Help me prove my bonehead friend wrong

[twinphish]

Ok.. so one thing I've learned on this board is one of the keys to losing fat is to eat numerous small meals throughout the day (6-8) in order to keep the metabolism burning.. correct?

My friend INSISTS that you are only supposed to eat 3 meals a day. Of course he has no scientific reasoning behind this.

Is the theory behind eating multiple small meals throughout the day backed up by a scientific study somewhere? Or is it just common knowledge ?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bikini Mod]

hehehehehee this should be good.

Tell me, out of curiosity, what does your friend look like?

(I SUCK at the science end of all of this... I don't have the language to explain all of this.. kind of like Peter Brady in Mr Minelli's bike shop, "You got it here, Peter." *points to head* "But somewhere between here and here...." *holds up hands* "....it gets lost!" LOL)

 

[new@gettinbig]

Do not try to convince those that know everything...you will waste your time and energy...have him read some fitness books...search the web....its not a big secret...tell him to try it for 6-8 weeks and see how he does..does he have a weight problem? Those are the types of people I never bother with...they never learn and they are always right..so why bother??? You know how to eat.....let him go about his merry way and eat his 3 fuckin meals a day....see where it takes him...

 

[Bikini Mod]

OO New said "fuckin".

I find that oddly arousing......

Get those pics back yet gurl? I have a line of horny toads waitin' on 'em... hehehehehehheee

 

[FitFossil]

My friend INSISTS that you are only supposed to eat 3 meals a day. Of course he has no scientific reasoning behind this.

I just love know-it-alls like this. You could show them all the scientific studies in the world and they'll just say "Yabut I know better..." (usually not w/physique to prove it).

You won't have to dig very hard for proof. Just open any bodybuilding magazine to the nutrition section, and 99% will say to eat multiple small meals rather than the big 3. In fact, most of the mainstream health publications are jumping on the mini-meal bandwagon. For starters, it helps keep blood sugar more stable, you'll have more energy and won't get as hungry during the day because your tank doesn't get empty, all of which translates into a more well-functioning metabolism.

Here's something pasted from the Muscle & Fitness page:

Myth #5: Three square meals provide all the nutrients you need to build muscle and be healthy. Not likely. Getting all the micronutrients you need in three feedings is very difficult, and requires those meals to be rather large. This creates two problems: Larger meals are harder to absorb, and large, infrequent meals can stimulate fat storage. Three "squares" is a custom, the result of social norms and work schedules. An improved strategy for better health, energy levels and absorption of nutrients, however, is to eat 5-6 smaller meals each day.

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/nutritionsupp/p/1886.jsp

 

[sysopt]

Actually I dont think there's a significant difference in ones metabolism between 3 meals and 6 meals assuming the number of calories and the food is the same. The key to losing fat is less calories.

 

[takniteasy]

I disagree

Having put the 3 meals a day against the 5-6 meals a day just out of curiosity, I found that eating 5-6 meals a day actually helps my metabolism speed up and keeps my energy levels consistant. I tried the same amount of calories split into 3 meals a day for 4 weeks then tried the 5-6 meals a day for 4 weeks. On 3 meals per day, I maintained the same body composition and on 5-6 meals per day, I was able to lose weight (more fat than muscle).

IMO, the only way to find out what affects your metabolism is to try the different ways of eating.

 

[twinphish]

heheh thanks!!!

yeah well my friend is pretty fit, he's never really had a weight problem but still..

I'm going to direct him to this thread immediately hehe

and Spats - thanks for the history lesson, I figured eating 3 meals a day was a product of saving time in some way - we all know its pretty time consuming stopping to eat every couple of hours

thanks everyone!

 

[Lestat]

3 meals a day? Yeah right

Eating three meals a day is great if you want to pack on weight.

What happens is when you eat that huge meal your body releases a rush of insulin to break down the sugars. This rush triggers your body to store fat. Why? Because you go all day or hours and your insulin levels drop so low your body thinks you are starving!

When you eat many smaller meals throughout the day you keep your insulin levels stable. Your body feels no need to store any fat. Your metabolism also keeps burning the entire time, so your system is buring calories. Many people find that the MORE they eat, the more calories they burn. The hotter the fire the more it burns.

You will also prevent yourself from breaking down your hard earned muscle by eating constantly. Tell your little friend to learn what an Anabolic state is and what a Catabolic state is. If you only eat three meals per day your body is spending a lot of time in a Catabolic state.. I like to call it a "cannibal" state.. because your body is actually breaking your muscle down to use it as energy. It is much better to keep your body in an Anabolic state almost all the time, then you switch it to a Catabolic state during your workout only. This is when you trigger your body to break your muscle down so that you can rebuild it even stronger. This is why it is important to eat a quality protein immediately following a workout, it kicks your body out of catabolism and into an anabolic state.

Some serious body builders will get up at night just to eat something because sleeping for 7 or 8 hours is too long to go without food. Taking a ZMA is supposed to help you not break down your muscle during your sleep but results are debatable.

I would bet that your friend is just stubborn and a know it all, don't bother trying to explain this too him, its above his head. You say hes fit, but I would guess that doesn't have a lot of lean muscle mass, and probably a pretty fatty mid section. His body is storing that fat for him in case there is famine during the winter!

 

[sysopt]

I'm no expert but since when does insulin break down sugar? Also, the liver, to an extent can regulate blood sugar; if it drops too low it will free up some glucose. I think it's only when you're doing something that's glucose demanding (weightlifting or running for a while) that the liver would have trouble keeping up. People have different sensitivity to insulin as well. Before I went to bed last night I had a big mofo plate of spaghetti, am I a fat ass? uh no. We should get MS in here to clear this up. I dont know where this "you have to eat little snacks all day or you'll be a fatass" bullshit started...maybe where all the other shit started...the mags.