Does meal frequency really not matter?

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  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    Frequency has no relevance. Eat at a deficit, lose weight. Keep it simple!
  • GuybrushThreepw00d
    GuybrushThreepw00d Posts: 784 Member
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    Or you could look at what other people do;

    http://www.simplyshredded.com/michelle-lewin.html

    Meal 1: Oatmeal with Big Blend from Betancourt Nutrition
    Meal 2: Ham with Swedish Crackers (Wasa)
    Meal 3: Chicken Breast with Brown Rice
    Meal 4: Pork Chops with Salad
    Meal 5: Beef with Asparagus & Spinach
    Meal 6: Salmon with Broccoli
    Meal 7: Casein Protein Shake (Before bed)

    Too much money involved. :laugh:
    Those foods cost a fortune here in the UK.
    I'd be seriously out of pocket if i ate this every day.


    True, but we spend less now on our food that we ever have. Perhaps we should be prioritising spending more on what we put into our body.

    And lets be honest, if as a lady you ate what Michelle Lewin did for a year and ended up looking like her then that's money well spent :drinker: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :laugh:

    food.jpg
  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
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    I find the same thing - when I fast I am less hungry and when I eat more frequent smaller meals, I am starving all the time. I am not sure how to answer your question, but just wanted you to know I noticed the same thing. I lose more when I do some sort of intermittent fasting. I currently fast for 18 hours and eat for 6. I do about (2) 24-hour fasts per month.
  • La5Vega5Girl
    La5Vega5Girl Posts: 709 Member
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    I don't really like the idea of fasting tbh.
    Going for long periods of time without food, "just don't seem natural".
    I almost collapse if i go without food for about 3 hours! :laugh:
    If you've only been doing the 24 hr fasting for a short time, i doubt if you'll gain loads if you bump back up to 5 times a day eating.

    my brother is the same way. he eats about every 2 hours, very small healthy meals. he has hardly any body fat - very fit.
    I probably should follow suit. LOL
    :smile:
  • GatorDeb1
    GatorDeb1 Posts: 245 Member
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    I eat all my calories by 11a most days (and I also don't work out the rest of the day). I have found if I have chunks of 12-18 hours where I don't eat I get hungry less. I can Not Eat for 18 hours easier than 3 lol If I eat frequently I'm more hungry.
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
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    True, but we spend less now on our food that we ever have. Perhaps we should be prioritising spending more on what we put into our body.

    And lets be honest, if as a lady you ate what Michelle Lewin did for a year and ended up looking like her then that's money well spent :drinker: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :laugh: http://www.simplyshredded.com/michelle-lewin.html

    It's pretty hard to spend more if you are on a low wage.....eating well costs money!
    (Which is one of the reasons obesity is so rife here).
    Why should Meat, Fish, Fruit and Veg cost so much more than crappy Food? Doesn't make sense to me.
    As For Michelle L's Body, it's impressive......but far too Muscular for me. I prefer to look more "Natural" and have a bit more body fat. :wink:
  • TestingFun01
    TestingFun01 Posts: 89 Member
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    As For Michelle L's Body, it's impressive......but far too Muscular for me. I prefer to look more "Natural" and have a bit more body fat. :wink:

    I agree, she's not gonna live long if the aliens come and sweep up all our food. She's gonna go straight into "Starvation Mode" :laugh:
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    No real thoughts, other than the observation that fasting seems to be a good way to rein in the appetite, as a bad flu where I ate nothing for 4/ 5 days is what kickstarted my weight loss efforts 3/ 4 years ago, as I just ran with the reduced appetite I was left with, lol.

    I do imagine there's an argument to be made for digestion efficiency with more infrequent meals, or meals spaced apart a bit, as when you do eat your body should be in a perfect state enzyme-wise to process what you've eaten as efficiently as possible. Also I seem to recall mention of studies where they showed how more infrequent meals were better for blood sugar than more frequent ones, but imagine after a while no matter how your eating patterns are, your body will adjust. We're flexible creatures, and its probably only a modern phenomena where we have such free and ready access to food. In the past I'm sure infrequent meals and (involuntary) fasts were the norm.

    Good luck with your own fasting efforts. I dabbled with 16/8 on and off, but I just don't like going without a morning meal that long, and what works best for me is a typical day where I get to break my nightly fast by 9/ 10am, and stop eating by 7/ 8pm, so I usually observe a 14/10 thing by accident :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I don't really like the idea of fasting tbh.
    Going for long periods of time without food, "just don't seem natural".
    I almost collapse if i go without food for about 3 hours! :laugh:
    If you've only been doing the 24 hr fasting for a short time, i doubt if you'll gain loads if you bump back up to 5 times a day eating.

    For me that's the interesting. I've been eating 5 meals my whole life...I've always eaten breakfast.

    So one would think it's ingrained in me and I would be like you (wanting to faint after 3 hours without food Lol), but actually fasting that long comes really easily to me.

    And I'm MORE hungry when I eat more often than I am if I'm fasting. Everyone's different hey :smile:

    I think there are just natural variations in how people like to eat, plus a lot of it is probably cultural. I grew up with 3 meals a day as the standard, went through a phase in my teens where I didn't eat breakfast or lunch (I hated cereal and supermarket bread, and was too lazy to cook a hot breakfast or make a lunch that wasn't a sandwich, my mother didn't think she should enable me by giving into it and figured I could buy the hot lunch at school--which I thought was disgusting--or would start eating if I were hungry). Instead I had a snack after school and probably a bigger dinner. I neither gained nor lost weight. During college I went to all three meals because they were social events/breaks (at my college most people lived in the dorms), and for a while when I was working I skipped breakfast (when I'd struggle to get up and get to work) and then started buying something like a bagel (stupid) and eventually became a morning person and prefer a hot breakfast. (I still think cold cereal is unpleasant and don't eat it, and I'm still picky about bread, even though I'm otherwise not picky at all.)

    Anyway, I'm sure it's more cultural than anything else, but to me eating 3 meals seems "natural" and I'm not hungry between meals (if I'm eating sensibly) but generally do wish to eat at my regular mealtimes. I can fast for a day without much hardship (for religious reasons, say), but wouldn't enjoy doing so regularly.

    That aside, I suspect that longer breaks between meals at least from time to time is much more "natural" for humans than the 5-6 meal eating schedules that some seem to see as ideal, or even my preferred (and culturally based) 3. It would have to do with food availability.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Meal frequency matters in that it does sometimes affect how an individual adheres to a plan. Find the meal frequency or variations that you like, that fits your lifestyle and stick to it.

    This is what makes sense to me. Even if there were some on average benefit to eating a big breakfast and constantly throughout the day after that (grazing), if it made you miserable or you tended to struggling with feeling unsatisfied or tended to overeat, and felt great and satisfied and ate fewer calories having just one big meal, you are much more likely to have good results personally doing the latter.
  • kefryar
    kefryar Posts: 77 Member
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    Oh wow. I've read about IF and I know that It's supposed to be good for you, but I can't help but think that only eating once every 24 hours can't possibly be the most healthy thing to do-are you able to eat 1200 calories in one sitting? If not, I have no idea how you're getting all of the nutrients you need. How do you have the energy to work out?
    Not saying you're wrong, but I just can't imagine how you can do it. Willpower or not, I wouldn't be able to move.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    In terms of weight loss, assuming other factors like calories are consistent, meal timing is irrelevant. It comes down to personal preference. In terms of other metrics, fasting has benefits beyond weight loss which should not surprise us since the abundance of food we have now is a relatively new thing. In the past people would often go fairly long periods with little or no food followed by having food in abundance. If intermittent fasting works for a person and they get their calories in for the week, no problem, they should do it. If 6 meals a day works for a person's personal preference, they can do that, and it calories are the same over the week it will result in the same weight loss.
  • TestingFun01
    TestingFun01 Posts: 89 Member
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    Good luck with your own fasting efforts. I dabbled with 16/8 on and off, but I just don't like going without a morning meal that long, and what works best for me is a typical day where I get to break my nightly fast by 9/ 10am, and stop eating by 7/ 8pm, so I usually observe a 14/10 thing by accident :)

    My morning meal is coffee. =P And my lunch is tea. I do notice my digestion is a lot better when I fast. My first two times was horrible. I had like the stomach cramps and I even had a case of diarrhea. But now it's...dare I say...normal. After that situation up there^^ I'm now regular, where I've always been very constipated.

    Sorry if it's too much info...but you did mention of a study you know of that suggests it =P...Although as you say humans adapt...but I'm hoping that I don't adapt in that regard. I've never had such a happy tummy before. I always had some sort of problem.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    Timing and quantity of meals has no bearing on weight loss. It is an individual thing based on what makes you feel the best. I have to eat several smaller meals during the day because of a hiatal hernia. My body is used to it and I rarely feel hungry.
  • Veil5577
    Veil5577 Posts: 868 Member
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    I eat only one meal a day five days a week. I find I'm less hungry that way and I have more energy, and I have stopped eating all the junk food I used to gobble when I binged. And I don't binge anymore. It's been a great change for me and I have lost weight. It's not for everybody but I have had no ill effects from doing it.
  • TestingFun01
    TestingFun01 Posts: 89 Member
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    Oh wow. I've read about IF and I know that It's supposed to be good for you, but I can't help but think that only eating once every 24 hours can't possibly be the most healthy thing to do-are you able to eat 1200 calories in one sitting? If not, I have no idea how you're getting all of the nutrients you need. How do you have the energy to work out?
    Not saying you're wrong, but I just can't imagine how you can do it. Willpower or not, I wouldn't be able to move.

    Actually fasting gives me a lot of energy. If you look at some of the studies they suggest that while fasting, your brain releases...uh...something (I don't remember what they are called) to keep you alert so you can continue to search for food. This was the case with our ancestors.

    Even though I don't have to gather or hunt my food (I own a fridge..lol) fasting definitely makes me more alert. It sometimes even makes sleeping difficult for me. And yes I still meet all my nutrients. I like to eat a lot... =P
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
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    I don't have any researched information on fasting but I've noticed you frequently mention low blood pressure, dizziness and, yesterday, foggy brains (or something to that effect). If low blood pressure with accompanying dizziness and fuzzy thinking is an ongoing issue for you I, first and foremost, hope you are talking with your doctor about it. I also hope you can up your water intake - you mentioned yesterday that you only had 4 glasses of water.

    Finally, I did some quick checks online (so I'm not claiming this with any authority - that's your doctor's job) but three different medical sites stated that diet for those with hypotension should be multiple small meals throughout the day.
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,566 Member
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    Or you could look at what other people do;

    http://www.simplyshredded.com/michelle-lewin.html

    Meal 1: Oatmeal with Big Blend from Betancourt Nutrition
    Meal 2: Ham with Swedish Crackers (Wasa)
    Meal 3: Chicken Breast with Brown Rice
    Meal 4: Pork Chops with Salad
    Meal 5: Beef with Asparagus & Spinach
    Meal 6: Salmon with Broccoli
    Meal 7: Casein Protein Shake (Before bed)

    This is great, if you have the time for it. Something like that almost -requires- that all you do is meal prep and eat.
  • TestingFun01
    TestingFun01 Posts: 89 Member
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    I don't have any researched information on fasting but I've noticed you frequently mention low blood pressure, dizziness and, yesterday, foggy brains (or something to that effect). If low blood pressure with accompanying dizziness and fuzzy thinking is an ongoing issue for you I, first and foremost, hope you are talking with your doctor about it. I also hope you can up your water intake - you mentioned yesterday that you only had 4 glasses of water.

    Finally, I did some quick checks online (so I'm not claiming this with any authority - that's your doctor's job) but three different medical sites stated that diet for those with hypotension should be multiple small meals throughout the day.

    Hi kay! Yes my doctor said all I had to do was eat less sweet things and more salty things. I don't usually drink so little water, I've been a bit busy yesterday and I don't fancy drinking fluid in the afternoon. (I get up a million times in the middle of the night if I do) I usually do drink enough, which is why I don't bother logging water anymore.

    :flowerforyou:
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Like I said, I didn't say they don't have the willpower. But when you look at women who fast here, a lot of them do a window version instead of doing a 24hr. There are also a few studies suggesting it's harder for some of them (and perhaps bad for their fertility) to do long periods of fasting when compared to men.
    I'm a woman here who fasts longer than you, if it helps. :smile:

    I've read several books on fasting and have never run across the idea that it's harder for women or bad for their health or fertility.

    Meal frequency matters for compliance and other things but not really weight loss. Consider your car. Does it get better gas mileage if you fill it up daily vs. waiting til it's empty? No, it's an energy issue with gas and with calories. Unless your frequency of gas stops affects your driving, it doesn't matter. Same with eating frequency.

    But are you going to keep bumping this thread asking for cat gifs like one of your last threads? :tongue:

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