, just eat one big meal in the morning, then nothing else the rest of the day, and the results will be similar, right? We know that this is simply not the case, and ingesting nutrients around the workout improves muscle protein synthesis.

But then again, you also do not accept nutrient timing, such as strategic elevations in insulin, which is anabolic, so I don’t know how effective this will even be to someone as hard-headed as yourself.

I also find it humorous how you tell other people not to be dogmatic, yet you state that we see people gaining a ton of fat if they eat 3 meals instead of 6. This isn’t what is thought at all. You can achieve results with 3 meals a day. The question is, could the results be better? Everyone can improve. We (like many, many others) believe that eating smaller meals more often is in fact an improvement.

You eat 3 meals a day at the dining hall with two shakes. Ask yourself: Could my results be better with cleaner food prepared by myself so I knew what was going into it? The answer is invariably yes, unless your college cafeteria happens to be Whole Foods. So, go get better. When you start improving the quality of the food in your diet, then we can talk.[/quote]

This my friend is a strawman fallacy. I never said anything about nutrient timing or PWO shakes. You just through those out there to make my argument easier to knock down.

But because you brought it up, here are my two cents. Nutrient timing is a must and can be worked into a three or four meal a day plan (the fourth meal being a PWO shake). They are independent variables.

114

damn, McG78’s throwin out those logical fallacies left and right. strong contender for rookie poster of the year imo.

it seems as if our intellectual opponents could use a few lessons in argumentation and debate. or at least basic logic.

115

I’m still waiting for the rude cartoon chick to post her pics. Let thee that asks for the first pic, show pics herself. lol. Rude fat chick who likes cartoons. Anyway…

I think this guy JMo has done nothing wrong. He presented fresh ideas and was attacked because it went against what is popular in articles. After defending himself from constant attacks for pages and pages… all the sudden he is the aggressor. Whatever. His posts made me think. And I like a lot of what he is saying.

In nutrition and supplements, today’s fact is often tomorrow’s bullshit. Oh… thats right… I forgot we are all still getting jacked on Vanadyl Sulfate, and HMB. And that original food pyramid seems to have worked out very well. lol

116

[quote]MonkeyMann wrote:
I think a lot of the posters in this thread are taking what JMoUCF87 has to say in the wrong way.

He is thinking for himself, and finally questioning “the norm”, which (after reading this whole thread) is pretty darn rare these days.

Is anyone else tired of people backing their opinions with “It’s been scientifically proven”, “Studies have shown”, or “Just Google it” (as if I haven’t researched the topic before posting this question). I feel like we should start incorporating “critically thinking” classes into our school system…people just buy into to much crap these days. Why do you think sheister marketers are still selling millions of those dumb little ab machines.

It sounds like half the people posting in this thread read an article on why eating 6 meals a day is better for you, make it their religion, and when one man has a different opinion and speaks out about it, you trample over him.

I’d really like to hear from people who actually tried training on 3 meals a day for a reasonable amount of time, and then switched over to 6 with everything else being equal.

JMoUCF87 wasn’t being cocky or arrogant, he’s just thinking critically about things…Which I encourage more people to start doing.

Alright, im done:)

Peace guys[/quote]

I agree 100%

117

[quote]DJS wrote:
I’m still waiting for the rude cartoon chick to post her pics. Let thee that asks for the first pic, show pics herself. lol. Rude fat chick who likes cartoons. Anyway…

I think this guy JMo has done nothing wrong. He presented fresh ideas and was attacked because it went against what is popular in articles. After defending himself from constant attacks for pages and pages… all the sudden he is the aggressor. Whatever. His posts made me think. And I like a lot of what he is saying.

In nutrition and supplements, today’s fact is often tomorrow’s bullshit. Oh… thats right… I forgot we are all still getting jacked on Vanadyl Sulfate, and HMB. And that original food pyramid seems to have worked out very well. lol[/quote]

There are pics of me on this site.

By the way, fuck yourself.

118

[quote]MarvelGirl wrote:
DJS wrote:
I’m still waiting for the rude cartoon chick to post her pics. Let thee that asks for the first pic, show pics herself. lol. Rude fat chick who likes cartoons. Anyway…

I think this guy JMo has done nothing wrong. He presented fresh ideas and was attacked because it went against what is popular in articles. After defending himself from constant attacks for pages and pages… all the sudden he is the aggressor. Whatever. His posts made me think. And I like a lot of what he is saying.

In nutrition and supplements, today’s fact is often tomorrow’s bullshit. Oh… thats right… I forgot we are all still getting jacked on Vanadyl Sulfate, and HMB. And that original food pyramid seems to have worked out very well. lol

There are pics of me on this site.

By the way, fuck yourself.[/quote]

See… I said you were rude. Like really rude. Hense my post… and hense your response.

119

[quote]DJS wrote:
MarvelGirl wrote:
DJS wrote:
I’m still waiting for the rude cartoon chick to post her pics. Let thee that asks for the first pic, show pics herself. lol. Rude fat chick who likes cartoons. Anyway…

I think this guy JMo has done nothing wrong. He presented fresh ideas and was attacked because it went against what is popular in articles. After defending himself from constant attacks for pages and pages… all the sudden he is the aggressor. Whatever. His posts made me think. And I like a lot of what he is saying.

In nutrition and supplements, today’s fact is often tomorrow’s bullshit. Oh… thats right… I forgot we are all still getting jacked on Vanadyl Sulfate, and HMB. And that original food pyramid seems to have worked out very well. lol

There are pics of me on this site.

By the way, fuck yourself.

See… I said you were rude. Like really rude. Hense my post… and hense your response. [/quote]

and calling her fat wasn’t rude?

It’s the boy’s club… I got it.

you aren’t the voice of reason

the OP asked why and was given good reasons as to why and then told to try it, and do what works best for him.

120

[quote]MarvelGirl wrote:

There are pics of me on this site.

By the way, fuck yourself.[/quote]

yeah, i found 'em:

congratulations, you’re an exhibitionist whore. your mother must be so proud.

121

I can question that the sky isn’t blue all day. Doesn’t change the fact that the sky is blue.

Just because you challenge convention doesn’t make you special. Sometimes, it just makes you look silly.

122

[quote]OctoberGirl wrote:
DJS wrote:
MarvelGirl wrote:
DJS wrote:
I’m still waiting for the rude cartoon chick to post her pics. Let thee that asks for the first pic, show pics herself. lol. Rude fat chick who likes cartoons. Anyway…

I think this guy JMo has done nothing wrong. He presented fresh ideas and was attacked because it went against what is popular in articles. After defending himself from constant attacks for pages and pages… all the sudden he is the aggressor. Whatever. His posts made me think. And I like a lot of what he is saying.

In nutrition and supplements, today’s fact is often tomorrow’s bullshit. Oh… thats right… I forgot we are all still getting jacked on Vanadyl Sulfate, and HMB. And that original food pyramid seems to have worked out very well. lol

There are pics of me on this site.

By the way, fuck yourself.

See… I said you were rude. Like really rude. Hense my post… and hense your response.

and calling her fat wasn’t rude?

It’s the boy’s club… I got it.

you aren’t the voice of reason

the OP asked why and was given good reasons as to why and then told to try it, and do what works best for him.
[/quote]

I believe he called her fat because she first called me fat. either way it’s childish. at least when i called her an exhibitionist whore I had photographic evidence.

btw OctoberGirl, I dare you to once, just once try to make a post without using the phrase “find what works best for you.” thats what people say when they have nothing of value to add, yet want to feel like they helped in some way.

“oh, you want to know how to get in shape do you? well, just find what works for YOU.” (gives self pat on back for job well done)

123

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
I can question that the sky isn’t blue all day. Doesn’t change the fact that the sky is blue.

Just because you challenge convention doesn’t make you special. Sometimes, it just makes you look silly.[/quote]

you missed the point of the analogy.

just because i don’t accept the something that goes against all evidence (i.e. not believing the sky is orange) doesn’t make me closed minded.

calling someone closed minded because they refuse to acknowledge your bullshit belief is an example of attacking the person, instead of the issue (ad hominem fallacy).