6 meals a day is a lie. Your metabolism won't slow down.

MacMadame

Which ancestors are you referring to?

The ones that had to hunt for food and didn't have it readily available for 3 meals a day every day let alone 6

You mean the hunter-gathers who snacked on nuts and berries all day while hunting? :laugh:

skyley

Which ancestors are you referring to?

The ones that had to hunt for food and didn't have it readily available for 3 meals a day every day let alone 6

You mean the hunter-gathers who snacked on nuts and berries all day while hunting? :laugh:

Yep snacking on fruits and berries probably isn't the same as the type of 6 meals people eat today though :laugh:

hotpickles

There are days when I can eat 6 small meals and there are days when 2 works for me. I just listen to my body. If I'm hungry, I eat. If not, I don't. I like to keep it simple that way

L.

sweetestthing

I agree 1 million percent. Look when someone is morbidly obese the first thing they do is to put you on a very low calorie diet. That means 800 calories or so and 3 times a day. Same thing with these lap band surgeries, all they do is they make you eat less!! almost 400 calories or so!! how come their metabolism doesn't slow down? I agree, that is not the best way, but I think we have just been trained to eat way too much. and it's not that complicated. you eat 3 meals a day, most people I know have a pc of toast for breakfast, a salad for lunch or 1/3 of a veggie sushi roll, and fish and veggies for dinner, and they drink alot. BUT they are super thin and very healthy. we don't need that much food or to constantly be eating to live. My mind doesn't understand fullness, but to most normal people, they just know when they are full, they don't need to eat.

LotusF1ower

Why are you on a site like this then?

Um, maybe to track food? That's really all MFP does. Everything else is just a suggestion or a convenience.

(The "why are you on MFP if you don't do X, Y or Z" argument is a pet peeve of mine. This is a site to track calories. How you consume those calories and how many you consume is up to you, not the site.)

It is about time people got stuck into a healthy living plan and quit constantly thinking about grub, because that is what you are doing if you eat numerous meals per day, you are constantly planning for the next piece of food to go into your mouth.

Well, no, that may be all YOU are doing but everyone is different. I pack my cooler every weekday morning with my lunch and my snacks. Whether I eat them as one meal or 20, it's the same amount of food and the same amount of thought.

It's really how many calories you eat in a day compared to your calorie expenditure that counts. For some people, it works better to spread them all out throughout the day and for others it doesn't. But its' really a personal choice matter, not a "this way work and this way doesn't" matter. Because both ways work and both ways are a lifestyle and both ways can be healthy. At the same time both ways don't work and both ways can be unhealthy. It just depends on context.

No, I just eat three meals per day and do not constantly think about food at all and now I am maintaining, I am mighty glad I never did get into the habit of several meals per day or worrying about metabolism slow-down.

I started as I meant to carry on and numerous eating throughout the day is precisely what got me overweight in the first place, there is no way I want to return to anything like that again.

I do understand people wanting to eat five or six times per day though, but for those not wanting to, but worried about their metabolism slowing down, just to let you know, it won't and I think this is precisely the thing the OP was getting at in the first place.

He wasn't saying you will grow fat if you eat lots of times in the day (but that's debatable when it comes to some people's calories in -v- calories out - too m anny calories = weight gain), he was just saying you don't have to eat several time in a day keep the metabolism speeded up.

kpinney

Well I don't trust what any of them (FDA, etc.) say. Tonight they announced they are pulling saccahrin from the harmful substances after telling people for 30 years to stay away from it. The fact is everyone has to find out what works for them. :ohwell:

hpsnickers1

Not a lie. What works for some people might not work for others.

You could even munch all day as long as you burn more than you consume.

tsunami2

The initial posts has all sorts of logical fallacies...it can all come down to the following:

A calorie is a calorie. If you in a deficit, you lose weight. If you are in excess, you gain weight.

Doesn't matter when you eat. HOWEVER, some people prefer several small meals over few large meals because of preference. It all comes down to how your body responds (hunger/energy levels). I know natural bodybuilders that literally eat one full meal a day and maintain 8% bf. In the same regard, I know people that eat up to 8x/day and maintain similar bf%. It's all a matter of preference.

givprayz

I agree with all of the "voices of reason." Some days I eat my calories as 3 meals (or occassionally just 2) but most days I eat a snack meal once or twice a day, or simply spread a meal out over a long period of time because of my schedule. I try to avoid getting crazy hungry, and I keep most of my snacks within my overall plan. Our bodies will tell us how to eat if we can clean up all the static and learn to listen to them.
The metabolism "lie" is really aimed at the old concept of severely cutting calories for a period of time to quickly drop several pounds. The problem then is the body learns to run more efficiently, so when the normal calories come back, as they almost certainly will when you have starved yourself for a week or two, the weight comes right brack, and brings friends. Temporary starvation diets are not effective for long-term weight-loss and maintanance.
The moral of the story is, find a plan that you can live with for the rest of your life, and then live it.

wriglucy

YOU NEED TO EAT EVERY 4-5 HOURS! At least something little! Otherwise, your body starts its starvation mode..and well, that slows your metobolisim!

Read some books by a REGISTERED DIETICIAN!!! NUTRITIONISTS....not always trained!!!

LotusF1ower

YOU NEED TO EAT EVERY 4-5 HOURS! At least something little! Otherwise, your body starts its starvation mode..and well, that slows your metobolisim!

Read some books by a REGISTERED DIETICIAN!!! NUTRITIONISTS....not always trained!!!

Total rubbish! I don't care what anybody says or who they are! If that were the case billions of people would have metabolisms that have come to a virtual standstill!

In MY OWN EXPERIENCE - for the bloody 1000th time - I have not found it to be true regarding starvation mode - I couldn't give a cat's bum about what they, the "experts" profess to be so either, I never once went into any such starvation mode and I can categorically state that the body will not do so after five hours - that is laughable to say the least.

How the hell do anorexics die from starvation then? They may not eat for days! They become malnourished, their bodies fall apart, but still the weight decreases.

Eating several times per day is good for some people but it is not a cast iron fact that by not doing so, the weight will not come off and this is the point I am trying to convey.

You can read as many books as you want, in fact, you can spend all day reading up on stuff, written by many people, but the real truth - FOR YOU - comes from your own real-life experience. What will be so for you will not, necessarily be so for another - in fact, I would go so far as to say that everybody else's experience or view should only be a guideline for yourself. Never, EVER, take another person's view as gospel, because it may not suit you as an individual.

TateFTW

YOU NEED TO EAT EVERY 4-5 HOURS! At least something little! Otherwise, your body starts its starvation mode..and well, that slows your metobolisim!

Read some books by a REGISTERED DIETICIAN!!! NUTRITIONISTS....not always trained!!!

It slows your metobolism? Wow, I don't even know what that is. And here I've wasted my time worrying about my metabolism.

Oh, and you're completely wrong, btw. Just letting you know.

Can we PLEASE let this thread die?

MISTTIMG

Man! I'm glad I didn't start this back and forth controversial thread, but since I'm here this is what I believe; The main way to loose weight is to take in less calories than we need to maintain our current weight on a daily basis. we could reduce the calories, or burn calories by exercise, or both, which is preferred. Now after saying that, I believe there are better ways to accomplish this to obtain the Best result, Yes I think eating serveral small meals a day often increases the metabolism, thus help burn fat, so 6 small meals would be better than 3 large meals, however if more calories were consumed by eating 6 small meals then the whole effort would be in vain. Also, keep in mind to loose fat and not muscle you need to loose slowly, no more than 2 pounds per week, Also keep a diet adequate in Protein, fat, and carbs, to maintain muscle. And I believe that alternating daily calories (more one day-less the next & so on) can help burn fat better by Not sending your body in a "ghost starvation" mode. Again, most anyone can loose weight by just cutting back on calories, But doing it Healthy verses non Healthy is the concern in my post. ~cheers~

TateFTW

Man! I'm glad I didn't start this back and forth controversial thread, but since I'm here this is what I believe; The main way to loose weight is to take in less calories than we need to maintain our current weight on a daily basis. we could reduce the calories, or burn calories by exercise, or both, which is preferred. Now after saying that, I believe there are better ways to accomplish this to obtain the Best result, Yes I think eating serveral small meals a day often increases the metabolism, thus help burn fat, so 6 small meals would be better than 3 large meals, however if more calories were consumed by eating 6 small meals then the whole effort would be in vain. Also, keep in mind to loose fat and not muscle you need to loose slowly, no more than 2 pounds per week, Also keep a diet adequate in Protein, fat, and carbs, to maintain muscle. And I believe that alternating daily calories (more one day-less the next & so on) can help burn fat better by Not sending your body in a "ghost starvation" mode. Again, most anyone can loose weight by just cutting back on calories, But doing it Healthy verses non Healthy is the concern in my post. ~cheers~

Not to be a jerk, but that's the problem. It doesn't really matter what you or anyone else thinks, because what people think has no effect on reality. It takes your metabolism at least days and usually weeks to speed up or slow down as a result of changes in intake. I can tell you that if you climb Mt. Olympus a magical purple unicorn will tell you the secret to lose 50 lbs. Doesn't mean it's true.

MISTTIMG

Man! I'm glad I didn't start this back and forth controversial thread, but since I'm here this is what I believe; The main way to loose weight is to take in less calories than we need to maintain our current weight on a daily basis. we could reduce the calories, or burn calories by exercise, or both, which is preferred. Now after saying that, I believe there are better ways to accomplish this to obtain the Best result, Yes I think eating serveral small meals a day often increases the metabolism, thus help burn fat, so 6 small meals would be better than 3 large meals, however if more calories were consumed by eating 6 small meals then the whole effort would be in vain. Also, keep in mind to loose fat and not muscle you need to loose slowly, no more than 2 pounds per week, Also keep a diet adequate in Protein, fat, and carbs, to maintain muscle. And I believe that alternating daily calories (more one day-less the next & so on) can help burn fat better by Not sending your body in a "ghost starvation" mode. Again, most anyone can loose weight by just cutting back on calories, But doing it Healthy verses non Healthy is the concern in my post. ~cheers~

Thanks for your input as to what you "Think"!

Not to be a jerk, but that's the problem. It doesn't really matter what you or anyone else thinks, because what people think has no effect on reality. It takes your metabolism at least days and usually weeks to speed up or slow down as a result of changes in intake. I can tell you that if you climb Mt. Olympus a magical purple unicorn will tell you the secret to lose 50 lbs. Doesn't mean it's true.

MISTTIMG

Man! I'm glad I didn't start this back and forth controversial thread, but since I'm here this is what I believe; The main way to loose weight is to take in less calories than we need to maintain our current weight on a daily basis. we could reduce the calories, or burn calories by exercise, or both, which is preferred. Now after saying that, I believe there are better ways to accomplish this to obtain the Best result, Yes I think eating serveral small meals a day often increases the metabolism, thus help burn fat, so 6 small meals would be better than 3 large meals, however if more calories were consumed by eating 6 small meals then the whole effort would be in vain. Also, keep in mind to loose fat and not muscle you need to loose slowly, no more than 2 pounds per week, Also keep a diet adequate in Protein, fat, and carbs, to maintain muscle. And I believe that alternating daily calories (more one day-less the next & so on) can help burn fat better by Not sending your body in a "ghost starvation" mode. Again, most anyone can loose weight by just cutting back on calories, But doing it Healthy verses non Healthy is the concern in my post. ~cheers~

Not to be a jerk, but that's the problem. It doesn't really matter what you or anyone else thinks, because what people think has no effect on reality. It takes your metabolism at least days and usually weeks to speed up or slow down as a result of changes in intake. I can tell you that if you climb Mt. Olympus a magical purple unicorn will tell you the secret to lose 50 lbs. Doesn't mean it's true.

Thanks for your input as to what you "Think"!

bosanka

never mind

Lillyofthevally

I'm in a hurry and can't read this entire thread right now, but it seems like the question is whether to eat 6 meals or 3 meals, some folks have a strong opinion while others don't have a clue, all I can say is for me 6 small meals work much better. lilly

LilynEdensmom

Well for me, eating every few hours, has helped so far...I have lost weight in the past fasting but after the fast I would be so hungry I would binge thus ruining the effects. WIth a meal or snack every few hours I don't really (though I have) feel the urge to eat till I puke...

Though your statement was alittle over the top, I mean it really depends on what you are putting in your mouth for those 5-6 meals a day weather or not you are going to gain weight.

Azdak

Well I don't trust what any of them (FDA, etc.) say. Tonight they announced they are pulling saccahrin from the harmful substances after telling people for 30 years to stay away from it. The fact is everyone has to find out what works for them. :ohwell:

This is what I call "the new medievalism". This is also why someone like Snooki is now a celebrity.