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Myth #1: You Should Eat Every 2-3 Hours To Lose Weight
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Myth #1: You Should Eat Every 2-3 Hours To Lose Weight
«This is a biggie. According to JJ, If you are doing this, you are a sugar burner, not a fat burner !
This does not lead to stable blood sugar. When you eat a diet with "loads" of non-starchy vegetables (like high nutrient greens!), low amounts of slow carbs (like lentils), ideal amounts of healthy fats, a little "clean and lean" protein- you create an environment for stable blood sugar.
When you eat, your blood sugar and insulin rises- it has to. When insulin is up the "message" to your body is that you don't have to burn stored fat because food is coming in. So when you eat every couple of hours you are shutting off fat burning and teaching your body to fuel on sugar. You want to teach your body to access stored fat for food.
What are healthy fats? Olive oil, avocado, coconut milk are great examples.
You should go 4-6 hours (or be able to) between eating. If you need to eat before this, you are out of balance. This can be "healed" in a couple of weeks. Research shows that when you eat a 400-600 calories breakfast- you burn more calories and keep it off.»
It is very interesting and ... well... logical !!
It is quite a big one myth to bust!!! I forced myself into eating more often because I never was a nibbler before.
But eating more often does help to eat less at once and maybe over all at the end..
What do you think??
Here is the link :
http://www.peertrainer.com/myth_busters_jjvirgin.aspx
I think I love you! Do you know how many years of hard training at a gym and a "fkd up" 2 hour eating regimine I went through to achieve -0- results!!!!! I'd like to strangle all the fitness trainers who claimed this 2-hour small meal eating plan would stabalize my blood sugar level and make me lose weight.
:blushing: Haha!!!
I know how crazy is that!! I was always told the same thing...«Skninny people eat all the time, eat more often, bla, bla...»
Of course you do what comes naturally but some of us just have to re-educate our ways about food.
If you saw no results then it's not the way to go for sure !0 -
It can't be a myth if it works for some people and I am one of them. Just like most things when it comes to weight loss there will be avenues taken by some that work and other avenues taken by others that work. It just depends on the individual and the results they get from the path they have chosen.
Eating every 2.5 to 3 hours keeps me full. I can not eat 400 to 600 calories per sitting unless it has bread or other stuff like mayo and such to add calories. The meals I cook at home are large enough for me and the calories are no more than 300 on most days.
And since my BF% is going in the right direction I don't know about that sugar burner stuff.0 -
Agreed. Eating every 2-3 hours is to prevent sugar crashes. Helps prevent binging when carbs is a big source of calories. Not going to hurt too much doing it at a calorie deficit.0
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I can see that eating regularly keeps our metabolism going, but surely the best lesson is simply to eat less than your total daily energy expenditure? Unless you are risking starvation mode by not eating enough, and hence causing your body to store the fat that it will in starvation mode anyway, then whether you burn sugar or fat is immaterial, you will burn it all eventually.
Personally I stick to the usual three meals a day with the odd snack in between as most of humanity has done for millennia. Sure, I am obese at present, that's why I am here, but I know that is because I always used t eat more than I needed sitting at a desk all day. Now I am consiously eating less than my TDEE, I am loosing weight and have been for six weeks.
Eating sugar rich foods does lead me to being hungry sooner, but it isn't stopping me loosing weight.
Just my thoughts...
You kind of brought up a good point. If you are burning sugar while it is sugar, then it can't be converted to fat and stored. So if you are below calorie, and you are eating small meals, you will burn the sugar you consume and the body will turn to your current fat stores for the deficit. I think that might be a little closer to the point of the article. You don't eat every 2-3 hours to burn fat, but rather you eat that often to prevent the sugars you consume from converting to fat.0 -
I'd think this is wrong. If you go long periods of time between meals your body doesn't think it's getting food, it slows your metabolism down so it won't need as much to survive longer. So while I understand that in theory by constantly giving your body food you're having it burn that first, you should still be burning more overall by doing the small meals because you're keeping your metabolism running. Since the main part of dieting is giving your body less than it burns anyway, you're body should burn through the small meals fairly quickly and then burn some fat. I'm not a nutritionist or anything but everyone I've talked to has supported this theory, it makes sense to me, and it's worked for me (the first time I lost weight I lost 140lbs in 8 months and I'm down 18lbs since starting this time two weeks ago). I've always been a proponent of people reacting to diets in different ways so there may be plenty of people that don't respond well to many small meals but I wouldn't call it a myth.0
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I can see that eating regularly keeps our metabolism going, but surely the best lesson is simply to eat less than your total daily energy expenditure? Unless you are risking starvation mode by not eating enough, and hence causing your body to store the fat that it will in starvation mode anyway, then whether you burn sugar or fat is immaterial, you will burn it all eventually.
Personally I stick to the usual three meals a day with the odd snack in between as most of humanity has done for millennia. Sure, I am obese at present, that's why I am here, but I know that is because I always used t eat more than I needed sitting at a desk all day. Now I am consiously eating less than my TDEE, I am loosing weight and have been for six weeks.
Eating sugar rich foods does lead me to being hungry sooner, but it isn't stopping me loosing weight.
Just my thoughts...
You kind of brought up a good point. If you are burning sugar while it is sugar, then it can't be converted to fat and stored. So if you are below calorie, and you are eating small meals, you will burn the sugar you consume and the body will turn to your current fat stores for the deficit. I think that might be a little closer to the point of the article. You don't eat every 2-3 hours to burn fat, but rather you eat that often to prevent the sugars you consume from converting to fat.
A little more complicated than that. If your glycogen stores are full and you have excess blood sugar then it will be stored as fat. Calorie deficit or not. Then you have to unlock that fat storage which for many, can be quite problematic.0 -
I don't know - it seems to work for me. I eat all the time and I dropped 100 pounds. It is probably one of those things that work for some and not others.0
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I'd think this is wrong. If you go long periods of time between meals your body doesn't think it's getting food, it slows your metabolism down so it won't need as much to survive longer. So while I understand that in theory by constantly giving your body food you're having it burn that first, you should still be burning more overall by doing the small meals because you're keeping your metabolism running. Since the main part of dieting is giving your body less than it burns anyway, you're body should burn through the small meals fairly quickly and then burn some fat. I'm not a nutritionist or anything but everyone I've talked to has supported this theory, it makes sense to me, and it's worked for me (the first time I lost weight I lost 140lbs in 8 months and I'm down 18lbs since starting this time two weeks ago). I've always been a proponent of people reacting to diets in different ways so there may be plenty of people that don't respond well to many small meals but I wouldn't call it a myth.
This!
The article makes it sound like you don't tap into your fat stores because of the frequent meals.0 -
I think it just comes down to what works for an individual person. I eat every 2-3 hours and sometimes a little more often and I am losing 3-4lbs a week doing it that way.0
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I can see that eating regularly keeps our metabolism going, but surely the best lesson is simply to eat less than your total daily energy expenditure? Unless you are risking starvation mode by not eating enough, and hence causing your body to store the fat that it will in starvation mode anyway, then whether you burn sugar or fat is immaterial, you will burn it all eventually.
Personally I stick to the usual three meals a day with the odd snack in between as most of humanity has done for millennia. Sure, I am obese at present, that's why I am here, but I know that is because I always used t eat more than I needed sitting at a desk all day. Now I am consiously eating less than my TDEE, I am loosing weight and have been for six weeks.
Eating sugar rich foods does lead me to being hungry sooner, but it isn't stopping me loosing weight.
Just my thoughts...
You kind of brought up a good point. If you are burning sugar while it is sugar, then it can't be converted to fat and stored. So if you are below calorie, and you are eating small meals, you will burn the sugar you consume and the body will turn to your current fat stores for the deficit. I think that might be a little closer to the point of the article. You don't eat every 2-3 hours to burn fat, but rather you eat that often to prevent the sugars you consume from converting to fat.
I think you both make very good points. The whole thing is one system; you're either burning it before it's fat, or after it's become fat. Either way, it's a good thing as long as you maintain your deficit.0 -
I can see that eating regularly keeps our metabolism going, but surely the best lesson is simply to eat less than your total daily energy expenditure? Unless you are risking starvation mode by not eating enough, and hence causing your body to store the fat that it will in starvation mode anyway, then whether you burn sugar or fat is immaterial, you will burn it all eventually.
Personally I stick to the usual three meals a day with the odd snack in between as most of humanity has done for millennia. Sure, I am obese at present, that's why I am here, but I know that is because I always used t eat more than I needed sitting at a desk all day. Now I am consiously eating less than my TDEE, I am loosing weight and have been for six weeks.
Eating sugar rich foods does lead me to being hungry sooner, but it isn't stopping me loosing weight.
Just my thoughts...
You kind of brought up a good point. If you are burning sugar while it is sugar, then it can't be converted to fat and stored. So if you are below calorie, and you are eating small meals, you will burn the sugar you consume and the body will turn to your current fat stores for the deficit. I think that might be a little closer to the point of the article. You don't eat every 2-3 hours to burn fat, but rather you eat that often to prevent the sugars you consume from converting to fat.
Wow you rock !!! :glasses:
Excellent point.
Although it took me loads of effort to eat every 3 hours, now I am always hungry and I wake up STARVING in the mornings!! Wich is all new to me...
I do feel more energized so that may be due to the sugar always high....good sugar of course !
Of course I try to stay away from huge dinners0 -
Also, I don't really put much faith in the concept that eating more often raises your metabolism. Even if it does, it's probably not enough to see any major changes. I'd be surprised if it was more than 10 calories a day.0
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A little more complicated than that. If your glycogen stores are full and you have excess blood sugar then it will be stored as fat. Calorie deficit or not. Then you have to unlock that fat storage which for many, can be quite problematic.
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This is so interesting. Unlock the fat storage==>I want the key !!!!!!!
So it's a question of getting your sugar normal and stop fooling around with it ??
Everybody does it accordingly.
When we hear so many that work out and eat less and can't shed 1 pound it probably is glycogen storage...
sugar = energy
Too much sugar = fat right?0 -
Im kind of "weird" maybe but I found out that eating every 3-4 hours is simply the best for me and it works, so I wont change anything. But interesting idea for future...oooooor no haha:D
I agree
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I can see that eating regularly keeps our metabolism going, but surely the best lesson is simply to eat less than your total daily energy expenditure? Unless you are risking starvation mode by not eating enough, and hence causing your body to store the fat that it will in starvation mode anyway, then whether you burn sugar or fat is immaterial, you will burn it all eventually.
Personally I stick to the usual three meals a day with the odd snack in between as most of humanity has done for millennia. Sure, I am obese at present, that's why I am here, but I know that is because I always used t eat more than I needed sitting at a desk all day. Now I am consiously eating less than my TDEE, I am loosing weight and have been for six weeks.
Eating sugar rich foods does lead me to being hungry sooner, but it isn't stopping me loosing weight.
Just my thoughts...
You kind of brought up a good point. If you are burning sugar while it is sugar, then it can't be converted to fat and stored. So if you are below calorie, and you are eating small meals, you will burn the sugar you consume and the body will turn to your current fat stores for the deficit. I think that might be a little closer to the point of the article. You don't eat every 2-3 hours to burn fat, but rather you eat that often to prevent the sugars you consume from converting to fat.
A little more complicated than that. If your glycogen stores are full and you have excess blood sugar then it will be stored as fat. Calorie deficit or not. Then you have to unlock that fat storage which for many, can be quite problematic.
Too much insulin promotes fat storage and hinders fat mobilization. And high blood sugar levels mean lots of insulin pumping through the body.
I keep my blood sugar levels low so I'm not producing a lot of insulin. I did this by cutting out the foods that caused the insulin response. I now no longer get "hungry" every 2 hours. I don't get that weak, shaky feeling anymore. I can go all day without eating and not get that feeling. I eat when I'm hungry. And the foods I eat fill me up well. And the 7lbs I've lost in 6 weeks (I was told it was almost impossible to lose at a healthy weight without lots and lots of weight lifting - not doing this yet I have muscle definition everywhere now) tells me I'm doing something right. No starvation mode going on here. I'm not losing muscle mass and my metabolism is going strong (BodyMedia Fit Armband). I'm waiting for it to slow down but it won't.0 -
When I tried eating every 2-3 hours, I only felt perpetually hungry. I switched it up to two main meals, with enough calories left over for snacking, and it's working out *much* better. Nothing is different otherwise - food is the same, calorie count is the same.
I'm sure every 2-3 hours works for some people, and that's great. But I hate it when it's touted as *the* way to lose weight.0 -
I lke to listen and see what eveyone is doing for their won journeys. For me what is working is to eat at least 5 small meals each day. I have lost 56 lbs here and a total of 76 so far so I think it is each to own. Good points from both sides though.0
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This whole 2-hour eating regimine is total BS, concerning "reving up your metabolism", etc., and truly a "myth" for normal less active people! Talk to a diabetic, as in myself to tell you how this blood sugar thing works. When you eat, your body produces insulin, which converts the food (i.e. carbs mostly) to energy. This hormone is also a fat storage hormone and a hunger hormone. Insulin, converts carbs to energy for the cells, drives your hunger and stores fat - PERIOD! Talk about a vicious circle! When you eat every 2-hours all you do is signal the body to produce more insulin, which in turn drives you to be more hungry and as an added bonus you "store" more fat.
If you are a body builder or a gymnast or a marathon junkie, this 2-hour regimeine works. For us "normal" people it is a highway to disaster. In 5 years of being on this regimine and working out 5 days a week, I did not get "buff", I got obese!
Your body is not designed like a cow, that grazes all day long. You need a "recovery time" between meals to balance out your blood sugar. 2-hours is not adequate recovery time. Think of it this way...you eat, your blood sugar rises and your body secrets insulin to do "its thing". Before the insulin has a chance to bring your blood sugar down, you are already stuffing more food into your yap, signaling for more insulin to be released. If you aren't diabetic now, you are on the road to becoming one as you are working your pancreas overtime.
Just a couple points from what I have learned....the hard way, I might add. If you are successful eating every one two four or six hours apart and successful, well that's just great! For me, the results were a nightmare - I will never go back to the 2-hour regimine again.0 -
Meal frequency is a minor detail in a fat loss programme. If eating 6 times a day prevents you from over eating and maintains your deficit then do that. If eating 2 or 3 times a day does the same thing then do that.
There is very little to no benefit of a nibbling diet over a gorging diet if the deficit is the same.0 -
Everything ain't for everybody0
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